As professional writers, we don’t need to detect when AI is used to generate content. As a business, you don’t need to either. So why are we so obsessed with finding out which pieces of content are human-generated vs AI-generated?

We feel like we need to do it because it’s a natural reaction to fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of AI. Fear of the great uprising of artificial intelligence. We are compelled to reveal the dark entity that is AI and expose it for the evil it really is.

But what do we say about fear? False Evidence Appearing Real.

AI is not the devil incarnate. It’s not going to ruin your brand’s reputation. It’s not going to get you banned from Google’s search results. What it will do is help content marketing teams boost productivity, which is good for any brand’s bottom line. As long as brands continue to produce people-first content – no matter how it’s generated – they’ll do well with content marketing.

Here are the facts according to Google Search Central:

• Not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam.
• AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.
• Automation has long been used in publishing to create useful content. AI can assist with and generate useful content in exciting new ways.

Google rewards high-quality content, however it is produced

We’ve known for years that Google rewards high-quality content. It’s all about E-E-A-T: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Most recently, with the sudden onset of AI tools, Google has also made it very clear that it rewards high-quality content, however it’s produced.

“Our focus on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced, is a useful guide that has helped us deliver reliable, high quality results to users for years.”

I love the example shared by Google:

“About 10 years ago, there were understandable concerns about a rise in mass-produced yet human-generated content. No one would have thought it reasonable for us to declare a ban on all human-generated content in response. Instead, it made more sense to improve our systems to reward quality content, as we did.”

That pretty much sums it up. Now let’s eliminate some of those lingering fears.

Debunking fear-based myths

Myth: AI content is against Google Search’s guidelines.

Fact: Proper use of AI is not against Google’s guidelines. As long as you’re not using AI to generate content with the primary intent to manipulate search rankings, you’re not in violation of Google’s spam policies.

Myth: AI-generated content won’t rank highly in search results.

Fact: The use of AI in generating content is irrelevant when we’re talking about ranking in SERPs. Content is content, no matter how it’s generated. According to Google, “If it is useful, helpful, original, and satisfies aspects of E-E-A-T, it might do well in Search. If it doesn’t, it might not.”

Myth: AI-generated content is low quality content.

Fact: Low-quality content can be generated by human or artificial intelligence alike.

Final thoughts

I believe that quality AI-generated content requires a human touch – at least for now. Perhaps the day will come when AI is capable of producing top-quality content 100% of the time, all without human intervention. But we’re certainly not there yet.

In my business, I use AI as a tool to improve productivity, which lowers my rates. It enables me to deliver affordable, top-quality content – at scale. Period.

Ready to find out how you can take advantage of high-volume content with a human touch? Let’s talk!