Content automatically generated using AI tools like ChatGPT is against Google’s webmaster guidelines, according to the source.
AI-generated content is the latest machine learning application for daily life. More and more generations of AI content are emerging with their creators hoping to cut into their user segment and gain some market share as users increase.
But Google will always be there to discover AI-generated content for ChatGPT and other Sources. Google has always found a way to win against Black Hat SEO practices and other nefarious means that people use to circumvent their SEO guidelines, and this will be no different.
John Muller, a Google search lawyer, says that content generated automatically using artificial intelligence writing tools is considered spam, according to the search engine’s Webmaster Guidelines.
This topic was addressed during a hangout session for working hours at the Google Search Central SEO office recently in response to a question about GPT-3 AI writing tools.
There is a debate in the SEO community about the use of GPT-3 tools and whether they are acceptable from Google’s point of view.
Muller says that content written by artificial intelligence falls under the category of automatically generated content, which can lead to manual punishment.
Can Google detect AI content?
Google probably knows that you are using artificial intelligence to create content. Avoid any manual action or penalty by using these AI content creation tips.
From personal messages to chatbots to highly responsive customer service, AI helps companies deliver precisely targeted content and campaigns that attract leads and conversions.
According to research by Deloitte, 73% of companies using AI believe that it is “very” or “critical” important to their success, while 64% believe that it has allowed them to create a competitive advantage over other companies.
However, while many marketing functions are well-suited to automation, there is one task that many people consider impossible for machines to duplicate — and that is content creation.
After all, writing is a complex cognitive undertaking that requires creativity, analytical skills, and more. Since search engines reward original and engaging content with higher search page rankings, automated content is sure to make a mess of your SEO.
Google doesn’t want AI-generated SEO Spam
Search marketers are making a big fuss about Google’s John Muller’s description of AI-generated content as “spam.” He did so while answering a question during a Hangout for office hours at the Google Search Central SEO office on April 1.
Mueller’s response was not shocking. Especially considering that Google has answered this question many times in recent years. In addition, Auto-generated content has long been part of their Webmaster Guidelines as something to avoid.
However, AI-generated content is a popular topic of discussion on social media, forums, and private groups. Especially in recent years with the advancement of technology.
What exactly is AI-generated content?
In simpler terms, AI content creators pull material from online blog posts and articles, rearrange words, and output one or more “original” articles. While content is based on parts of real writers, AI creation tools use anti-plagiarism tools to ensure that accurate sentences or phrases are not repeated. Some content automation software is more complex than others, offering additional features such as:
- Options to change the tone of voice
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to ensure content appears as if it was written by a real person
- Keyword tools for SEO optimization
- Attribute builders to help marketers improve their campaigns
While AI-generated content may seem like every marketer’s dream has come true, even automation platforms themselves admit that robots are unlikely to replace human writers anytime soon. Artificial intelligence tools can help create structured and informative content, but skilled human writers are necessary to produce warm and engaging prose designed to resonate with human audiences.
AI content generator platforms such as ChatGPT
AI-generated content has become extremely popular, with the advent of various content creation platforms and programs such as ChatGPT Chabot.
In the theoretical sense, Google could most likely be able to detect that a text was produced by ChatGPT If they had an algorithm to recognize it.
There is no evidence to suggest that Google uses this method when it’s indexing and ranking content.
In an interview that has been widely cited by John Mueller from Google in April 2022, he’s asked if Google recognizes the distinction between whether a person or AI algorithm is responsible for the content. To which he replies “I can’t claim that.”
The interview generated a lot of attention and discussion due to the fact that John Muller also compared AI-generated content to being created automatically and therefore spam, which was the case previously by Google with regard to the Google Search Essentials.
As the name implies, AI-Generated Content refers to AI-generated content. The content can range from blogs, articles, essays, business plans and other written content to photos and music.
Often, content created by AI is difficult to distinguish from content already created by humans. Sometimes this may raise some ethical issues.
Although there is no body to regulate the use of AI, many algorithms and processes are being developed to detect the content generated through ChatGPT.
How Google Detects AI-Generated Content?
To answer the question, yes, Google can detect AI generated content… sort of! To be clear, we are going to focus mostly on the written content.
Google is constantly developing and modifying new algorithms to deal with the problem of AI-generated content.
Google uses advanced algorithms and machine learning methods to detect and evaluate the quality of content on websites. These algorithms are designed to identify and report low-quality or unwanted content, such as duplicate or machine-generated content.
It should be noted that content generated by GPT-4 and other AI language models such as ChatGPT, can often be detected as automated, and may be marked by Google’s algorithms. This is because the writing style, grammar, and sentence structure may not be as natural as human-generated content.
Using algorithms, Google can check how well the content is written, as well as the many inconsistencies and patterns that appear in the content generated by artificial intelligence. Google will search for sentences that are nonsensical to human readers but contain keywords. The company will also check content generated through random models and sequences such as Markov chains.
Google also checks content generated from scrapped RSS feeds. Content aggregated from various web pages without adding any tangible value will also be detected as AI generated content. Content generated through intentional obfuscation and symmetric substitution of words with synonyms will be identified as AI-generated content.
Basically, if it falls within a structure that can be determined by the algorithm, Google flags it.
However, while content written by older NLP models such as GPT-1 and GPT-2 are easier to detect, the newer GPT-3 & ChatGPT-4 is more advanced and harder to detect.
Google explains that the better it gets at detecting AI-generated content, the more creators of these tools will find ways to improve and circumvent the system.
There are tools that can also detect if content has been generated by AI Chatbot such as ChatGPT. They have a Chrome extension to detect AI content that provides free credits for you to check if the content you are reading is AI generated.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that any content created by AI models such as ChatGPT is reviewed and edited by someone before posting it on your website to ensure that it meets Google’s quality standards and policies.
In addition, it is also important to ensure that the site contains enough original and unique content, and that it is compliant with Google’s policies in terms of user experience, design, and mobility.
What Can You Do to Lower the Chances?
There are steps you can reduce the chances of your AI content being discovered by Google. With how advanced AI writers are, it doesn’t take much work to create AI-led content that spreads under Google’s radar.
All you need to do is make sure that the content is viewed and edited with the human eye. The content should be checked for correctness, spelled out, modified and revised for clarity, work on some personal features. It is important to add all the necessary information at the beginning as well since most AI tools need guidance and give clear instructions to produce the best content.
Don’t just write a phrase and then copy / paste the created content on your site without looking at it.
Why are search engines interested in AI-powered content detection?
In short, Google and other search engines want to offer the best search results to users and are constantly working to improve it. A major part of this optimization is to prevent spammy content from appearing.
This is because the quality of the automated content generated by various scripts has been extremely low and consists mainly of keywords and is intended to manipulate Google search results.
This is why Google is trying to detect this type of content so that it can be removed from the SERPs and maintain the integrity of its search results.
The goal was that by focusing on high-quality, human-generated content, Google could provide a better experience for its users and maintain its reputation as a search engine.
But with the rise of various new forms of AI (machine learning, GANs, or whatever we want to call them), marketers and authors now use them not only to generate endless spam content, but to create more.
That’s why the question of whether Google wants to distinguish between human-generated and AI content becomes less clear.
