Google previously said it ranked content in search results to prioritize work created by humans as opposed to artificial intelligence. That’s no longer the case.
The search giant continued the rollout of its Helpful Content Update last week and replaced the words “content written by people” with “content created for people” in its documentation, as noted by Stack Diary. The change implies that Google – makers of AI technology itself – recognizes the growing role AI is playing in content creation. It also suggests it believes detecting AI content is – or soon will be – impossible to do anyway.
The change follows Google’s announcement in February that it will promote AI-generated content in search results – as long as it is of a high standard.
It’s a change that brand publishers should be cognizant of. Last year, when Google began rolling out its Helpful Content Update we noted that it was just the beginning of an industry-wide move to prioritize quality over clickbait, content that is in sync with what human beings desire. That’s still the case – but who or what actually produces the content may no longer have a significant bearing on how well it ranks in search results.
Last year’s update didn’t seem to affect brand publishers much: data from three separate sources showed either no change or small increases in search traffic to brand publisher sites following the update.
It remains to be seen what the latest tweak will mean for brand publishers, which have been more open than “traditional” publishers to experimentation with AI solutions that help with the ideation, creation, and distribution of content. Many are already dabbling with using one (or more) of the thousands of AI tools out there to figure out if they can help make workflows more efficient or make their content more high quality, at a cheaper cost.
Still, some websites have seen their search rankings plummet since the change was introduced. As Business Insider reports, some have seen AI-generated content overtake them in search results, even if it’s deemed by some as poorer quality than what they’re producing.
Google’s stance on the subject is that content will continue to be prioritized based on its quality. Google’s John Mueller, looking at a site that complained it was dropping in search rankings, said on X: “I think you should focus on unique, compelling, high-quality content that adds to the web. As you have it now, it looks like a compilation of ChatGPT output on topics that tons of sites have already covered.”