Google has long been an advocate of using AI to transform the ability to deliver helpful information. In a recent blog post, the company shared its approach to AI-generated content and how it fits into their long-standing focus on delivering high-quality content to users.
Google’s ranking systems aim to reward original, high-quality content that demonstrates qualities of expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, collectively known as E-E-A-T. This focus on content quality has helped Google deliver reliable, high-quality results to users for years.
The company’s helpful content system, introduced last year, was designed to ensure that people searching for information receive content created primarily for people, rather than for search ranking purposes.
Google is committed to rewarding quality content, regardless of how it is produced. The company believes that focusing on rewarding quality content has been core to its mission since its inception. When there were concerns about a rise in mass-produced but human-generated content a decade ago, Google didn’t declare a ban on all human-generated content. Instead, the company improved its systems to reward quality content.
In terms of AI-generated content, Google’s guidance has been consistent for years. Using automation or AI to manipulate search rankings is a violation of the company’s spam policies. However, not all use of automation or AI is spam. Automation has been used for years to generate helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts.
AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity and can serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.
According to the blog post, “AI can assist with and generate useful content in exciting new ways.” The company also stated that appropriate use of AI or automation is not against its guidelines. Therefore, it can be used to generate content that is not primarily intended to manipulate search rankings.
Anti-Spam
Google’s spam-fighting efforts, including its SpamBrain system, will continue to tackle spam regardless of its source. The company has existing systems in place to determine the helpfulness of content, and other systems work to elevate original news reporting. These systems will continue to be regularly improved to ensure that poor-quality content doesn’t dominate search results.
On topics where information quality is critical, such as health, civic, or financial information, Google’s systems place even greater emphasis on signals of reliability. These signals help Google surface high-quality information from reliable sources and avoid information that contradicts established consensus on important topics.
Original and Helpful Content Is Key
For content creators considering AI-generation, Google recommends producing original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates the qualities of E-E-A-T.
The company has updated its guidance on thinking in terms of Who, How, and Why in relation to how content is produced.
Evaluating content in this way, whether using AI-generated content or not, will help content creators stay on course with what Google’s systems seek to reward. While AI can be an essential way to help produce helpful and original content, using it as an inexpensive, easy way to manipulate search rankings is not recommended.
People-First Content
While AI can be a powerful tool for content creation, it must be used appropriately and with the aim of producing helpful, reliable, and people-first content. By doing so, content creators can stay on course with what Google’s systems seek to reward and deliver reliable, high-quality information to users.