Is AI generated content good for SEO? A realistic look at what works

A common question for marketers today is: Is AI content a valuable tool for SEO, or is it a fast track to a Google penalty? With discussions around recent policy updates, the topic can seem complex.

The short answer is that it's nuanced. AI-generated content can be beneficial for SEO, but with an important condition. It works best as a starting point for high-quality, helpful content that a human has reviewed, refined, and enhanced with their expertise. Google's primary concern is not how content is created, but whether it serves the reader's needs.

This guide will clarify the situation. We will explore what Google's March 2024 update means, define "scaled content abuse," and explain how to use AI to improve traffic without violating guidelines. We will also look at how tools like the eesel AI blog writer are designed to create complete posts that appeal to both search engines and human readers.

What is AI generated content?

First, let's define the term. AI-generated content is any text, image, or video created by machine learning models, such as Large Language Models (LLMs). These models are trained on vast amounts of internet data, allowing them to identify patterns and generate new material based on their training.

How you use AI content determines its effectiveness. There are three main approaches:

• AI-Generated, Human-Refined: This is the recommended approach. An AI model creates a first draft, and a human expert then fact-checks, adds unique insights, and refines the text. This is the method we advocate for.
• AI-Assisted: In this model, a human performs the majority of the writing but uses AI for tasks like brainstorming titles, creating outlines, or rephrasing sentences. The AI acts as a writing assistant.
• AI-Automated: This approach carries significant risk. It involves producing large volumes of content with minimal or no human review. The focus is on quantity over quality, which is what Google considers spam.

Google's official stance on AI-generated content

There is a lot of misinformation available, so it is important to understand Google's official position. A clear understanding helps in building a strategy that avoids future penalties.

Focus on helpful content, not how it's made

Google's main objective has always been to reward content created for people, not for search algorithms. Its systems are designed to identify and promote original, high-quality content that demonstrates E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

If your content meets these criteria, Google is indifferent to whether it was written by a human or an AI. Google has stated that using automation to create helpful content is not a new concept and has been acceptable for years, such as with automated sports scores or weather forecasts. As mentioned in a blog post for creators, the focus is on content quality, not the production method. The value provided to the user is the key metric.

The March 2024 update and "scaled content abuse"

The situation became clearer in March 2024 when Google released a major core update. The company updated its spam policy, shifting the focus from "automatically-generated spammy content" to the broader term "scaled content abuse."

This is a significant change. The new policy is not limited to AI content. It targets the tactic of creating large volumes of unoriginal content that provides little value, regardless of whether it was produced by AI, humans, or a combination.

The primary factor Google considers is the intent to manipulate search rankings. Publishing hundreds of thin, low-value pages solely to target keywords is a violation of their spam rules. It's a clear signal against the "quantity over quality" playbook. Google stated it expects this update to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 45%.

The pitfalls of using AI for SEO content

If Google is technically neutral about AI content, why are some websites being penalized? It is because a poorly executed AI content strategy can fall into the traps Google's guidelines are designed to prevent. Here's where challenges can arise.

It can be factually inaccurate

AI models can "hallucinate," meaning they sometimes generate incorrect information. They can state false facts with confidence, invent statistics, and cite non-existent sources. Publishing this content without verification can mislead your audience and damage your site's credibility. This negatively impacts the 'T' in E-E-A-T and can cause rankings to drop.

It often lacks originality and true expertise

Since LLMs are trained on existing internet data, their output is often a summary of what has already been published. This "consensus content" rarely offers a new perspective or first-hand experience. This is the opposite of what Google aims to promote. Without a fresh angle, your content becomes part of the noise, making it difficult to rank for competitive terms.

I was right, all the content, no matter if they said they edited it heavily or not, was garbage. Useless for my purposes because it just rehashed and regurgitated generic dating/seduction/pickup advice from the internet, without adding any new value. Something that a real dating coach could add from their personal experience.

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It fails to connect on a human level

AI often struggles with expressing genuine emotion, humor, storytelling, or capturing a distinct brand voice. This can result in robotic content that fails to engage readers. When visitors land on a page and leave quickly, these high bounce rates signal to Google that your content is not meeting user needs, which can negatively affect your SEO.

It risks penalties for scaled content abuse

If you use AI to generate a large volume of unedited, low-value articles to populate your blog, you are engaging in the practice that Google's "scaled content abuse" policy aims to prevent. The consequences can be severe. Websites engaging in this practice have experienced significant traffic loss or have been de-indexed by Google entirely. It is a clear indication that a volume-based strategy is not viable in 2026.

Best practices for using AI in your SEO strategy

The good news is that you can use AI to improve your SEO without being penalized by following a smart approach. Here is how to do it correctly.

Treat AI as an assistant, not an author

The most effective content strategies today combine AI capabilities with human talent. Use AI for what it does best: performing heavy-lifting tasks. Let it assist with brainstorming ideas, conducting initial research, and generating a first draft or outline. This can save a significant amount of time.

AI content works fine; you just need to put some human effort into making it more useful and high quality.

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However, the final content must be shaped by a human expert. Your role is to take the AI-generated draft, verify every fact, add your unique experiences, and edit it to match your brand's voice. The AI provides the raw material; the human provides the value.

Optimize for the future with Answer engine optimization (AEO)

The way people search is changing. The trend is moving from lists of links toward direct answers from "answer engines" like Google's AI Overviews and chatbots like ChatGPT. The goal is now not just to rank but to be the source of the answer.

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of organic search traffic will be displaced by these AI-powered answer engines. This is where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) becomes important. It involves structuring your content with clear Q&A formats, using schema markup, and providing direct, concise answers that AI can easily parse and cite.

Use a tool built for quality, not just quantity

Not all AI writers are the same. Basic tools like ChatGPT are suitable for simple tasks, but they may produce generic text. For more advanced needs, a platform designed specifically for high-quality content can be beneficial.

The eesel AI blog writer is designed to create complete, publish-ready blog posts from a single keyword. We know this approach works because we used it to grow our own daily impressions from 700 to over 750,000 in just three months.

It is designed to address common issues with AI content:

• Creating Automatic Assets: It generates relevant images, infographics, and tables directly within the article, making the content more engaging.
• Adding Authentic Social Proof: It automatically finds and embeds relevant YouTube videos and real quotes from Reddit threads, adding genuine "Experience" and "Expertise" signals that align with Google's E-E-A-T guidelines.
• Conducting Deep Research with Citations: It includes internal and external links to support its claims, which increases the article's trustworthiness and authority.
• Optimizing for AEO: It structures content with FAQs and clear headings, making it easier for answer engines like Google AI Overviews to find and feature your work.

This approach provides a tool where quality, E-E-A-T, and AEO are integrated into the workflow.

To see these principles in action, it's helpful to look at real-world case studies. The following video explores a recent SEO case study that examines whether Google actually penalizes AI-generated content and what factors contribute to successful ranking.

A case study from SEO expert Nathan Gotch exploring if AI-generated content is good for SEO and how Google's policies affect it.

The winning formula for AI and SEO

To return to the original question: is AI-generated content good for SEO? Yes, it can be, but with a critical condition: it must be used as a tool to help human experts create high-quality content more efficiently.

The future of content marketing involves collaboration between AI and humans. Combining the speed of AI drafting with the strategic oversight, creativity, and knowledge of a human editor allows you to get the best of both worlds. You can build a content system that consistently produces articles that rank well, connect with your audience, and drive business results.

To see how a purpose-built AI content platform works, you can generate your first complete blog post for free with the eesel AI blog writer and experience the difference.