How AI May Be Damaging to SEO 

The meteoric rise of AI-generated content is changing how we work, live and go to school. With a few simple prompts, AI generators such as Chat GPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot can create content, videos and graphics that convey a point or answer a question in no time at all. 

While AI has become more and more mainstream and there are certainly benefits to efficiency and productivity when using these features, there are also some potentially damaging consequences when it comes to SEO for your website. 

The question on every marketer’s mind as AI continues to transform the world of digital marketing is whether the convenience of using AI could be damaging to the rankings of search engines such as Google. 

A Little Background on Search Engines and Rankings 

Part of the way that search engines, like Google, work to rank your site and the pages on that site include E-E-A-T Guidelines. According to SEM Rush, E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness and is used to evaluate the quality of search results.

In the world of SEO, quality does matter! In fact, Google emphasizes the significance of high-quality, accurate, and user-friendly content. SEO ranking may plummet if the content does not show those E-E-A-T characteristics and is deemed inaccurate, lacking originality or authoritativeness. Worse yet, inauthentic content that is not found to be of high quality may get a Google Spam Penalty causing your page or site to suffer in rankings. 

What’s So Bad About AI-Generated Content? 

Sure, AI content is fast, easy and a huge time saver especially when writing. But AI-generated content is not always of the best quality, causing your SEO ranking to tank. Here are a few reasons why your AI content may be doing more harm than good. 

Inaccurate Information 

Even the best AI tools can find or create information that is not true or comes from a faulty or unreliable search of online information. In our world of fake news, the last thing a business needs is to publish facts, figures, statistics or data that is inaccurate or comes from unverified sources. 

Content Lacks Originality 

The way that AI tools work is by pulling information from other internet pages. These pages could be years old or found to be completely inaccurate. Or, worse yet, your AI generator could plagiarize information from existing sources online. Not only is this a legal risk but also could alert search engines that the copy is not unique and thus hurt your SEO performance. 

Lacks A Unique Voice 

If your site is reliant on dynamic content, your brand has probably created a voice, tone or personality in the writing. AI-generated writing lacks that unique voice that you have created over the years. 

Engaging content is what draws readers to return to a site and what makes your brand one-of-a-kind. Without a genuine voice or personality, readers may click off your site causing your SEO to be negatively impacted. Remember, the longer your visitor dwells on your site the better for your SEO!

No New Ideas In Content 

Since AI relies on existing content, no new ideas can be generated or shared with readers. That lack of innovation could make your brand seem stale and outdated and will hurt your SEO performance in the long run. 

Consider carefully the distinct disadvantages of using AI content on your site. It may cause a drop in SEO performance and ranking. Content has always been king and maintaining your authority in the digital market may mean not relying on artificial intelligence. The future of AI in marketing and content creation may be evolving so continue to return to Sperling Interactive for up-to-date information on this emerging technology and how it may impact your SEO.