AI-generated content within Google search results
Google has issued a statement outlining its approach to AI-generated content within search results, emphasizing its focus on rewarding high-quality content regardless of whether it is created by humans or machines.
EEAT
The company's ranking systems are designed to identify and prioritize content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). Google advises content creators to produce original, high-quality, people-centric content that showcases E-E-A-T if they want to succeed in search results.
To provide guidance on content evaluation, Google has updated its "Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content" help page, which now emphasizes evaluating content based on the principles of "Who, How, and Why."
Google's approach to ranking high-quality content in search results prioritizes quality over the method of production. This has been a foundational aspect of Google's ranking system for many years. While there were concerns about mass-produced human-generated content in the past, Google chose to improve its systems rather than banning such content outright.
Artificial-Intelligence Generated Content
Automation and AI-generated content can be beneficial, but using them to manipulate search rankings violates Google's spam policies. Google's spam-fighting efforts, including the SpamBrain system, are dedicated to combating such practices. However, Google acknowledges that not all automation and AI-generated content is spam and is committed to taking a responsible approach in dealing with it.
Publishers & Website Owners
For publishers considering AI-generated content, Google provides advice. The concept of E-E-A-T is explained in the updated "Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content" help page. Publishers are encouraged to consider the "Who, How, and Why" aspects of content production. Providing clear information about the content creator ("Who") through a byline or author background is important. Disclosing the method of content creation ("How"), including any involvement of automation or AI, is helpful for readers. Furthermore, explaining the purpose of creating content ("Why"), which should be to assist users rather than manipulate search rankings, is essential.
By evaluating content based on these criteria, regardless of whether it is AI-generated or not, publishers can align with Google's system and increase their chances of being rewarded in search results.