Everyone is wondering if this is okay to do. Is it a waste of time? Will it hurt your website? Will you get penalized by Google Search?

Lots of questions to answer and here’s the main takeaway: YOU SHOULDN’T use AI to write all of your content.

AI for SEO content creation has been a game changer for marketers, but it works best when combined with, well, you. 

It’s a tricky question to answer: should you use AI to create SEO-optimized content? If you plan on using it to supplement your job, get at it! You may find it extremely useful.

If you plan to use AI to create all your SEO content and call it a day, you probably shouldn’t. 

Here’s why.

How NOT to Use AI for SEO Content Creation

You’ve seen the headlines, “I’ve grown my business by 1,000% YoY by automating content”. That’s all fine and dandy, however, this isn’t a strategy that will withstand time.

SEO AI tools are great, but it’s easy to get carried away if you’re not following best practices and just trying to churn out as much work as possible. 

Irresponsibly using AI for SEO content creation can actually double your workload. If that doesn’t sound like your end goal (hopefully, it doesn’t), here’s what you should avoid when using AI tools.

Churning Out Low-quality SEO Content Using AI

Using AI to mass-produce content might seem like a shortcut to filling your site with articles and climbing the ranks, but it’s a trap.

If your content is just a rehash of what’s already out there or lacks significant depth, Google will not be impressed. 

Remember, quality trumps quantity.

Ignoring Originality

AI will generate content in the blink of an eye, but if that content isn’t original, it’s not worth much. 

Google’s algorithms are smart enough to detect duplicate content, and using AI to spin articles or copy existing content will eventually get you penalized. You need to bring fresh perspectives to your ideas!

According to some sources, AI can indeed create plagiarized content. So if you’re looking for original and unique content, you’re most likely not going to get it from an AI tool like ChatGPT. Take the example of The New York Times suing OpenAI for plagiarism. It’s one thing to have a search engine against you, it’s an entirely different situation to be literally sued for using content that wasn’t yours.

Omitting The Human Touch

Let’s see ChatGPT use that beauty of a word.

AI can help with research and drafting, but it can’t replace the human touch. Think back to the last time you generated something with ChatGPT. It feels off, right?

It can try to replicate us as best as possible, but the voice often falls flat. Always review your AI-generated SEO content and add the human touch. Personal anecdotes, humor, and genuine/authentic advice will make your content stand out. 

Putting ALL Your Faith Into SEO AI-Generated Content

We’re not perfect, and as much as some might want you to believe it, neither is AI. It can sometimes produce factually incorrect or off-brand content, which can seriously harm your credibility if it goes unvetted.

Always fact-check your AI-generated content and cross-reference it.

How to Actually Use AI for SEO Content

Now that we’ve covered the don’ts, why don’t we look at some of the best ways to supplement your SEO using AI?

Speed Up the Research Process

Research is one of the most fun parts of being a marketer (depending on who you ask), but it’s extremely time-consuming. 

AI can generate responses to some of your burning questions in seconds, significantly cutting your research time. But remember to fact-check important information and statistics!

Editing and Proofreading

AI tools like Grammarly can also assist you in the editing and proofreading stages of content creation, catching small errors you may have missed after looking over your piece for the 4,000th time. 

But as with ChatGPT and fact-checking, always give your piece a final look-over to make sure it looks good since these tools can also make mistakes. 

Readability and Reworking

If you’re reading over something you wrote and don’t like how it sounds but can’t think about how to change it up, you can use AI to help!

Feed it the content in question and see if it can spit out something that improves readability. If anything, it can get close enough to something you like, and you can just modify that. 

Outlining and Structuring

If you’re antsy about starting writing, why not use AI to generate your content outlines? 

One of the best things you can do when using AI for SEO content creation is to have it do the “heavy lifting,” aka creating an outline and structuring your ideas.

Sometimes, the hardest part about writing is getting started; this is a great way to beat writer’s block!

Adam Enfroy talks about how you can use AI for SEO content creation to speed up your process by using these tools to create your first drafts ONLY. 

It’s a great video with a ton of great AI resources; we highly recommend you check it out!

He even covers Google’s Core Update, which we’ll talk about now!

Google’s View on Supporting SEO Using AI

Google has been pretty cut and clear on tackling SEO using AI: create content for people, not just to climb the search rankings. 

If you’re using AI for SEO content creation in the wrong ways — rehashing information or mass-producing word salads — you’re going to be penalized. 

Google’s advanced algorithms are pretty great at sniffing out low-quality content and pushing it down the SERPs in favor of high-quality, original, and optimized content.

And yes, we did use two Star Wars memes: it was too hard to pick one.

The Big Update

If you’re an SEO, March 6th, 2024, marked the beginning of a month-long migraine and your transition from marketer to emotional support human for your account managers and clients.
Google’s Core Update refined its core ranking systems to better identify and reduce “unhelpful content”. Content farms and websites that focused on trying to game the system to improve their SERP rankings saw massive declines. SERP volatility was insanely high during the entire next 30 days after the rollout started.

The rollout finally ended in April, and Google claims that search results will now contain 45% less low-quality, unoriginal content. 

SEO specialist and blogger Nina from She Knows SEO also wrote an article on the Core Update. In it, she surveyed how it affected bloggers and shared her thoughts on these new policies.

What Does The Update Mean for Marketers?

We all know now how useful AI can be when automating some of the “grunt work” in marketing, but it’s still a fine line you need to walk. 

From marketer to marketer, here are three huge nuggets of advice we can give you to stay on Google’s good side:

1. Create Value: Always prioritize the end user. You can use AI to build out the shell of your SEO content, but it needs to provide real value to the reader.
2. Be Original: It’s getting easier to tell when AI is being overused in SEO content creation. Whatever you do, don’t stop producing original content! Use AI to inspire you, not to do the work for you. 
3. Stay Up-to-date on New Policies: SEO AI rules will undoubtedly continue to change as we learn more about these technologies and as they evolve. Your best bet is to stay updated on new policies to prevent tanking your results by unknowingly violating them.

Look, AI is a fantastic tool for boosting your content creation process, but it’s not a silver bullet. While we should embrace and use it to iron out our workflow, it shouldn’t replace genuine, high-quality content creation. 

Keep your focus on delivering value, being original, and creating optimized content that connects with your audience, and the algorithm will reward you. 

That’s it, that’s the key!

Joseph Jones

Joseph is a fitness fanatic who found his way into SEO through trial and error. A wizard, a dog parent, and a Californian turned Coloradoan, he loves psychology as much as learning new marketing tactics.