AI-Generated Content Not Against Its Policies: Google Clarifies
As AI tools become popular, content creation is a use case for them. Discover Google’s stance on publishing AI-generated content.
As ChatGPT and other AI tools become popular, content creation is a major use case for them. However, what does Google think about publishing AI-generated content? The search engine giant has recently clarified its stance on the subject.
ChatGPT has been all the rage ever since it was launched. It has found many use cases and case studies within a few days. One use case for ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) in general is writing content. In fact, several Ai content writing tools, such as Jasper and Writer, already exist in the market and will get only better. But what does Google think about AI-generated content? What is the impact of such content on search engine optimization (SEO)?
In a recent post, Google confirmed that AI-generated content is not against its search engine guidelines. The search engine giant also published its guidance for AI-generated content.
A Reversal of Its Earlier Stand?
This latest update seems to be a reversal of its last year’s stand on AI-generated content being against its guidelines. Google was said to be developing tools that could detect AI output. It was further reported that if Google’s webspam team happened to find AI-generated content, it was authorized to take action. So, what does the new post mean for content creators?
Google Clarifies Its Stand
In its latest post on the subject, Google clarified that the search engine aimed to reward high-quality content irrespective of how it was generated. It further said that while using automation to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating search engine rankings violates its spam policies, AI-generated content can still help create helpful and high-quality content.
The blog post said, ”When it comes to automatically generated content, our guidance has been consistent for years. Using automation — including AI — to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.”
“This said, it’s important to recognize that not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam. Automation has long been used 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 to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web. This is in line with how we’ve always thought about empowering people with new technologies,” it further said.
In the same post, Google explicitly mentioned that the appropriate use of automation or AI is not against its guidelines.
This means that using AI or ChatGPT to generate SEO-optimized junk will still be considered spam and attract penalties. However, content creators can leverage the same automation/AI tools to create high-quality content for readers.
See more: Google Is Rolling Out Its September 2022 Broad Core Update
Google Recommends AI/Automation Disclosures
In its post, the search engine giant also recommended adding automation or AI disclosures to the written content though it is not necessary. Simultaneously, it also recommended using them only when it would be reasonably expected. That said, Google advises against giving AI an author byline.
The Verdict
Using AI content generation tools is not against Google’s policies. However, avoid publishing automatically-generated SEO-optimized content from AI/automation tools. Instead, leverage them to create only the essential parts of your content, review them, and then use the content to create high-quality and helpful posts for your audience.
Do you plan to use AI tools or ChatGPT to create content? How do you plan to use them in compliance with Google’s policies? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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