The central battleground for this issue is "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO). SEO professionals help websites improve their ranking in search results, using tactics ranging from official Google trend analysis to more dubious tricks to game the system. The introduction of generative AI has made this process faster, leading to what some are calling "SEO on steroids." This incident has led to a backlash, with critics arguing that it poses a significant threat to Google and the integrity of search results.
Key takeaways:
- Website Exceljet was the victim of an AI-powered "SEO heist" in which a marketer used AI to clone thousands of the site's articles for a competitor, leading to a significant drop in traffic for Exceljet.
- The incident raises questions about the future of the internet and the role of Google, as AI can now generate content on any topic, making it difficult to distinguish between human and machine-produced content.
- Google does not penalize AI-generated content in its search results as long as it is deemed useful to users, but it does not allow the use of AI primarily to manipulate search rankings.
- While Google is developing its own AI models to produce automated text and information, media companies are also experimenting with AI tools, despite some instances of factual errors in AI-generated stories.