The company insists it is not targeting content produced by any specific method, but is concerned with the quality and helpfulness of a webpage. However, it is unclear how much of the newly promoted content is AI-generated. Google maintains that content built solely for ranking high in search results will be punished, but it no longer blocks AI content that passes its quality tests. This has led to concerns that an influx of machine-generated content is imminent, with Google seemingly having few safeguards in place.
Key takeaways:
- Google's recent 'helpful content' update has caused concern among website owners, as it has led to significant drops in traffic and ranking for some sites.
- The update allows for AI-generated content, removing the previous requirement for human authorship, which has led to fears of an influx of machine-generated content.
- Google maintains that the quality and helpfulness of content is the primary concern, not the method of production, and that content created solely for ranking purposes will be penalized.
- However, distinguishing between human and AI-generated content is currently impossible, leading to concerns about the future of content creation and search engine optimization.