Google Cracks Down on AI: What it Means for Search Results
Some of us have been using AI content writing tools for some time. For myself, I’ve been using it for just over a year now and one of the things I’ve been paying close attention to is what developments are being made against search rankings with AI created content.
Just like great speaking sessions at any event, Content is King. Quality is Queen.
The same applies to search results and AI.
Google algorithm update
Earlier this year, Google announced an algorithm update that intended to address AI generated content and help it deliver “real” results to it’s searchers.
You can read the full update here, but one headline stands out above most, for me: “Focus on People First Content”
What is Google looking for
Firstly, just to clarify, I’m not a search expert. I’ve been learning heavily about it over the last few years and what makes an impact to search results with written content, but it’s clear from these release notes what they are looking for and what is likely to help get you search related results, in relation to AI generated content.
We’ll come on to how to use AI to support as opposed to overtake your creative content skill set later on, but let’s look at some of the basics first.
Answering yes to the questions below means you're probably on the right track with a people-first approach:
Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?
Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)?
Does your site have a primary purpose or focus or are you spamming on any topic?
After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they've learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they've had a satisfying experience?
Are you keeping in mind Google’s guidance for core updates and for product reviews?
Cracking down on AI
So Google is addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to cracking down on AI powered search results.
The search giant has had to take steps to deal with the widespread misuse of AI in an effort to game their system and increase visibility – often resulting in poor quality content or ranking manipulation. This "AI crackdown" means any sites using algorithmic methods or machine learning techniques to enhance their SEO rankings could now find themselves penalised by Google.
Specifically, Google is targeting AI-driven content such as auto-generated blog posts and articles that are designed to game their algorithms.
I believe the goal of this is that these changes will lead to more authentic content gaining visibility in time, over “bot generated’ content of our future.
Google's crackdown on AI is a clear sign that they want to prioritize quality over quantity when it comes to search engine results pages (SERPs).
They are striving to make sure all websites adhere to the same rules, no matter how sophisticated the tools used are in creating content or optimizing for search engine rankings.
So how do you use AI properly in your writing?
Well, the simple answer is – with caution.
There are a lot of misconceptions about what AI can actually do for your writing, and it’s important to use it in conjunction with human skills if you want to see results.
Here’s some tips I use when using AI in written content creation.
Use AI to unblock writers block
You can use AI platforms like Jasper or ChatGPT to help you become unstuck, if you’ve got writers block.
For example, if you know what you want to say, but aren’t sure how to say it, you can put those short points into your AI content generator and it could give you a sentence or paragraph to help you get started. Remember, for best results, you should then re-personalise what the AI has generated.
Use AI to provide blog title ideas
Another way that AI can be useful is in suggesting potential topics for your writing.
For example, if you’re responsible for content for your event or product and are struggling to find new things to write about, an AI tool could help by scanning the web and identifying potential topics or trending content that might resonate with your audience.
For better search related terms you should absolutely use some sort of SERP analysis or Google’s own search console (we also like Answer the Public) for keyword research to help you build out a more relevant content calendar.
I used Jasper for this example below, asking it for some “heading ideas on tips for how to write AI content that support human content creation”. Here’s the results:
1. Tips for Creating AI Content That Enhances Human Writing
2. How to Write AI Content That Supports Human Content Creation
3. Strategies for Crafting Engaging AI Content That Appeals To Humans
4. Keys To Making AI Content Supportive of Human Creativity
5. Ways To Write AI Content That Complements Human Writing
For what it’s worth, today, I’m not actually going to be using them, as I’ve got some of my own tips that have helped me that I want to share with you, but you can hopefully see there is benefit to these AI tools supporting your event content creation.
Use AI for content heading ideas
With these potential blog post titles, I can then ask it for say a “list of blog headings about “strategies for crafting engaging AI content that appeals to humans”
This is what Jasper told me:
1. Using Human Language To Create Engaging AI Content
2. Understanding Your Audience: Who is Your AI Content Aimed At?
3. The Power of Storytelling With Artificial Intelligence
4. Strategies for Embracing Originality When Crafting AI Content
5. Crafting Conversational AI Content That Engages and Comforts Users
6. Utilizing Design Principles to Enhance Human-Centric AI Content
7. Creating Interactive Experiences with Immersive AI Content
8. Maximizing the Use of Visuals in AI Content Creation
If I’d been using this method in my own content creation, I’d probably delete half of them and reword the rest of them based on some SEO analysis, but also my own personal intent - what I want people to learn or feel when they’ve read this article. Hopefully you can see however, that this gives you lots of ideas to start generating content.
Use AI to enhance your content
That was a decent section on how to come up with blog title and content ideas, but you can also use AI platforms to enhance your content as well.
For example, various tools like Grammarly or Hemingway App can go through your text and highlight grammatical, spelling or other writing issues that could help improve the quality of your content.
There are even modules that allow you to create content “for a five year old” so that you can reword your written content to make it super simple and easily explainable (this feature is in Jasper).
Reword and rework your content
Not only can you improve on grammar and layout of your content with AI tools, but you can also rework it. For example, you may have written a paragraph but you’re not happy with how you’ve written it. You’re then struggling to figure out how to reword it. A bit like this one actually - I feel it’s a bit waffled and needs to get to the point more quickly!
Here’s what Jasper did for me on the above paragraph. Is it better? I’ll let you decide.
Improve your content beyond grammar and layout with AI tools! Don't waste time reworking the same paragraph--Jasper can help you make it succinct and to-the-point. Get creative with Jasper, especially when telling a story that needs more pizazz!
Ok, so I never use the word pizazz in my writing, ever and I think this copy is a bit salesy if I’m honest (is it biased to writing about itself? Maybe…), but it did do what I asked it to do, which is ditch all the waffle and I can now rewrite it to “my” language.
Racial Bias in AI
You have to be very careful with what you automatically publish if you don’t look at the results properly before you upload to your website or blog, LinkedIn etc. As in my 2022 Article title Are you worried about AI we talk about this and Parry Malm (CEO at Phrasee) article on racial bias too. Essentially, be careful!
Don’t trust the facts
The facts that are pooled from all of these AI platforms, should not be trusted. If you’re writing a factually accurate article, you need to check the facts yourself.
For example, I’m going to ask Jasper for the number of people living in the UK with a disability.
Here’s what it said:
According to recent estimates, over 12 million people in the UK live with some form of disability. This accounts for almost one fifth of the total population. Of those 12 million, 5 million people are considered to have a "substantial" or "severe" disability which affects their daily living activities
Doing my own research, according to disabled charity Scope and a number of other sources, the answer is 14.6 million.
Even that “simple” statistic is out likely because the AI platform was scouring the web from results pre 2019 or so.
Trust your own intuition when it comes to verifying the accuracy of facts, and don’t rely on AI tools to do all of the heavy lifting for you. Instead, use these tools as a starting point or guide, and then verify everything yourself before publishing any content that matters.
Using AI in content creation effectively
Overall, using AI in your content creation process can be a great way to make your content more engaging, easy to read, and optimized for different platforms and help you unblock writers block.
There are many different AI tools that you can use for a variety of purposes, from revising the grammar or layout of your text, to reworking entire articles based on specific writing recommendations or feedback too.
Just be sure to carefully review all of the results you get back from your AI tools, and trust your own intuition instead of blindly accepting whatever facts or statistics they spit out.
With these tips in mind, you can start using AI to improve the quality and effectiveness of your content today. If you want a hand to get started (or a bonus link to receive more credits), drop me a line.