Google’s major search update in March 2024 targets AI-generated “copycat content,” aiming to cut down on unhelpful, low-quality material by 40%. The update began with a wave of manual actions, causing some sites to be entirely removed from Google’s index.
After the update, Ian Nuttall, an SEO expert, shared that 837 of the 49,345 websites he tracked—around 1.7%—were completely deindexed. This affected sites on popular ad platforms like MediaVine, Raptive, and Ezoic. Platforms like MediaVine quickly adopted a strict No AI Content policy following these actions.
But how does Google detect AI content, and why should this matter to your brand?
What Exactly Is the Google March Core Update 2024?
Google has always focused on improving user experience, and the March core update follows this approach. It favors websites with high-quality, original content and a strong user experience.
The company announced plans to remove AI-generated content from search results and penalize those who publish low-quality material on high-reputation websites. Google explained it will adjust its core ranking systems to target three practices now labeled as spam: abusing site reputation, expired domains, and AI-generated content.
This means Google will take stronger action against content that adds little value and is designed just to manipulate search rankings. The new algorithm updates will help Google better identify web pages with poor user experiences, unhelpful content, or material created mainly for SEO rather than people. Google expects these updates to reduce unoriginal content and spam by 40% while driving traffic to more valuable and trustworthy sites.
Why AI-Generated Content Can’t Meet Google’s Quality Thresholds?
With tools like ChatGPT and Gemini emerging in recent years, there’s been a sharp rise in low-quality, low-effort content on search engines. ChatGPT gained a million users in its first month, largely because companies saw AI as a fast and cheap way to create content instead of hiring writers. This has led to a surge in using AI for SEO, with 76% of marketers using it to produce basic content. AI tools can also optimize content by adding the most relevant keywords.
So, why is Google targeting AI-generated content? For over a decade, Google has fought against SEO manipulation tactics like ‘article spinning,’ where lots of nearly identical content is produced to improve rankings. AI-generated content is the same issue, just on a larger scale—flooding Google with low-value content. Google’s ranking systems, including the Reviews and Helpful Content systems, have quality standards that AI content struggles to meet. The addition of “experience” to E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) also signals that using AI for content creation is risky.
In other words, relying on ChatGPT for content creation can lead to your content being removed from Google and your site’s SEO taking a hit.
What Will Happen If You Continue Using AI-Generated Content?
If your content doesn’t meet Google’s E-E-A-T standards or is flagged as AI-generated, you could face several issues:
- Penalties: Google is cracking down on low-quality, unoriginal content. Your content could be marked as spam or even removed from search results.
- Lower Search Rankings: Google’s goal is to prioritize high-quality, relevant content. Automated or low-quality content will be pushed down in rankings, making it harder for people to find your brand. The top search result gets a click-through rate (CTR) of 39.8%, while the second and third get 18.7% and 10.2% respectively. Less than 1% of people click on results on the second page.
- Ad Impact: If your content doesn’t meet Google’s standards, your ad performance and quality score could suffer.
How Google Identifies AI-Generated Content
Google released Self-Assessment Questions to help publishers evaluate whether their content meets its quality standards. These questions don’t point out specific ranking factors but focus on general ideas that high-quality websites typically follow.
We’ve gone through these for you and created a list of the elements Google analyses to distinguish between AI-generated and human-written content:
Language quality: Google may look at sentence structure, coherence, and overall flow. Poor logic and inconsistencies could signal AI-generated content. AI tends to follow patterns and often produces formulaic or repetitive language. Also, AI-generated content tends to lack personality, while human writing stands out with personal insights and unique perspectives. In fact, it won’t be too much to say that AI content can be dull. Content professionals can often spot an AI-written page, and so can sharp readers, leading to higher bounce rates and lower click-through rates (CTR).
Context and sources: Content that includes relevant information and credible sources is more likely to be human-written. AI often struggles with nuanced language, specific contexts, and cultural references.
Consistency: AI is very consistent, while human writing usually has more variety. For example, humans often use different synonyms, while AI might stick to the same word repeatedly.
Too perfect: Believe it or not, content can be “too perfect.” Humans tend to make small mistakes or use slightly awkward phrasing. If the content is overly polished with flawless grammar, it could be flagged as AI-generated.
Common AI phrases: AI tends to use certain phrases or sentence structures frequently. If your content regularly includes these, Google may notice it.
Fast content creation: Publishing large amounts of content in a short period can raise suspicion that AI is involved.
So, What Should Brands Do With Their Content?
To avoid being removed from search results, brands should focus on creating high-quality, audience-centered content that truly connects with and provides value to readers. Content should be designed to engage and meet the needs of people, not just search engines. It should address your audience’s questions, offer helpful advice, and leave them feeling informed and satisfied.
Google’s latest update highlights what has been clear for a while: AI-generated content isn’t a magic solution. Content teams need to prioritize producing meaningful, original work that showcases their unique expertise and knowledge. Anything less won’t make the cut.
The key to standing out is including data, insights, and perspectives that only your brand can offer.
Some of our top tips include:
- Share expert insights based on your own interests, qualifications, and education.
- Use your proprietary data to add credibility to your content.
- Ground your content in real-world experiences and stories that can’t be easily duplicated.
The best way to avoid penalties from Google is to work with human content writers-experts who understand how to satisfy Google’s algorithm while engaging your readers.
Fortunately, you’re in the right place! At Digitapult, our team of content specialists researches, writes, and optimizes content for our clients, improving rankings on Google, increasing visibility for your business, and providing a great experience for your audience.
Avoid relying on AI content-it’s more likely to harm your search visibility than help it. Click the link below to find the right content package for your business.
