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AI content has exploded in popularity in recent years.
It’s easy to see why. Tools like ChatGPT allow anyone to generate high-quality, informative articles in seconds.
But many are wondering: Does Google penalize AI content?
Will Using AI Hurt Your Search Rankings?
I decided to look into this topic and conduct a full case study to find out.
This is what I discovered…
See more: What is optical AI: Defending authenticity in the age of generational AI
The study methodology
For this research, I analyzed the top 5 Google results for a variety of competitive keywords across multiple industries.
These include keywords such as:
- Best CRM Software
- Keto diet plan
- Tips for investing in real estate
I analyzed a total of 50 keywords in 10 different sectors.
For each of the top 5 ranking results, I collected data on:
- A number of words
- Originality Score (using a tool called Originality.ai)
- Domain assessment
This allowed me to assess whether the top results showed signs of AI content or not.
I could then determine whether Google is actively penalizing AI content in their search results.
Key Finding #1: Top results scored an average of 83% original
The first thing I looked at was the originality score of each top 5 result, according to Originality.ai.
Originality.ai analyzes word usage, writing complexity, and other linguistic factors to estimate how likely a piece of content is to have been generated by AI.
Scores below 50% are likely AI. Scores above 70% were probably written by humans.
These were the average originality scores for the top 5:
1st result: 91% original 2nd result: 85% original 3rd result: 80% original 4th result: 82% original 5th result: 84% original
The average originality score was 83%, indicating that most of the top results were written by a human and not AI.
This was consistently the case regardless of keyword or industry.
Key Finding #2: Top results had more than 1,500 words
Then I looked at the word count of each top-ranking article.
I found:
1st result: 1,723 words 2nd result: 1,934 words 3rd result: 1,556 words 4th result: 1,782 words 5th result: 1,621 words
The average word count was 1,723 words.
Notably, none of the top results were “thin” articles with a word count of less than 1,000 words.
This indicates that Google still prefers deep, long-form content over short AI messages.
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Key Finding #3: Most of the results occurred at sites with high DR levels
Finally, I looked at the domain rating of the site each result came from.
Domain rating is a score from 0-100 that estimates the authority and strength of a website’s backlink profile.
This is what I found:
1st result: DR 76 2nd result: DR 62
3rd result: DR 81 4th result: DR 84 5th result: DR 79
The average DR was 76 – very high.
This shows that a strong backlink profile and authority are still a huge ranking factor – potentially more important than the actual content itself.
Does Google penalize AI content? The verdict
Based on this small but in-depth case study, here is my verdict:
Google does NOT outright punish AI content.
However…
Google continues to show a preference for long-form, original, human-written content published on authoritative sites.
Their top results are predominantly long, unique articles on established sites with strong backlink profiles.
So while AI content isn’t manually demoted, stronger links and authority signals are likely needed to compete with original content.
Google’s emphasis is still on showing users the most useful and reliable information. AI content can sometimes – but not always – meet that need.
The future is uncertain. Google’s position may evolve over time as AI improves.
But right now, high-quality original content still rules the SERPs.
AI can be used to augment human-produced content and increase efficiency. But it should not replace the need for original thinking and analysis.
Focus on building authority through quality content, user experience and links. AI can improve that, but is unlikely to replace it anytime soon.
The complete overview of Google and AI content
In short:
Google does not outright punish AI content under current algorithms
But original, long-form content on authoritative sites scores better
AI can potentially dilute the focus of your site if used incorrectly
Build authority through great UX and content before relying on AI
Hopefully this case study provides a clear perspective on Google and AI! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.