You’ve heard of SEO.
You’ve heard of AEO.
You’ve probably heard of GEO.
Now we’d like to introduce another acronym:
GOGB.
Garbage Out. Garbage Buried.
Okay, we made that one up.
But the problem behind it is very real.
Does Google Hate AI-Generated Content?
No.
And that’s an important distinction.
Recent research from Ahrefs analyzed hundreds of thousands of web pages to examine how AI-generated content performs in Google Search.
The research found that pages containing greater amounts of AI-generated content tended to rank somewhat lower.
That does not mean Google automatically penalizes a page simply because AI helped create it.
The much more useful takeaway is about content quality.
AI is a tool.
The problem begins when businesses use that tool to mass-produce generic content that contributes little or nothing useful.
Google Doesn’t Need Another 1,000 Words of Generic AI Garbage
The arrival of generative AI made producing content incredibly easy.
Need a 1,000-word blog post?
Push a button.
Need five more?
Push it again.
But the ability to produce more words doesn’t necessarily mean you’re producing more value.
A business shouldn’t publish an article simply because someone said, “You need to blog more.”
Your content should have a reason to exist.
Does it answer a question your customers actually ask?
Does it solve a problem?
Does it explain something people frequently misunderstand?
Does it provide information based on your actual experience?
Does it demonstrate expertise that someone couldn’t get from another generic article?
If the answer is no, publishing another thousand words isn’t necessarily helping anyone.
Welcome to the Google Kitty Litter Box
Here’s our less-than-scientific way of describing what can happen to low-value content.
Google doesn’t need more garbage.
And if the content isn’t useful enough to earn meaningful visibility, it can effectively become buried among the enormous amount of content already competing for attention.
Or, as we put it on The AI Search Briefing:
Google may toss it into the Google kitty litter box and bury it before it starts to stink.
Meow.
Don’t Stop Using AI
This is where businesses can easily take the wrong lesson from research about AI-generated content.
The answer isn’t:
Stop using AI.
AI can be an extremely useful content tool.
Use it to organize your thoughts.
Use it to identify questions worth answering.
Use it to improve clarity.
Use it to brainstorm.
Use it to help transform your knowledge into useful articles, FAQs, videos, social posts, and other content.
But don’t expect AI to replace what you know.
Your experience matters.
Your customers’ questions matter.
Your examples matter.
Your opinions and observations matter.
Your expertise matters.
You’re the Expert
Imagine a carpet cleaner who has spent 25 years removing difficult stains.
A dentist who has answered thousands of questions from nervous patients.
A realtor who understands the neighborhoods they serve.
A drain-cleaning company that has encountered almost every kind of clogged sewer line imaginable.
AI doesn’t have those experiences.
The business does.
That’s the material worth turning into content.
AI can help communicate that expertise, but the expertise needs to come from somewhere.
Create Something Worth Finding
Before publishing your next piece of content, ask a simple question:
Am I giving somebody something worth knowing?
If the answer is yes, develop it.
Make it useful.
Make it accurate.
Add your experience.
Answer the question thoroughly.
And yes, let AI help you communicate it effectively.
But don’t publish generic content simply because publishing content is easy.
Otherwise…
GOGB.
Garbage Out. Garbage Buried.
Need help getting out of the Google Kitty Litter Box? Let us know!
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