ChatGPT is no doubt the most well-known of all AI tools, but it isn\u2019t the only one used for SEO content. There are over two dozen prominent AI content writing tools, with more coming into existence every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These tools reduce the time, effort, and expense involved in creating content, so pretty much anybody with an internet connection can now create an article or a blog post (however good or bad). So, there\u2019s an explosion in the volume of content, the likes of which the world has never seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs more and more people are realizing, however, the more ubiquitous a commodity, the less valuable it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s bust the myth that AI-generated content is inherently inferior to human-created content. Even before the rise of AI tools, well-written content was the exception, not the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, some of the most popular SEO gurus on YouTube have made a living off of recommending that people just copy the structure of top-ranking articles on Google and consolidate them into a massive post to outrank others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s the problem with this approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other than the fact that it mostly doesn\u2019t work, there\u2019s also the fact that it relies entirely on consensus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overlap with consensus certainly does matter (an article about the most important sightseeing spots in Rome is unlikely to rank #1 if it doesn\u2019t even mention the Colosseum), but merely agreeing isn\u2019t enough. Adding new and valuable information to the topic is also crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google has long had ways to detect whether an article adds new value to a topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the biggest weakness of AI tools. And ironically, it\u2019s the same weakness that mediocre human writers have always had: they have nothing uniquely valuable to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI tools like ChatGPT can help synthesize consensus quickly, but they cannot (as of now) add original insights \u2014 at least, not without extensive handholding and guidance from a skilled human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (There is a way to get around this, but we\u2019ll get to that later.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way people find content is also changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has important implications for your SEO strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bing has already integrated ChatGPT into its search engine for months now, and Google has unveiled its generative search experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI-generated search results are likely to increase the prevalence of zero-click searches, where users find what they need without leaving the search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t new; zero-click searches have been growing over the years; features like local packs, \u2018People Also Ask\u2019, featured snippets, and knowledge panels, have all reduced the need for users to click through to websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But AI-synthesized search results will take this to the next level, with super personalized, natural-language results that directly answer the specific question that users pose. From an SEO perspective, being on the first page was always crucial, but now, the tendency for the top three results to win almost all the clicks will be more pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words: getting to the top three ranks is even more important, which, again, makes content quality more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, a lot of businesses will decide that SEO is just too difficult and not worth their time. But it\u2019s worth remembering that the cost of paid marketing also changes based on demand, so as more businesses switch to paid ads, those costs will also rise proportionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze, check our data-driven guide on the real cost of SEO compared to the alternatives in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do these three articles on sentiment analysis<\/a>, PPC performance<\/a>, and data visualization<\/a>, all have in common?<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ve each gotten hundreds or thousands of backlinks; they rank in the top spots on Google for their target search terms; and they\u2019ve accomplished these things by providing original insights that couldn\u2019t be found anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clearly, relevant and helpful \u201cinformation gain\u201d is the key ingredient for high-quality articles that rank. But how do you achieve that using AI tools?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You won\u2019t get there by using a prompt that reads something like, \u201cwrite a blog post about X topic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a better way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth pointing out that using this AI workflow effectively takes skill. Good writing reflects good thinking, and evaluating AI-generated content requires a lot of know-how to discern its quality and to figure out how it can be improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Expecting that anybody can use the tool to replace a skilled SEO writer is unrealistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As OpenAI revealed recently, AI-generated content can\u2019t really be reliably distinguished<\/a> from human-written content.<\/p>\n\n\n I remember trying out one of the detector tools on one of my articles from 2015 \u2014 long before language models were publicly available \u2014 and the tool declared that the article was AI-written with 98% certainty. (But I\u2019m really human, not an advanced cybernetic organism from the future, I swear!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, the more important question is whether Google cares about whether content is human-written or AI-generated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have it straight from the horse\u2019s mouth that AI-written content will not be penalized \u2014 at least, not for being AI-written.<\/p>\n\n\nHow AI is changing SEO in 2024: It\u2019s not just content that\u2019s changing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to effectively leverage AI for your SEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A ChatGPT content workflow that actually works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n\n\n\nCan Google detect AI-generated content?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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