Yes, and no. Let me make this clearer for all of you who have been asking the same old question since we first got ChatGPT – Does ChatGPT generated text hurt your SEO?
Look, Google’s position on AI content isn’t as scary as you might think. Back when ChatGPT first launched, everyone panicked about Google’s strict anti-AI stance.
But things have changed. John Mueller from Google has spoken about this in past months: they care about helpful content, period. That’s where they introduced the E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Good content ranks, mediocre content sinks – no matter who (or what) wrote it.
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What Google Actually Looks For
Search engines have gotten pretty sophisticated in how they evaluate content quality. So if you want to improve your website, make sure to pay attention to Google and AI usages. They’re tracking things like the bounce rate, and how much experience you have in what you’re talking about.
Bounce rates tell us if the people like our content, if our bounce rate is through the roof, then we’re probably doing something wrong. Users stick around when content solves their problems, simple as that.
Pages packed with actual expertise keep people reading. Sites stuffed with fluff see visitors hitting the back button fast as they did not find there what they were looking for-
Our team at SEOcurly has spent countless hours analyzing what makes content stick. Trust me, it’s not so much about fooling the algorithm, rather it’s about nailing user intent.
Here’s the Real Data
Here’s what we’ve seen:
Raw AI content straight from ChatGPT will not rank, and no one wants to read it. Why?
Because those pages are unmotivational, they lack human experience, human thoughts, they’re not emotional. And I swear, if I see one more blog that’s starting with “In today’s world…” I might just go crazy.
Yeah, those pages typically see bounce rates through the roof. But here’s where it gets interesting: when smart marketers take AI output and inject their expertise, those same metrics flip completely. We’re talking engagement levels matching or beating traditionally written content.
A couple months ago we started working with this healthcare client, I reviewed a client site and they were using just straight up AI content for a year, but then in October we started revamping their whole blog. Their organic traffic jumped by 700% after we started putting our own spin on AI-generated drafts. There’s no secret, as long as you’re making sure every piece adds something new to the conversation, you’ll stay ranking on Google.
Around the same time, we started working with another company who is in the software industry, and the results are shocking as well, just look at this:
However, it’s important to use AI carefully. The following is an example of a project we tried out. When everyone was saying how good AI is, we trying to do what all the SEO gurus were talking about. We automated everything and it was ranking well for some time, but… A big but… this does not last long. The complete AI blogs can definitely rank for some time, but not for a while. Just look at this:
How Can I Make AI Work For My SEO?
Here’s what you can do – stop treating AI like a magic thing that will take care of everything for you. Yes, it can help you understand things, yes it can make things easier, but in life, and on Google, there’s no shortcut that will magically put you on top of search ranking (well.. Besides paid ads)-
It’s a starting point, not a finish line. Take that AI draft and rip it apart. Add your own stories. Drop in some industry insights that only come from being in the industry.
Seriously though – when’s the last time a straight ChatGPT article taught you something you couldn’t find in the first three Google results? That’s exactly why mixing human expertise matters.
I personally found it interesting to read different articles and books to get different perspectives and inputs from different people, this is where you can get ideas and get the answers to your questions. Instead ChatGPT just makes old boring content with generical stories.
And I know you don’t want to be generic, so if you’re trying to increase organic traffic, stop using ChatGPT for everything, and invite those people in with your own stories, with your own thoughts, because only you are as unique as you.
P.S. Keep in mind that too much AI content on your website can get you penalized by Google, so instead of grinding on automizing everything with AI, think about what you would want to read if you were in the position of your customers.
Common Mistakes of AI Usage in SEO
AI tools seem like a shortcut to cranking out tons of content fast. But after helping dozens of clients fix their AI content mistakes, I’ve learned what really trips people up.
Here’s the raw truth about what not to do:
- Don’t just copy-paste AI content.
If you’ve been working with AI for a long time, you’ll know AI content when you see one. That’s what we call “shallow content”. Just last week, I reviewed a client’s AI-written piece about email marketing – it was painful. Nothing but obvious tips like “write good subject lines” and “segment your list”. No real insights, no actual examples, nothing you couldn’t find literally anywhere else. Their bounce rate was through the roof.
- Then there’s the keyword stuffing disaster.
Some people think they can outsmart Google by having AI sprinkle keywords everywhere. One site I worked on tried stuffing “best consulting agency” into every other sentence. And you know what happened? Their rankings tanked. Google’s not stupid, they can spot that artificial stuff really easily nowadays.
- The trust problem is another big one.
Your readers aren’t idiots. They can tell when they’re reading generic fluff that could’ve been written about any business in any industry. I’ve had a client who used AI to write about their custom jewelry business – it sounded exactly like every other jewelry site out there, and/or even worse. No personality, no unique angle, nothing about their actual craftsmanship or design process.
So, Does ChatGPT Generated Text Hurt Your SEO?
Here’s my take after years of testing. ChatGPT won’t wreck your SEO if you’re smart about it. Use it for research, for ideas, but don’t use it for everything. Mix in real expertise, actual examples, and straight talk that comes from doing the work.
At the end of the day, good SEO still boils down to helping real people solve real problems. Do that consistently, and the rankings will follow – AI or no AI.
And if you don’t know where to start or would just want someone to take care of content for you, feel free to reach out to us and we’ll take care of that for you.
