Generative AI has rapidly moved from trend to transformative force, reshaping industries across the board. 

But perhaps its most visible impact has been in the marketing world—streamlining everything from ad creation to email copywriting in seconds. One area, however, stands out for its disruption: search engine optimization (SEO).

With more marketers using AI to produce high volumes of content, one critical question arises: How does Google really view AI-generated content in the context of SEO?

This is more than just a curiosity—it's a strategy-defining concern. According to a 2024 survey by HubSpot, nearly 70% of marketers are already using AI tools to assist with content creation, many specifically for SEO purposes. But without clarity on Google's stance, businesses risk harming their search rankings instead of enhancing them.

In this article, we dive into Google's official position on generative AI, what it means for your SEO strategy, and how to stay competitive without crossing the line.

SEO, Redefined!

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process that enables websites and pages to show up in search engine results. It's about making your website discoverable and valuable to both users and search engines.

While other search tools exist, Google has maintained a dominant market share of approximately 90% since 2015. Bing follows this at around 4% and Yahoo at about 3%, followed by Baidu and DuckDuckGo with dismal percentages.

In other words, Google has been the longstanding battleground for search visibility since time immemorial:

Why does this matter?

Because SparkToro discovered that Google is the world's website traffic referrer. Google sends more than 6 out of 10 (63.41% to be exact) of all website traffic. In comparison, Bing (in second place) drives only 7.21% of all website traffic, followed by YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit at 3.57%, 3.54%, and 2.95%, respectively. 

Without engaging in SEO with Google, any site owner will severely limit their online visibility, organic traffic potential, and ultimately, customers.

With the rise of generative AI, the barrier to entry to SEO is getting lower. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Jasper, and Surfer SEO have made it easier to generate optimized content that once required hours of manual effort.

This accessibility has leveled the playing field, allowing site owners to compete with larger businesses in organic search.

But with the surge of AI-generated content, search engines like Google are adapting their algorithms to reward authenticity, relevance, and true value.

Before we look at Google's stance on AI-generated content, let's revisit generative AI first, shall we?

What is Generative AI, Again?

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence models designed to create new content, whether text, images, videos, or even code, based on their training data.

As the name suggests, generative AI is capable of generating content. Tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Gemini are the most relevant generative AI tools in SEO. They are built on large language models and trained on vast datasets, making them capable of:

●Mimicking human-like writing

●Answering complex queries

●Completing writing tasks in a snap

The rise of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought AI-generated content into the mainstream. In addition to sparking global curiosity, marketers were among the first to adopt and use generative AI for content marketing, speed up their workflows, and brainstorm ideas.

Obviously, this technology quickly became a game-changer in the field of SEO.

Drafting 5,000-word optimized blog posts that usually took days has never been more convenient. Moreover, it opened doors for those previously intimidated by SEO, automating the writing process with a few prompts.

But with this new wave of content flooding the web, it begs the question: Is Google okay with it?

How Does Google Feel About AI-Generated Content?

Google has an amusing love-hate relationship with generative AI.

Even before the advent of ChatGPT, marketers have already been inquiring about Google's (or, at least, its execs') opinions on whether machines can generate human-like content.

Search Engine Land illustrated this brief history in one of their blog posts:

As shown in the screenshot above, Google has been answering questions on AI-generated content since 2010. Their stance has been shifting between being against, neutral, or open to the possibility of endorsing AI-generated content on search.

In August 2022, Danny Sullivan, Google's Public Liaison for Search, posted a blog on Google entitled, "More content by people, for people in Search," as shown below:

 While their position is not explicitly stated, Sullivan did have several statements with anti-generative AI undertones throughout the article.

For instance, in the intro, he said, "The content might not have the insights you want, or it may not even seem like it was created for, or even by, a person," obviously implying generative AI as the object of his statement.

Reading the whole blog post, we can cut through the prose and see how Google feels about generative AI:

AI-generated content = unoriginal, low-quality content that shouldn't rank high on SERPs

This stance was corroborated by Google's guidelines in its Spam Policies document from 2023. The search engine behemoth treated any content produced automatically without regard for quality or user experience as SPAM, as seen below:

So, that clears it up, then, right?

Google is not fond of AI-generated content, and SEOs who use such tools will likely experience lower search engine ranking for their pages.

Well, not exactly. (again, "love-hate relationship")

In September 2023, Google appeared to have had a change of heart regarding its view of AI-generated content, following a subtle revision of its helpful content guidelines.

Barry Schwartz (Founder of Search Engine Roundtable) noticed the removal of the phrase "written by people" from the guidelines, seemingly implying Google's openness to endorse content produced using generative AI, provided they are original and helpful to readers, as shown below:

The revision done was subtle and suggestive, but it stopped short of being fully convincing.

Perhaps the most significant indicator of Google's acceptance of generative AI content is what's written in the search guidance for AI-generated content released in the same year:

According to Google, they will reward high-quality content, regardless of how it was produced. Take note, high-quality.

Google's recent revamp of its search rating guidelines, from "E-A-T" to "E-E-A-T" (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), emphasizes the importance of improving AI-generated content and adding a "human touch." This approach ensures that content does not regurgitate generic, already known information, but instead provides readers with actual, valuable insights.

Here's the kicker: Aleyda Solis, founder of Orainti and maker of the SEOFOMO newsletter, recently posted on LinkedIn that Google's quality raters are now asked if the main content (MC) on a page is created using generative AI with no effort, originality, or value added to it.

If so, the page will receive the lowest rating possible.

 While Google has had its run-ins with generative AI and automatically generated content in the past, the search engine has shifted its stance toward one of acceptance. Take that statement with a grain of salt!

Remember, generative AI can only produce content based on the data it was trained on. ChatGPT, for instance, has a known tendency to generate inaccurate or misleading information when asked to provide insights on real-world data beyond its training scope.

Based on these recent updates, we can confidently deduce that Google views generative AI as no more than a tool, or a content writing aid, if you will.

Can you freely use LLMs when creating optimized content for SEO? Sure.

Will it rank high on SERPs or get canned by Google? It depends.

Producing 1500-word AI-generated articles is one thing, but is your content providing any valuable insights to readers or adding value to people's lives? If yes, then yes, and Google will have zero problems with it. 

How is AI Changing the SEO Landscape?

Artificial intelligence has been around for decades, but the rise of AI use cases has undoubtedly accelerated with the advent of generative AI, which has taken the world by storm.

Now, marketing tools are beginning to integrate AI capabilities into their systems to streamline their processes. From AI-powered internal linking tools to data-backed SEO insights, and even machines that can automatically identify keyword cannibalization using machine learning, the influence of artificial intelligence will only get more extensive from here.

It's easy to single out generative AI among the countless AI-assisted tools for two reasons:

1. SEO is primarily content-driven
2. The search engine has been notoriously outspoken against AI-generated content up until recently

This makes it even more ironic because Google itself has integrated generative AI into the SERP real estate via the AI Overview.

In other words, it is highly questionable for Google to tolerate AI-generated content via its AI snapshot while maintaining an opposing stance against SEOs using generative AI for content creation.

Google's endorsement of AI-generated content, provided it is high-quality and exhibits E-E-A-T, is one of the few ways AI is changing the SEO landscape. 

Things are bound to keep evolving from here. 

Can You Still Dominate the SEO Landscape using Generative AI?

Yes.

But there are caveats to this seemingly definitive answer.

Generative AI is an instrument, and instruments are only as good as the person wielding them.

Google has made it clear: using AI to create content is not against its guidelines, as long as that content is helpful, original, and created for users.

In other words, AI-generated content isn't the problem. Low-quality, unhelpful, or spammy content is.

To truly dominate the SEO landscape with generative AI, you have to fulfill your end of the bargain. That is, use these tools to enhance your creativity, not replace it. Make it a habit to fact-check, refine, and personalize the output to ensure it actually solves the searcher's intent.

Remember: SEO success still hinges on value, relevance, and trust—AI just helps you get there faster.

Generative AI can be your competitive edge. Just don't let it do all the thinking for you.

So, ready to open ChatGPT? 👀