Can AI Content Rank on Google?

Article Overview:

Yes, absolutely. Google doesn't penalise content just because AI wrote it. What matters is whether the content actually helps people.

There's plenty of AI-generated nonsense being published daily, and that doesn't rank. But if you use AI as a tool to create genuinely helpful content, edit it properly and add your own expertise, it can rank perfectly well. Google cares about quality and usefulness, not who or what wrote it. The catch? You can't just publish raw AI output and expect good results. It needs human oversight, fact-checking and real value added.

Article Summary:

What Google Actually Says

Why Most AI Content Fails

How to Make AI Content Work

Mid Wales Marketing's Approach

What Google Actually Says

Google's guidelines explicitly state that AI content isn't against their rules. They've moved away from their earlier, vaguer position on this. Now they're quite direct about it.

What they penalise is low-quality content designed to manipulate rankings. Doesn't matter whether it's human or AI-produced. Thin content stuffed with keywords? That's the problem. Content that doesn't help the reader? Same issue. The source isn't what gets you penalised.

Why Most AI Content Fails

Here's the thing, though. Most AI generated content published is terrible.

People generate articles in bulk, do minimal editing and publish hundreds of pages, in the hope that something sticks. This content is generic, lacks depth, often contains factual errors and doesn't provide a unique value. It's the digital equivalent of fast food; it fills space but offers nothing nutritious.

Google's algorithms have become extremely good at identifying this. They look at patterns. Does the content demonstrate expertise? Does it show original research or thinking? Would someone find this genuinely helpful, or is it just repackaged information available elsewhere?

Raw AI output typically fails these tests. It's competent but generic. It lacks the specific examples, personal insights and depth that come from experience, and Google notices.

How to Make AI Content Work

If you want AI content to rank, treat AI as a starting point rather than the finish line:

• Use AI for research and initial drafts, not final output
• Add your own expertise, examples and insights
• Fact-check everything thoroughly (AI "hallucinates" frequently)
• Include specific details AI couldn't possibly know
• Make it sound like you, not generic AI writing
• Update with current information and real-world application

Think of AI as a research assistant who produces rough drafts - competent but needs significant oversight. You wouldn't publish your assistant's first draft without reviewing, adding your expertise and checking facts. The same applies here.

The content that ranks well typically shows: clear signs of human expertise, specific examples from real situations, nuanced takes on complex topics, original data or research and personal experience informing recommendations. These elements are complex for AI to fake convincingly.

The Practical Reality

Can AI content rank? Yes.

Will your AI content rank if you blast out articles with minimal editing? Almost certainly not.

The successful approach involves using AI to work faster, not to avoid actual work. Use it to overcome writer's block. Let it handle research grunt work. Have it generate outlines or first drafts. Then apply your expertise to transform that draft into something genuinely valuable.

This hybrid approach works brilliantly. You get the efficiency benefits of AI whilst maintaining the quality and expertise Google rewards. Publishers doing this successfully are seeing excellent results. Those trying to game the system with pure AI content are watching their traffic disappear.