Human in the SEO Loop: AI-Generated Content and its Worth in the SEO World

“Please write me an article on the topic <topicName>. The audience for the article is <audienceProfile>”. 

“Certainly!...”

In the last year or so, you must have used this prompt, or something of this nature, more often than you’d like to admit. 

We get it, these large language models churn out strings of words like it’s nothing – and well, it surely is something, otherwise all of us would be writers! 

These advanced AI tools that give you an illusion of “intelligence” work quite similar to how your phone’s autocomplete works. If we may, these AI tools, for the most part, are just autocomplete on heavy steroids. 

So, what does this mean? 

Very simply, it means that there is no real “intelligence” at play there, there’s no understanding of context, goals, intentions, and all that magic that goes on inside the head of a writer which enables him to bring his draft to life. All that is going on is next-word-prediction. Call it the beauty of mathematics, but just this is enough to produce the heaps of content that the tools start to vomit as soon as you prompt them with even the most trivial prompts. 

The real problem, though, is that most of what these AI tools produce seems to be okay on the surface. The trouble only begins once you start digging deeper into their output and start becoming more aware of the reason why you’re writing this particular draft in the first place. 

Cutting the noise – if your purpose is to get your presence felt and make yourself search engine optimized, AI content doesn’t take you too far. Not on its own.

You could do extensive keyword research, come up with most searched keywords, and feed the AI tool with that. It will come back to you with an article that will have graciously used the said keywords, too. But on reading, you’ll find something missing from the whole article – the humanness. 

And that is precisely why, despite being technically sound (in terms of grammar, sentence structure, keyword usage, and so on), your article will NOT give you the results you’d have hoped for. 

So, should these AI tools be entirely ditched? Absolutely not. 

These AI tools have the potential to be a strong instrument for creating content, but it's not the miraculous fix that many people perceive. You don’t just dump all of your work from concept creation to finalizing drafts on these AI tools and expect for a result that blows up. Whatever output you get might be quick and proficient, but it will frustratingly fail in aspects like depth, originality, relatability, and so on – which, by the way, both search engines, and the users on the other end of the screen (your readers!) value the most! 

Let’s take this issue slightly deeper in this article and try to understand why isn't AI by itself sufficient for your SEO content endeavors? 

We’ll also go through some potential solutions that one can implement in their workflow to get the absolute most out of the human-AI collaboration which is the sweet spot of productivity and efficiency. 

Hallucination or accurate?

When you’re talking to your favorite neighborhood AI-based chatbot, you should always be on your toes with respect to the accuracy of what your friend is blurting out. 

Keep in mind that it’s not the model’s fault – it’s not built to be accurate, it’s just built to be reasonable in its output. And sometimes these two differ. 

AI models pull from vast amounts of data, including outdated or incorrect sources. For instance, an AI might claim that click-through rates (CTR) are a ranking factor for Google when, in reality, this myth has been debunked numerous times by Google representatives themselves​.

This is especially risky in YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content—topics like health, finance, and legal matters, where accuracy is crucial. If AI provides incorrect information, it could not only hurt your SEO ranking but also damage your credibility. 

So, there is the first and the foremost problem – we don’t know if what we are getting is accurate or fabricated. And if accurate, how much? 

The problem of originality and content cannibalization

Moving on, the other problem with excessively using and relying on AI content for your SEO work is the struggle with originality and nuance. Because AI models are designed to provide the most likely or plausible answer, they tend to churn out generic, surface-level content. You’ve probably seen this yourself—AI-written articles often read like a well-written but dull school report, lacking the unique insights and creativity that human writers bring to the table.

Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to recognize high-quality, original content, which is why human creativity is still a critical component of SEO success. Simply put, AI-generated content might fill up the page, but it won’t necessarily engage your audience or provide them with unique value​.

Another issue with AI-generated content is the potential for cannibalizing content. If multiple websites use AI to generate responses to the same prompts, they risk producing nearly identical content. For example, thousands of businesses might ask ChatGPT for an article on “best SEO practices,” and the result could be a flood of similar, keyword-stuffed posts across the web. This content cannibalization can negatively impact your SEO rankings, as search engines prioritize unique, original content​.

Poor quality, almost spam-like content

Let’s face it: AI can produce a lot of text, and fast. But more content isn’t always better, especially when that content is low-quality or spammy. Some websites have even received penalties from Google for publishing AI-generated, keyword-stuffed content without human oversight​.

The ease of generating content with AI leads to a temptation to churn out articles en masse, hoping to rank higher simply by publishing more. But Google's algorithms are smart—they prioritize quality over quantity. If your AI-generated content doesn’t provide value, solve user problems, or offer new insights, it won’t rank well—and might even harm your SEO efforts in the long run​.

So, ditch AI-based tools for content work? TLDR: No. 

So, does this mean you should avoid AI altogether? Not at all. The trick is to use AI as a tool, not a replacement for human creativity. Think of AI-generated content as your 0th draft—a rough outline that gives you a starting point. From there, you can build on it, fact-check it, and add your own unique perspective.

Here’s how to get the best of both worlds:

• Step 1: Start with AI for preliminary research and outlinesUse AI to quickly gather ideas, keywords, or outline the article structure. This helps you break through writer’s block and gives you a direction to follow.

• Step 2: Add depth and insightOnce AI has generated the basic content, go in and add your own expertise. Include examples, case studies, or personal stories that AI can’t provide. This will make your content more insightful and original.

• Step 3: Fact-check and verifyAI can often get things wrong or pull from outdated sources. Double-check every fact, especially in industries like finance, healthcare, or law, where accuracy is critical.

• Step 4: Edit for voice and flowGo through the content and make sure it sounds like you. Rewrite sections where the tone feels too formal or stiff, and inject your brand’s unique style and voice.

• Step 5: Final SEO optimizationEnsure that the content is structured properly for SEO, with meta descriptions, proper headers, and a good internal linking strategy. AI can help suggest keywords, but you should ensure the content flows naturally and provides real value to readers.

Following these steps allows you to leverage AI to speed up your content creation process without sacrificing quality or SEO performance. AI is not a replacement, but a powerful tool when used with human expertise.

Finding the Balance Between AI and Human Expertise

Cutting the long story short - AI content generation is a powerful tool—but only if used correctly. Relying solely on AI for your SEO content can lead to a host of issues, from factual inaccuracies and lack of originality to duplicate and spammy content. 

The solution? Use AI as a supplement to human expertise, not a replacement.

Combine the efficiency of AI with the creativity, insight, and nuance of human editing, and you get content pieces that not only rank well, but also are useful for your readers, and provide actionable value to them. 

In the end, quality will always trump quantity – and no AI can completely replace the quality and creativity that human minds bring to a piece of content.