Google finally cracks down on AI-generated content

AI-generated content. Three words that send a shiver down my spine.

It only takes a few scrolls on LinkedIn to find (so-called) SEO experts preaching about the value of generative AI content creation and scaling your AI content workflow. And you can see the results of their work in the search results. The amount of basic, bland, obviously AI-generated content out there is staggering.

But the tide may be turning. It appears Google has finally put its foot down. Aleyda Solis shared the below update from a recent Search Central event in Madrid.

Quality raters are people hired by Google to evaluate the quality of the search results. They assess web content in line with detailed guidelines, and their feedback is used to influence search. So if they’re being told to rank AI content as low quality, it’s big news. This is the clearest evidence yet that Google doesn’t value AI-generated content.

What does this mean for digital PR?

At Energy PR, we’ve never been on board with AI content. It’s lazy, and lacks the wider expertise and genuine understanding that good human writers provide. But most importantly? It’s usually crap.

Yes, some SEOs might recommend using AI for content creation then adding experience, expertise, authority and trust (E-E-A-T) to spice it up. And some AI tools might even market themselves as humanised and undetectable. But are they really? And is this the same as writing from a place of genuine expertise and authority on a subject? No, absolutely not.

AI is undoubtedly transforming our sector. But content creation isn’t where it adds the most value.

My takeaway is this: if you’ve been thinking about investing in AI-generated content, think again. And if you’re already doing it, please stop. The future of content marketing isn’t AI-generated slop. It’s real people, real expertise and real perspectives.

AI Overviews now link to search results

It’s common knowledge that Google wants to keep people on the search engine results page (SERPs). That’s how it makes money. But now it seems to have taken it one step further. This month, Google announced that it's now linking AI Overviews to its own search results.

As reported in Search Engine Land, a Google spokesperson said:

“To help people more easily explore topics and discover relevant websites, we’ve added links to some terms within AI Overviews when our systems determine it might be useful. Similar to our long-standing ‘people also search for’ feature, our testing shows that people find this helpful. AI Overviews continue to have prominent links out to the web, which we’re also expanding.”

Imagine you’re searching for information on the best PR software. Google throws up an AI Overview summarising the best tools. You click on a link, hoping to be directed to authoritative websites actually reviewing the software. But instead, you find yourself directed to more Google searches — likely with more AI-generated responses to search through. Brilliant.

Does this improve the user experience? I really doubt it. You can see people getting stuck in AIO loops — just clicking through pages of AI responses looking for a real source. And that’s before you consider the increased potential for misinformation. Honestly, it’s not a great look.

What does this mean for digital PR?

It makes our job a whole lot harder. How can we truly influence audiences and build brands if the search results direct people to more search results? How will our carefully crafted messaging land after being rehashed by AI five times? Whether it’s impacting earned media coverage or owned onsite content, this could massively dilute our work.

Hopefully Google will decide to roll this back. It’s already being investigated for favouring its own services, like Google Flights and Hotels. So surely this latest update isn’t here to stay… But who knows. Search is in such a strange place that anything could happen. We’ll have to wait and see.

Google Discover expands to desktop

Let’s finish with some good news. This is potentially a very good update for both publishers and PRs.

Google Discover is a personal, curated set of content recommendations found in the Google app. It’s become a crucial channel for publishers, so much so that it’s now Reach’s biggest referrer of traffic.

Right now, it’s only available on mobile. But Google just announced it’s coming to your desktop homepage when you open a new Google tab. And with desktops accounting for 36% of all traffic, it could open up a whole new audience for publishers.

What does this mean for digital PR?

This is very welcome good news for our sector. More traffic for publishers means more eyes on our/our clients’ brands, and more opportunities to influence their audiences. And, the fact Google Discover is a personalised feed means we can be fairly confident that we’re getting in front of the right audiences.

Admittedly it’s not without risks. As reported by the Press Gazette, we’re already seeing UK news publishers churning out clickbaity pieces with the sole aim of capturing Discover clicks. But Google’s algorithm updates are never far behind. So we’re confident that it’ll soon get cleaned up. And hopefully Discover will remain a key channel for years to come for publishers and PRs alike