The Great Debate: Should Google Prioritise Human-Written Content Over AI?
ChatGPT (AI) has caused so much commotion in recent months that even people who have no stake in the world of digital marketing and creative writing have heard about it. An easy-to-use software that automatically generates half-decent, grammatically correct writing on just about any topic one can imagine? What’s not to like?
Well, suffice it to say, there are many people who are less than excited by the rise of AI – most of whom have built their careers around their ability to write. It’s no wonder why there are those who feel threatened by its exponential growth and why there is much debate as to whether Google should prioritise human-written content over AI when it comes to rankings.
Google cares about one thing: providing quality content that answers questions and improves lives
Google has already stated that they will rank AI-generated content over human-written only if it is high-quality, demonstrates expertise and authoritativeness, and ultimately outshines everything else.
That being said, given how quickly AI is moving – and what with the likes of Elon Musk and many other techies calling for a pause on development while we figure out what on earth is going on – it’s safe to say that Google’s stance on the subject could well change in the near future.
In any case, Google’s current standing doesn’t really change anything. As it stands, AI auto-generated content is nowhere near good enough to outperform top human talent, and even then, it takes an awful lot of tweaking, editing, and refining before it can. Which means that it isn’t quite as big a time-saver as many people claim it to be…yet.
On ethics
From an ethical stand-point, many people believe that anyone who creates; and shares auto-generated content with their audience must be ethically obligated to mark it as such. After all, anyone can type some prompts into ChatGPT, instantly gather some “factual information” on a subject; and then pass it off as their own expertise.
This is dangerous and with so many ‘overnight experts’, there must be some form of regulation. Why should a brand new ‘expert’ with no authority; have a website with greater ‘authoritativeness’ than other long-standing; and well-established businesses who genuinely have the knowledge and expertise Google’s customers are looking for?
Without proper regulation, it’s going to be like the Wild West all over again. This can be especially dangerous in industries like search engine optimization; and digital marketing when misinformation and would-be experts are already quite prevalent.
Of course, any reputable SEO agency such as Dallas SEO aren’t fazed by the rise of AI; this is because while everyone else cuts corners by sharing sub-standard content; the true experts will be continually creating fresh, innovative; human-made content that stands out from the monotonous waffling of the masses.
What can you do in response?
Ultimately, the best approach is to understand AI, know how to use it, and keep it at arm’s length for now. There are many ways to use AI to speed up certain processes (e.g., generating subject matter / researching ideas / influencing design choice) all of which are above board. However, when it comes to the use of AI to produce all your content and artwork; if you truly want to stand out from the crowd and maintain your authority; relying on people first will always be a boast.
After all, AI can only produce content based on all of the existing content created by people. It can’t create new opinions and introduce facts out of nowhere. Only the human creatives with boundless imaginations can do as such.
