The Impact of SEO Coaching vs. AI Only Copy

The data shows a clear difference. When you rely solely on AI-generated copy, your impressions may stay stable, but you’ll miss out on the “crocodile mouth” effect—that rapid increase in clicks and impressions that comes from highly relevant, useful content.

AI-Generated Only: Stable, But No Growth

In contrast, when you combine the efficiency of AI with your own SEO expertise, you create content that is truly helpful to people and is rewarded by Google.

AI + SEO: Driving Impressions and Growth

What is Duplicate Content to Google?

Google’s primary goal isn’t to punish websites; it’s to provide the best possible user experience. They don’t want to show the exact same article multiple times in search results. Instead, their algorithms identify the canonical (original) source and filter out the copies. However, Google’s spam policies now specifically target large-scale, low-quality, automatically generated content. This is where AI-generated content can get you into trouble.

Why AI Content Can Be a Problem

Even if a Large Language Model (LLM) doesn’t copy text verbatim, Google might still consider its output low-quality and unhelpful for a few reasons:

• Lack of Originality: LLMs synthesize data from the internet based on learned patterns. The result is often generic and lacks the unique insights, experiences, and expertise only a human can provide.
• Failing the Helpful Content Test: Google’s core philosophy rewards helpful, reliable, people-first content. If an AI-generated piece simply rehashes existing information without adding new value, it won’t rank well. If your entire site is filled with this type of content, Google’s algorithms can flag it.
• Flagged for Scaled Content Abuse: This is a key part of Google’s spam policies. If you use AI to generate a large volume of low-quality, unhelpful pages just to manipulate search rankings, Google will likely take action against your site. This is a clear red flag.

The Right Way to Use LLMs for Content

Google’s stance is “no low-quality, spammy AI content,” not “no AI content.” You should think of LLMs as a powerful tool, not a replacement for human input.

• Use AI as an Assistant, Not an Author: Treat the LLM as a research assistant or a brainstorm partner.
• Fact-Check and Add Expertise: This is your most important job. You need to fact-check the AI’s output, add personal anecdotes, include original insights, cite specific sources, and rewrite the text in your unique voice.
• Create Truly Original Content: Use the LLM to analyze data and find content gaps, then use that information to create content that doesn’t exist anywhere else.

By using AI to speed up your process while you add your unique value and expertise, you are creating high-quality content that meets Google’s standards and can be a highly effective SEO strategy.