Whilst AI is bringing in lots of benefits to all aspects of the online world, it is also fuelling online spam in ever increasing volumes, in March 2024, Google made some significant changes to it’s search policies to try to combat this.
I asked Grok to write an article on this, see the results below. This will be an interesting test of how that might impact our rankings.
Introduction:
Google has made significant changes to its algorithm and policies to combat the rise of AI-generated spam content in search results. These updates aim to improve the quality and reliability of information presented to users, ensuring that Google delivers on its mission to provide helpful and trustworthy results.
Core Updates and Spam Policies:
In March 2024, Google rolled out a core update and new spam policies to address the issue of low-quality, unoriginal content in search results. These changes are part of a broader effort to refine Google’s core ranking systems, ensuring that unhelpful and spammy content is kept at very low levels.
The core update and spam policies have been designed to better understand if webpages are unhelpful, have poor user experiences, or are created at scale to boost search rankings without providing any real value to users. This includes targeting content that is created solely to game search engine rankings, regardless of whether the process involves automation, human effort, or a combination of both.
Google’s Efforts to Address AI-Generated Spam:
As part of these updates, Google has taken action against expired domains that are repurposed with low-quality content and pages that pretend to have answers to popular searches but fail to deliver helpful content. These measures are intended to reduce the amount of low-quality content in search results and promote more traffic to high-quality and helpful websites.
Impact on AI-Generated Content:
While Google has not explicitly stated that it will penalise AI-generated content, it has made clear that it will target content that is spammy, unhelpful, or created solely for search engine optimization purposes. This means that AI-generated content can still be successful if it meets Google’s criteria for quality, relevance, and value to users.
Conclusion:
Google’s recent updates to combat AI-generated spam in search, represent a significant step towards improving the quality and reliability of search results. By refining its core ranking systems and updating its spam policies, Google aims to ensure that users receive helpful and trustworthy information in their search queries. As a result, it is more important than ever for content creators to focus on producing high-quality, original content that provides value to users.
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