In a blog post on Tuesday, Google unveiled its strategy to counter AI-generated content meticulously tailored to manipulate search algorithms and artificially boost rankings. This marked shift in Google's approach, aiming at enhancing the overall quality of online content, involves intricate algorithmic improvements to its core ranking systems. The primary focus of these changes is on addressing three types of content abuse, with a particular emphasis on automated content, including that generated by AI.
Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Product Management at Google, clarified that these updates seek to refine ranking systems, enhancing their ability to discern whether webpages genuinely offer assistance or are crafted primarily to cater to search engines. The ultimate objective is to minimise the presence of low-quality content in search results, channelling more traffic towards trustworthy and valuable websites.
While the blog post didn't explicitly mention generative AI, a Google spokesperson clarified to Gizmodo that the updates specifically target "low-quality AI-generated content that’s designed to attract clicks, but that doesn’t add much original value."
Google foresees that these changes will result in a substantial 40 per cent reduction in low-quality and unoriginal content within search results.
Other than addressing AI-generated SEO content, Google’s updates will also focus on individuals publishing low-quality content on websites with a high reputation score.
Google To Counter Low-Quality Content
Vice President of Search at Google, Pandu Nayak, said that Google is sending a message to the web regarding the end of spammy, sketchy behaviour. He laid out three pointers on which Google will focus and will consider spammy behaviour to ultimately downrank it. The first example was scale. Nayak said the websites that generate numerous subpar articles daily, utilising either underpaid contractors or AI generators, and strategically direct that content toward search results. He hinted at obituary spam in this regard.
The second spammy behaviour according to Nayak is 'site reputation abuse'. Site reputation abuse is something which occurs when an otherwise respectable website rents out part of its site for spammy stuff. The Verge quoted Nayak as saying, "I won’t name and shame anyone here, but you’ve surely seen the sites that make you wonder why they have coupons or why there’s a whole part of the site that seems irrelevant and AI-generated." For those engaging in this, he said that Google is giving such sites 60 days to cut it out before it changes the rankings.
The third is 'expired domain abuse'. This occurs when someone buys a high-ranking domain which is abandoned and fills it with crummy content that then jumps to the top of the search.