This post is written by Julia Kalita, a valued member of CallRail’s agency community. Julia Kalita is the Senior SEO manager at Workshop Digital, a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, paid media, and analytics.
The rapid growth and adoption of AI technology have significantly impacted the marketing industry. According to the CMO Survey in 2024, marketers use AI roughly 11% of the time, with many more marketers questioning how AI usage is appropriate, and if it’s acceptable to use AI content when creating SEO content.
To understand if, when, and how to use AI in content creation, it’s important to understand how AI works.
How Generative AI content creation works
At a high level, Generative AI models are trained on large datasets, including most of the internet. Using machine learning, AI identifies patterns and predicts word sequences to generate an output for a prompt.
AI is good at:
- Pattern recognition
- Summarizing text
- Generating outputs quickly and at scale
AI is not so good at:
- Fact-checking and accuracy
- Understanding context and nuance
- Creating unique content
Does Google penalize AI content?
There are no Google guidelines that penalize the use of AI content. However, understanding what content performs well in search is key to using AI effectively.
Google amplifies content that aligns with E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). High-quality content featuring unique perspectives, first-hand experiences, and expert insights tend to rank better. AI-produced content cannot replicate these qualities, and leaning on AI to fully automate content creation is unlikely to outperform competitors on the search engine results page.
How should AI be used in content creation?
AI is best used as a tool, not the end solution. At Workshop Digital, we believe that passionate people and data-driven technology will outperform the market for the foreseeable future.
So, what are some of the best practices for using AI in SEO content creation?
✅ Do: Use AI tools for content ideation & outlines
AI is good at pattern recognition and can quickly generate comprehensive topic ideas and outlines. This helps structure content efficiently, allowing you to add your unique voice and insights.
✅ Do: Use AI to help with words and phrasing
Every writer can experience blocks. Perhaps you are trying to simplify a complex idea or trying to transition from one thought to the next. An AI tool can help you rephrase a sentence or add a transition sentence to connect two thoughts.
✅ Do: Have AI refine and review your work
AI can quickly analyze a large piece of text and identify grammar and spelling errors, inconsistencies, and other areas to help refine and clarify a piece of content.
❌ Don’t: Rely on AI to create long-form content
AI is inherently imperfect. Outputs for short-form content like meta descriptions or single paragraphs might be error-free but as content outputs increase in length, small inaccuracies accumulate over time. When leaning on AI to assist with long-form content production, work section-by-section to ensure overall accuracy.
❌ Don’t: Take AI content at face value
There are other considerations when assessing how accurately AI outputs content. AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, and because it is trained on all available data, stereotypes and biased opinions can emerge in AI-generated content.
❌ Don’t: Replace unique thoughts with AI content
Even if AI were perfectly accurate with no biases, it can’t generate new ideas or perspectives. Over time, relying on AI leads to repetitive, generalized content, leading to very homogenized content overall.
The role of Generative AI in content creation
AI shouldn’t fully replace human content creation, but it can be a valuable assistant. Understanding its strengths and weaknesses allows marketers to leverage AI effectively in their SEO content strategy.
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