Artificial Intelligence is the new wonder of the internet and it has been advancing at a rapid rate but is AI hurting your SEO? If you’ve been paying attention to search results, watching your website traffic, or reading up on industry blogs, you’ve probably noticed that things are changing in the world of search engines. AI-generated content has landed — and while it can be a huge help with SEO, it can also hurt it.
Like any powerful tool, AI needs to be used with care, strategy, and a clear understanding of what your audience is actually looking for.
What Is AI-Generated Content And How Does It Affect SEO?
You’ve heard a lot about the buzzword “AI” but what exactly is it? AI-generated content is created by tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and other large language models (LLMs). These systems are trained on tons of text — books, articles, websites — and they’re built to understand human language and respond with relevant, well-structured answers.
The big turning point was the release of GPT-3 in 2020. Since then, AI tools have become smarter and more accessible, and people now use them to find information that they might have once searched for on Google. This shift has major implications for SEO.
How AI Is Reshaping Search and SEO For Your Website
AI assistants and summaries now provide users with direct answers, often without needing them to click on a single link. Google’s AI Overviews show up at the top of the search results page, answering questions before users even see your website. In fact, research company Gartner predicts a 25% drop in search traffic by 2026 due to AI chatbots.
So, does that mean SEO is finished? Not at all. It just means the game has changed. If your content is original, well-structured, and genuinely useful, you still have every chance to earn a spot in Google’s featured snippets and drive traffic. Quality and clarity matter now more than ever.
How Generative AI Is Hurting Your SEO
Generative AI is reshaping SEO in a few ways — and not all of them are helpful if you’re trying to drive organic traffic to your website. Here’s how generative AI can actually hurt SEO:
Fewer Clicks From Search Results. Tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and AI overviews in search are now answering people’s questions before they ever click a link. Instead of searching, scanning, and clicking, users get direct answers which means your website may not even be seen. Even if your site ranks well, AI summaries can reduce your visibility and traffic.
Increased Competition and Content Overload. AI tools make it easy for anyone to publish content, fast. That means there’s now more content than ever and a lot of it is created with similar tools and data. Standing out requires a unique voice, real insights, and better content than what AI alone can produce.
Lack of Human Insight and E-E-A-T. AI can’t replicate personal experience, deep expertise, or original perspectives. Without that human touch, content may fall short of Google’s E-E-A-T (that’s Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) criteria that puts the user first is what ranks best.
AI-Generated Content Can Be Low Quality. If businesses use AI to mass-produce content without editing or adding real insights, they risk publishing generic, shallow, or even inaccurate material. Google can detect content that lacks originality or value and may treat it as spam which means you could lose rankings, especially if your content violates Google’s quality guidelines.
Keyword Stuffing and Poor Readability. Some users think AI is a shortcut to cranking out keyword-rich articles but keyword stuffing hurts readability and doesn’t fool Google’s increasingly smart algorithms. It creates a poor experience for readers, which can reduce engagement and increase bounce rates.
The Right Way To Use AI To Help Your Website’s SEO
AI Chatbots should be like your assistant, helping you gather information, explore different ways of presenting an idea, or rephrase something more clearly. But you should always bring your own knowledge to the table, check the facts carefully, and refine the final piece before you hit publish. This gives you a better chance of being used as the source for AI overviews or query results.
There are types of content where generative AI really shines. If you have a lot of data-heavy content that doesn’t require personal opinion but needs some added context, AI can help you make it more user-friendly. And, it can be a great brainstorming tool, helping you come up with new ideas, simplify complex topics, and outline content.
When it comes to your website, let your expertise and experience drive the content and make sure it actually answers people’s questions. Offer value, share examples, and include visuals to support your content. And remember, content that comes from real experience — whether it’s yours or an expert’s — will always resonate better with readers and make your content show up on AI-generated search overviews. Remember Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines? That’s what we’re talking about.
Although generative AI can create content for your website, be sure to add alt text to your images and format your content clearly so Google’s bots can understand it easily.
What to Avoid When Using AI for SEO
As with any tool, there’s a right way and a wrong way to use AI for your website content that will drive SEO. It’s tempting to just generate content and hit “publish,” but that can do more harm than good. AI sometimes makes up facts or misinterprets context, so never skip the editing and fact-checking stage. If AI gives you a fact that seems off, double-check it because publishing inaccurate information can break trust with your audience and even get you penalized by Google.
Another thing to avoid is keyword stuffing — using the same keywords or phrases repeatedly within a page’s content in a way that feels unnatural and out of context. Don’t publish generic or fluffy text that says nothing new and uses phrases that are obviously generated by a ChatBot (like “essential to consider”, “navigating the complexities”, or, “let’s delve into”).
Want To Know How To Use AI For Your Website Content Without Hurting Your SEO? Let 3SIXTY’s Experts Optimize It For You
The popularity of AI is changing how content is created and not always for the better. While it might seem like a quick fix, relying too heavily on generative AI can actually hurt your SEO. Instead of chasing shortcuts, you need to prioritize what really works: clear, useful, and human-driven content built on real expertise that will appear in AI-generated search responses.Not sure how to strike the right balance? At 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions, we specialize in creating content that keeps both your audience and Google happy. Call us at 647-250-1494 or book a free consultation today—we’ll help you build SEO content the smart way.
