How Does AI Generated Content Impact SEO?

Recently, a small business owner asked me this question: "Robyn, how do you feel about AI-generated content and how it impacts SEO?"

Here’s how I responded, along with a few extra insights on how AI fits into a balanced content strategy:

1. AI Can Speed Up Content Creation—But Originality Is Still King AI-generated content can be incredibly helpful as a starting point. It’s great for overcoming writer's block and generating ideas or structure quickly. But here’s the catch: search engines, especially Google, place a high value on content that’s unique, experience-driven, and built around E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). AI can pull general knowledge and ideas from a vast array of sources, but it doesn’t create new knowledge or unique perspectives—and these are what Google increasingly rewards. AI might help with volume, but it rarely replaces the kind of thoughtful, experience-driven content that performs well in search rankings.

2. AI as the “Creative Assistant”—Not the Voice of Your Brand AI is best thought of as an “assistant” rather than the voice of your brand. It can help you get past the blank page or gather relevant information, but if your final content doesn’t sound like you or lacks emotional authenticity, it risks missing out on the connection that drives true engagement. AI content might read as “correct” but often lacks the nuances, quirks, and realness that make a brand voice memorable. Readers can tell the difference.

3. Quality Control Is Non-Negotiable One of the big pitfalls of AI-generated content is the risk of low-quality or inaccurate information slipping through. Models sometimes make factual or tonal errors, especially when the content is very niche, and it’s easy to miss these if you’re not reviewing carefully. While AI speeds things up, you’ll still want to edit and proofread closely to make sure everything aligns with your brand and is accurate.

4. Combining AI’s Speed with Human Insight Is Key AI is valuable for efficiency—getting that rough draft done fast, for example, or creating outlines that save time. But blending that speed with human insight and strategy is where the magic happens. You might use AI to kick off a content piece, but it’s the human touch that polishes it with tone, context, and brand personality, making it resonate with your audience and feel authentic.

5. Strategic AI Use in SEO Is About Balance SEO is a long-term game, so balancing AI-generated and human-created content in a way that aligns with your brand voice and business goals is important. You can use AI to keep content fresh, tackle high-volume tasks like FAQs, or assist with repurposing existing content. But remember, a strategic blend of human and AI content is what keeps your content quality high and your voice consistent across all channels.

In short, AI can play a powerful role in modern content strategy—but as a tool, not a replacement for human creativity, voice, or expertise. By combining AI’s strengths with our own unique insights, we create content that’s fast, fresh, and, most importantly, genuinely resonates with readers.

Would love to hear what others think about balancing AI and human-driven content in their own SEO and content strategies!