Are technical articles written for engineers likely to rank better for search engines if written by generative AI or by humans?

Generative AI is revolutionising the way we create B2B electronics written content aimed at helping electronics design engineers in their work. It's an incredibly powerful technology for research and for overcoming 'blank page syndrome'. Figuring out an article structure is the first barrier to getting it written.

That said, these tools have major failings when it comes to writing articles. The articles may be well structured but are often bland, repeat words excessively from the initial prompt, and can be full of obvious errors.

But what about the SEO value of such articles? Perhaps because AI tools harvest information from the internet, the results would naturally be search-optimised? To understand if that's really the case, I turned to ChatGPT. The response may surprise you.

PROMPT

Are technical articles written for engineers likely to rank better for search engines if written by generative AI or by humans?

RESPONSE

The performance of technical articles in search engine rankings, whether written by generative AI or humans, depends on various factors, including the quality of the content, its relevance to the user's search intent, the level of expertise and authority demonstrated, and how well it aligns with search engine guidelines.

1. Quality and Clarity: Human writers often excel at producing nuanced, context-rich content that resonates well with readers. A well-written, insightful article by an expert can engage readers more effectively, leading to better user engagement metrics (like time on page and bounce rate), which are important for SEO.
2. Originality and Insight: Human experts can provide unique insights, personal experiences, and innovative ideas that AI might not replicate accurately. Search engines value original and insightful content that provides real value to users.
3. Technical Accuracy: For technical content, accuracy is crucial. Human experts in a field can ensure the technical accuracy and relevance of the content, which might be more challenging for AI, especially for cutting-edge or niche topics.
4. SEO Optimization: Both AI-generated and human-written content can be optimized for search engines using keywords, meta tags, and structured data. However, humans might have a better understanding of subtle nuances in keyword usage and user intent, leading to more natural and effective optimization.
5. Compliance with Guidelines: Major search engines like Google have guidelines that emphasize the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) for content, especially for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. Human-written content by recognized experts often aligns better with these guidelines.
6. Risk of Penalties: Search engines are increasingly adept at identifying AI-generated content, and there might be a risk of penalties if the content is deemed low-quality or manipulative. Human-written content, particularly if well-crafted and informative, carries less risk in this regard.

In conclusion, while AI can produce technically accurate and well-optimized content, human-written articles, especially those authored by experts, are more likely to excel in areas that search engines value highly, such as originality, depth of insight, and nuanced understanding of user needs. However, the gap between AI and human capabilities is narrowing, and the use of AI tools to assist human writers in creating high-quality content is becoming more common. The best approach might involve a combination of AI and human expertise, leveraging the strengths of both to produce content that ranks well and satisfies user queries effectively.

It looks like original, human-written technical content is going to be in demand for a while yet. But there's little room for complacency.