The rise of Chat GPT in the last 12 months has made it very attractive to use generative AI technology in content creation for SEO. After all, search engine optimisation is a marketing strategy that heavily relies on content for the best possible outcomes, but what is the real-world relationship between SEO and AI, and then, between AI and copywriting?
Continue reading to learn more about the serious considerations you should make before using SEO and AI generated content together.
Understanding Generative AI
Let’s start by laying down some groundwork. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an extremely broad, blanket term for hardware and software with the ability to mimic human intelligence. Machine Learning (ML) is a subset technology of AI, which allows machines to learn from data without being specifically programmed to understand it. Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT, are a type of a machine learning model trained on vast amounts of text. The ‘GPT’ in ChatGPT, stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer. GPT is designed to generate human like text based on an input. This will become more significant later in our discussion, but for now it’s important to start understanding that ChatGPT produces better output, if given quality input. To rephrase it in simple terms, garbage in = garbage out.
What is a Generative Pretrained Transformer?
Imagine an exceptionally clever parrot with a vast memory. This parrot has been listening to human conversations on an extremely diverse range of topics for so long, that it can mimic human conversations incredibly well. There is a catch, however. The parrot does not really understand what it is saying, it only knows how to guess the words that usually come next in sentences. This parrot has heard so many different sentences in real human conversations that the guesses it makes about the next word are so good, and the conversations it holds in this way are so uncanny, that sometimes they may even seem insightful. There is no thinking, or intelligence as we understand it at work here, everything a Generative Pretrained Transformer responds to you with is based on replicating the patterns in the data it was trained on.
GPT Limitations – The Knowledge Cut-off, and Hallucinations
Generative Pretrained Transformers such as ChatGPT are not without their limitations or significant issues. Both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 will frequently remark on their September 2021 knowledge cut-off if they think the information you are discussing with them is liable to have changed since then. In fact, search engine optimisation itself is one such topic which, as a rapidly changing area of expertise, if discussed with ChatGPT is likely to trigger it to point out that it may not have the most up-to-date or accurate information on the topic.
The other, major in the context of AI and copywriting, issue is ChatGPT’s proclivity to ‘hallucinate’. Indeed, when talking about GPT, ‘hallucination’ is very much a technical term referring to the possibility for the language model to generate false data or invent ‘facts’ in an extremely convincing manner. ChatGPT can be very confidently wrong about things, because of the pattern-based, rather than fact-based way in which it generates text output in a conversation. This is also why with the right approach it is often possible to ‘massage’ ChatGPT into taking a particular stance on a topic or to outright make things up. Hence our previous remarks that garbage in = garbage out.
Where SEO and AI Intersect
AI text generators are a very attractive value proposition to anyone working on a search engine optimisation campaign, where text content is required for the best possible outcomes. AI tools like ChatGPT can rapidly generate large amounts of well-written and engaging content if skilfully prompted in an effective manner, saving time and money in the process. That said, their effective use requires some careful consideration and necessitates a thoughtful approach.
The Official Google Stance on SEO and AI Content
Officially, Google rewards high-quality content, however it is produced. In other words, if the text is useful, accurately discusses a topic, answers a question, or otherwise delivers the content a given Google user could reasonably expect to find when conducting a given search – this can mean an article, product, service, or a business page – it is an appropriate use of AI and, at least at this time, not subject to any penalties. That said, a high degree of discretion is necessary when using AI to create SEO content – content generated primarily to manipulate search rankings is still against Google spam policies. You should not think of AI content as a cheap and easy way for you to improve your search engine rankings. There is also no guarantee that these policies will not change in the future if website owners abuse AI content and if detecting AI generated text becomes more reliable.
AI and Copywriting – Will AI Written Content Rank Higher on Google?
No, AI written content does not have any inherent advantages over content produced by a human writer. What matters is not who or what wrote a given text, but rather how accurately and how well that text answers any given question that could be used to find it on Google.
Effective Strategies for AI and Copywriting
AI tools can also help generate new content ideas, overcome writer’s block, and supply basic ideas or outlines that can then be further developed by human writers. However, the possibility of inaccurate, irrelevant or outright made-up content, make the proposition of solely relying on AI a cautious one.
At Resurge Digital, we recommend a hybrid approach of using AI for human-guided content analysis or content idea generation, and then having a professional writer develop, refine and personalize the output for best results. We are a digital marketing agency Brisbane business owners like you trust to innovate, and we strongly believe that AI is a tool to be used in conjunction with human creativity and expertise. Remember that in the world of SEO, there’s no substitute for quality, well-researched, and human-written content.
Want to make the most out of your SEO? Get in touch with our SEO Brisbane experts. Call us on 1300 659 035, email [email protected], or contact us online for our expert help. We’re here to guide you in leveraging technology while keeping your SEO strategy on the right track.