As content creators, we can’t just stop writing about new tips, tricks, hacks, how-to’s, etc. We should challenge ourselves to write content that’s helpful for people, which in turn helps our findability factor. But, not creating content for any search engine? I’m not sure this can be done. If we use AI platforms as the tools they are, do we forsake SEO?
The new Google Core update in March took many website owners by surprise. The last major update in 2022 brought us the idea of “helpful people-first content” and became my introduction to E-E-A-T: Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness. It was good in that content creators learned they had to create their own authority & trustworthiness by creating more original content to demonstrate their expertise and experience.
This recent core update reinforced that concept. It also added a twist, something that, I think, people knew, and either forgot or chose to forget: website owners whose content was 70% or more created either by copying and pasting from an unnamed source or using an AI platform discovered their sites could either not be found well or were delisted.
Google has said content shouldn’t be written for the search engines, but rather for the end user experience (EUE). Google can pretty much set the rules for search engines, right? After all, they’re the biggest owner of the search market. According to Statista.com, Google’s share of that world accounts for around 82%; Cloudwards.com puts it around 90% – so, yeah, Google can dictate the rules.
That made me wonder now about the AI arena. Google doesn’t like AI-generated content — that was also part of the Google Core update last month. The software company didn’t exactly spell it out, but the reinforcement of the 2022 “helpful people-first content” update combined with the March 2024 update certainly leans in that direction.
To sum up: Google isn’t a fan of broadly-written content that can be found in so many places because it can’t tell who the original author was or the original source of that content.
ChatGPT vs. Gemini vs. Bard vs. … (on and on)
In a previous article, I wrote about authentic communication and wondered whether AI could duplicate a person’s intent, voice, or thought process. Possibly. The AI checkers now include a way to “humanize” your writing, which may or may not work. Should it replace our human brain?
My husband had a thought about all the different AI platforms and juxtaposed that with Google’s latest Core update, and wondered two thoughts:
- Are we STILL writing for search engines? Technically, yes, this is true, because of the new rules and guidance we must follow to gain findability.
- To that end, are we now captive to the platform’s AI that they are using?
To the second thought: possibly.
Since Google is in control, the company has said helpful, human-generated content is what the crawlers and algorithm find, eat, store, and then serve as search results to anyone looking for those topics and conversations. Could it be then, that Google might favor its own AI platform, Gemini, while withholding or delisting content created by another AI platform?
Absolutely.
Could the other AI platforms do a similar function?
YES.
The bigger question that has no answer just yet: WILL they? Yes, Microsoft CoPilot could be programmed to disregard content from other AI platforms, but will it favor its own?
What is(are) the consequence(s) of such programming?
A world with biased search results
There are so many search engines out there, both with and without AI as part of the programming. If the search engines are then programmed to disregard other possible solutions, outcomes, writings, thoughts…that could then force the hand of the person searching to find answers outside that box, or else accept what has been presented to them.
Through social media and mobile devices, we already have so much zombie-scrolling that not many pay attention to their own surroundings. Many people “see” but don’t really see. Some blindly accept what answers they found, whatever method they used, they simply stop looking. They may feel, “it’s good enough”, and go back to their day. Accepting.
Are we in danger of losing skills such as critical thinking, decisive action, and planning, because a program either didn’t return all the search results to give us the necessary information to feed these skills? Again, what is(are) the consequence(s) we may face of platforms programmed to selectively hold back because what it crawls doesn’t meet IFTTT (if this, then that) logic?
Should knowledge be for the many or a select few?
Final thoughts
The final question: What if we NOT create content for ANY search engine?
That outcome, to me, is worse. If we just stop creating, stop writing, stop recording, we then deny the world of our thought process, our insights, what we’ve learned, and that stops us from teaching others as well as being able to learn from them.
Personally, this is how I define ignorance. Not a great thought, and definitely not a solution we should try to make happen. I know, deeper than the bluest lake, almost random paranoia. Maybe.
Stay curious. Ask questions of trusted sources. Journal consistently. Hire a coach or a mentor, someone that will guide you to help you succeed.
If you choose to use an AI program, remember one thing: the human brain will always be far more creative, far more solutions-driven, than any tool created by humans to replace humans or “make life easier”.
First, find your “a-ha!” moments. Then, show others how to discover theirs.
Be strategic. Be visible. Be found.
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