These days, having a piece of text written for your website takes barely ten seconds. You open ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.ai, type in a short question about your service, and you’ll immediately get a well-written piece of text that you can paste into WordPress and publish. Lots of SMEs now work this way, and we understand why – as an entrepreneur, you’ve got little time to spend hours writing content yourself.
However, research shows that this speed comes at a significant cost. Google primarily displays content written by humans, whilst AI-generated content that is published online without being edited ends up on the second page of search results with striking frequency. Very few visitors make it that far, meaning your website generates fewer enquiries than it could.
What Graphite’s research into AI-generated content and SEO reveals
In June 2025, the US SEO agency Graphite analysed Google’s results for 31,493 keywords across ten sectors. Using an AI detector, the researchers analysed every article on the first two pages of Google and determined in each case whether the text had been written by a human or a language model. The results were published in October 2025 and are particularly clear.
86%
of the articles on Google were written by people
14%
Some of the articles on Google come from an AI tool
7%
The top result is an AI-generated text
The same pattern emerges in AI search engines. Of the articles cited as sources by ChatGPT and Perplexity, 82 per cent were written by humans. Furthermore, an earlier study by Graphite from 2024 showed that, in half of the cases, the highest ranking for a human-written text was within Google’s top five, whilst in half of the cases, the highest ranking for an AI-generated text was only on the second page.
Graphite itself points out that rankings depend on a whole host of factors. AI-generated texts that had been thoroughly reworked by a human were excluded from the study, and according to the researchers, it is precisely this approach that can work well. This detail is important for anyone who wants to use AI wisely.
What Google itself says about text generated by ChatGPT
According to Google itself, it rewards high-quality content, regardless of how it is created. Using AI for your website is therefore permitted. What Google does penalise, however, is content that is produced on a large scale for the sole purpose of achieving a higher ranking and offers little value to the reader. In Google’s spam guidelines, this is referred to as ‘scaled content abuse’.
Text copied directly from ChatGPT comes dangerously close. It reads smoothly, but it says much the same as thousands of other pages on the same subject. What’s more, Google places great emphasis on experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness. It is precisely this experience that is lacking in AI-generated text, as a language model relies on general information from the internet and knows your customers, projects and region only from what you tell it.
Signs that a text comes directly from an AI tool
After a while, you’ll recognise AI-generated text straight away, and your visitors will too. There are a few tell-tale signs that reveal a text which was published online without human input.
- Every page begins with a general statement about how quickly the world is changing.
- Words such as ‘discover’, ‘seamless’ and ‘the digital landscape’ recur in almost every paragraph.
- The text is full of long dashes and lists with headings in bold.
- Specific examples, prices and names are missing, which means the text could appear on any competitor’s website.
Visitors can sense this. They scroll more quickly, are more likely to leave the site and click through to a competitor who comes across as more personal.
How to cleverly combine AI-generated content and SEO in four steps
AI-generated content and SEO go hand in hand, as long as a human writes the text and AI merely assists. By following these four steps, you can use AI as a tool whilst ensuring your text retains a recognisably human touch.
Use AI for ideas and structure
ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai are great for brainstorming. Let them suggest a structure, summarise customer queries or draw up a list of angles. You can then do the actual writing yourself or leave it to a copywriter.
Add something only you know
Talk about projects you’ve completed, questions that customers ask you every week, and figures from your own business. By using your own photos of your work and your team, you show Google and your visitors that there’s a real business with real people behind the website.
Write for keywords and for people
Good SEO content starts with keyword research. You choose the words your customers use to search for information and incorporate them naturally into your headings and paragraphs. A clear structure with subheadings and a few frequently asked questions helps both Google and AI search engines to understand your content.
Don’t forget about AI search engines either
More and more people are asking their questions directly to ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.ai. Research by Graphite shows that ChatGPT and Perplexity mainly use articles written by humans as their sources. Anyone wishing to be mentioned in those answers would therefore be well advised to invest in content based on their own knowledge and experience. This process is known as GEO, which stands for Generative Engine Optimisation.
Have your copy written by The Spotlight Agency
The Spotlight Agency helps SMEs improve their visibility on Google and in AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai. We write SEO and GEO content in Dutch, English and Spanish, always based on thorough keyword research and in your company’s own voice. With a monthly SEO subscription, you’ll have a dedicated partner who is personally available, monitors your rankings and works with you to grow your business. Your content works for you every month, whilst you focus on your customers.
Frequently asked questions about AI-generated content and SEO
Does Google penalise text generated by ChatGPT?
Google penalises low-quality content, regardless of who or what wrote it. In practice, however, unedited AI texts do tend to perform less well, as the Graphite study found that 86 per cent of the articles in Google’s search results were written by humans.
Can I use AI to write content for my website?
Yes, AI is a useful tool for generating ideas, creating a structure and producing an initial rough draft. You should then revise the text thoroughly, add your own experiences and examples, and check every fact before you publish.
How can I be listed on ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai?
AI search engines source their answers from reliable sources on the web. With clear, human-written content, a strong SEO foundation and mentions on other websites, you increase the likelihood of your business appearing in those results. This work is known as GEO and is included in our Strategic SEO subscription.
The source of the figures is the study AI Content in Search and Large Language Models from Graphite, October 2025.
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