“We have already replaced our writers with ChatGPT,” they say.
“I would pivot to other services if I were you. AI dooms content writers,” they say.
“Why should I hire a writer if it only costs me $20 a month on my ChatGPT subscription?” they ask.
These are the exact words of ChatGPT fanatics weeks to months after its public launch on November 2022.
180° Turn: From AI Zealots to Human Writer Fanatics Again!
Haha! One more time. Haha!
After three months, I received messages from familiar email addresses.
They are the same people who said they had no use for our content writing services anymore.
I wouldn’t blame them if they had that initial perception of content-producing AI tools.
After all, AI extremists have already been relentlessly conditioning the public’s mind about the jobs that AI will replace long before the launch of ChatGPT.
They said content writers are one of those “disposable” talents.
Well, guess what?!
They all had a 180-degree turn when they received an email from Google AdSense that said, “Your site isn’t ready to show ads: low-value content.”
This July, I received these messages via email and Skype:
“Jaycee, I need you back as our content provider. Are you free to take some work?”
“Looks like I can use your content writing services again.”
“I keep my ChatGPT subscription but only use it to create an outline. I don’t use it for content generation anymore. You were right all this time, Jaycee.”
Does Google Really Consider AI Content Spam?
Some people think I’m pushing for manually written content just because it’s our flagship service.
I won’t lie; that’s one of the reasons.
Do you expect a professional football player to say that ice hockey is the best sport in the world?
Are you telling me that a real estate agent would say fishing is the best job ever?
John Mueller’s words back my bias for manually written content.
If you’re new to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), I can imagine what’s written in your thought bubble: “Who is John Mueller?”
John Mueller is the Senior Search Analyst and Senior Search Relations Team Lead at Google, according to his LinkedIn profile as of July 30, 2023.
In the early second quarter of 2022, Search Engine Journal (SEJ) published an article confirming that AI-generated content is against Google Search’s guidelines for quality content.
During a Google SEO Office Hours session, John Mueller said that automatically-generated content through artificial intelligence (AI) applications is considered spam, categorized as “auto-generated content,” and is subject to a penalty.
Don’t take my word for it. Watch this video.
During that time, SEJ’s article said that Google might not have the system to detect AI-generated content.
Do you believe that?
Well, I don’t!
Didn’t you hear about Google Brain in 2011?
Even before 2011, there were news already about Google’s interest in AI.
After all, if Originality.AI can develop an AI content detection algorithm, don’t you think Google doesn’t have the financial and intellectual resources to develop the same, if not a better version?
You can’t pull the wool over my eyes.
Google Doesn’t Approve AI-Generated Content
Many case studies prove that human-written content is better than AI-generated or automatically-generated content.
Friends, I’m not talking about personal opinions that are not data-driven.
One of the notable case studies I have read is the one from Jonathan Gillham of Originality.AI.
I know what the nay-sayers think, “Of course, they will do case studies that will position their products or services to their advantage.”
After 23 years of doing business online, I’ve learned the objections of true blue contrarians so well!
Is there anything wrong with a case study that positions your product or service to your advantage if all claims are data-driven?
Being data-driven is the operative phrase.
You know what’s wrong?
It’s when all your “I think, I feel, I believe” opinions are not substantiated with data.
Related Article: HOW WE ENSURE CONTENT ORIGINALITY IN THE AGE OF AI
Originality.AI’s case study is very similar to my experience with my clients.
Jonathan and his team studied why Google AdSense disapproved of one website for showing ads.
They investigated if the articles were plagiarized, written poorly, or AI-generated.
Since the website had over 700 articles, they checked only the top 10, representing 1.43% of the total articles.
Here’s what they found out:
- the articles are over 1,000 words each
- they were well-written and helpful to the reader
- they were properly formatted (with an introduction, paragraphs within the body, and a conclusion)
- internal and external links were spotted
- no grammar and spelling issues
According to Jonathan, the articles read like the typical articles generated by ChatGPT-4 with a little bit of human editing.
Oh, boy, I remember the favorite statement of the members of the ChatGPT fandom, “It’s all about the prompt, my man! It’s all about the prompt. The better the prompt, the better the output.”
That rolls smoothly to the tongue, but is it kosher to Google?!
Jonathan and his team checked the articles for plagiarism and found no plagiarism-related issues.
But when they ran the articles for AI detection, that’s when the lightbulb went off!
Seven out of ten articles returned 100% AI!
I can imagine the frustration of the website’s owner, who once thought hiring cheap content writers who use ChatGPT was his best decision.
Save a Few Dollars Now, Spend More Later?
What’s smart about saving a few dollars in the beginning only to spend 3x to 5x more than necessary?
I wonder if that website’s owner would gladly tell his horror story in the SEO community.
Many will benefit because the cheapest but most effective way of learning is through the failure of others.
Anyway, I’ve told the story on his behalf already!
Blame Jonathan, not me. 🙂
Had he hired professional writers who write manually, he would have been enjoying his daily profits from Google AdSense by now.
What happened next after detecting the AI-generated content?
Jonathan said they decided to check all the articles and found that almost all were AI-generated.
They edited some and unpublished some.
That was the only change they made – edit and unpublish.
Then the site owner re-applied for Google AdSense.
Result: Approved for Google AdSense!
Bringing It All Together on Google AdSense’s Take on AI-Generated Content
I am not against AI.
I’m a computer scientist by profession. How can I hate it?
I’m against the abusive use of AI within the context of what’s acceptable by Google Search and what’s not.
When writer’s block hits me, I ask ChatGPT for ideas.
There’s a big difference between asking for ideas and telling it to write an article my client could have just done for free.
Asking ChatGPT for ideas is the same as asking AnswerThePublic for what people are asking about.
Does AnswerThePublic write the article for me?
No!
It just gives me the questions people ask about a certain topic.
Then I create my content outline based on those questions.
I am an entrepreneur.
I’m not just a writer and co-owner of a digital marketing agency that produces content for others.
My wife and I have businesses not related to digital marketing services.
With that, I see ChatGPT and similar tools as useful tools for writing people-first content.
Don’t mistake “helping you write” for “instructing it to write”.
No AI tool can write exactly like how I do.
Only I know when to throw a joke that simultaneously touches the borderlines of allusion and sarcasm.
Only I can write the Jaycee de Guzman’s way.
The intelligence of ChatGPT is still far from having the ability to clone my writing style to the tee.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, but exciting times are ahead of OpenAI and the computer science community.
So, until then, I choose writers who write manually over AI-generated content – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
If you want a more painful than profitable experience, try generating 100 long-form articles on ChatGPT and publish them on your new website unedited.
Then, apply for Google AdSense.
If disapproved, you can come to me and use my content writing services.
I promise you won’t hear me say, “I told you so!”
Did you also experience rejection from Google AdSense due to AI-generated or ChatGPT-produced content? Let me know your journey in the comments below.
- 3 Reasons Why I Get Hired as a Blockchain, Crypto, or Web3 Content Writer - August 19, 2023
- Is Multiskilling Key to Freelancer Success? - August 1, 2023
- ALERT! Google AdSense Rejects Websites with AI-Generated Content - July 30, 2023
