As artificial intelligence (AI) has become used daily during content creation, it’s important for developers, designers and writers to research how different search engines view AI-generated content.
Keeping up to date with the usage guidelines posted by popular search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo is vital. This helps ensure that AI developers understand what type of content will perform best within each environment.
While the leading search engines provide few explicit AI guidelines for developers, their general content policies offer valuable insight.
Google’s Mantra: Quality and User Value
Google, the world’s leading search engine, emphasizes high-quality content that provides value to users.
Their guidelines focus on Expertise, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), which has the following implications for AI-generated content.
Content Quality Trumps Origin. Google prioritizes the quality and relevance of content over its source. If AI-generated content meets high standards of accuracy and usefulness, it could potentially perform well.
User-Centric Creations Rule. Google rewards content that genuinely serves user needs. AI-generated content should focus on providing genuine value rather than attempting to manipulate search rankings.
Originality Wins. Google values fresh perspectives and insights. Therefore, AI should be used to support the creation of new content, rather than rehashing existing information.
Content may be considered spam if generative AI has been used to manipulate ranking in search results. A 2024 update to Google’s spam policy describes content created for manipulating search rankings as an abusive practice.
Transparency Matters. In addition to spam policies, Google’s developer blog suggests that being open about AI usage in content creation could be beneficial. However, giving AI an author byline is not an acceptable way to clarify authorship.
A 2023 article within Google’s developer library, Google Search’s guidance about AI-generated content, is recommended reading.
Yahoo/Bing: Ethical AI Welcome
While Yahoo now uses Bing’s search technology, the site has taken some interesting directions over the past 15 years.
In 2009, Microsoft’s Bing search engine replaced Yahoo’s in-house web crawler. However, this agreement eventually foundered, with Google taking over Yahoo’s search functions from 2015 until 2018, when Bing regained control.
While Bing/Yahoo search engine guidelines are similar to Google’s, there are a few differences.
For example, Bing’s guidelines emphasize responsible and ethical use of AI technology while Google focuses on intent and quality, detecting and scrutinizing AI-produced content.
In addition, content without specific tags (such as NOCACHE or NOARCHIVE) may be included in Bing Chat answers. This enables users to upload AI-generated content that adheres to Bing guidelines.
DuckDuckGo: Privacy Reigns
This search engine was self-funded by CEO Gabriel Weinberg in 2008, who describes the site’s growth as “a self-funded operation out of his dusty basement” into a multi-million dollar business with a mission to provide privacy to its users.
While DuckDuckGo doesn’t provide content guidelines, the site’s official blog, Spread Privacy, features a variety of articles useful to developers, including opinions penned by the CEO.
Developers may familiarize themselves with the site’s philosophy and ensure their work, AI-generated or traditional, is created with DuckDuckGo’s emphasis on privacy. There may be increased scrutiny of AI systems that rely heavily on user content.
DuckDuckGo draws from multiple sources for its search results. This suggests that AI-generated content should aim for diversity in perspectives and information while being transparent about its creation methods.
Also, since the site exists to provide web users with an experience without tracking, this may have implications for AI systems that rely on user tracking for content personalization.
Best Practices for AI Usage in Content Creation
Instead of relying solely on one AI tool, savvy developers and writers alike use the innovative content enhancement tools provided at Undetectable.ai.
Content may be enhanced for its expected readership at Undetectable’s site. For example, readability levels from high school to university may be achieved in seconds with the site’s humanizer tools.
If bypassing an AI detector such as Copyleaks or GPTZero is required, Undetectable’s staff have created award-winning detector tools for a variety of users.
Additional best practices:
- Use AI to enhance content quality, not as a shortcut to produce large volumes of mediocre material.
- Use AI to brainstorm and generate fresh ideas and perspectives, not to recreate existing content.
- Implement robust fact-checking processes for AI-generated content, as errors are still commonplace.
- Ensure AI tools are configured to create content that performs well across all devices and platforms.