Why is everyone talking about "AI content"?
Today, AI tools write emails, product texts and even math problems. Of course, website operators are wondering whether this will disrupt search engine optimization (SEO). Google openly stated in 2023 that it is not against AI texts. Since then, the search giant has even shown AI overviews directly in the search window. This is a strong signal: Google wants to evaluate content, not how it is created.
The claim "Google penalizes AI" - myth or fact?
Posts predicting penalties are circulating on the web. But Google only mentions two real dangers: low quality and spam. It doesn't matter whether the words were written by a human or a machine. The origin of the text is irrelevant, only the benefit for the reader counts. Anyone who produces purely automated content that offers no added value runs the risk of losing visibility, regardless of the author. In concrete terms, this means that if AI texts are helpful, well-founded and clearly structured, they have just as good a chance of achieving a top ranking as any other content.
This is how the effect of AI content on Google rankings was measured
Approach of the study
The process was as follows: in order to achieve the most objective results possible and avoid possible bias, the analysts opted for a particularly broad and random approach. First, 100,000 keywords were selected using the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer - purely at random, without any pre-selection of content. For each of these keywords, the 20 top-ranked URLs were then determined, i.e. a total of two million potential rankings.
The actual content was collected from these URLs, resulting in a total of around 600,000 individual pages. Each of these pages was then checked by the company's own AI Content Detector to analyze the proportion of artificially generated content. This resulted in a well-founded data basis that provides information about the actual use of AI in the current top rankings.
Result of the detector
The result of the analysis by the AI Content Detector shows a clear picture: Only a small proportion of the pages examined - namely 4.6% - were classified as fully AI-generated. On the other hand, 13.5% of the content is considered purely human-generated. By far the largest proportion, namely 81.9%, consists of a combination of both approaches - i.e. texts that contain both human and AI-based elements.
Mixtures
For the content classified as a mixture of human and AI-generated work, it is worth taking a closer look at the extent of AI usage. A small proportion - around 13.8% - showed only very small percentages in which artificial intelligence was used at all. In these cases, the proportion of AI was between 1 and 10 % and was presumably used more for fine-tuning or refining ideas.
The largest proportion, namely 40%, was in the middle range with moderate AI usage of 11 to 40% of the page content. Here, AI appears to have been used specifically for support, for example for certain paragraphs or for linguistic smoothing.
In a further 20.3%, AI involvement was already much more pronounced - between 41% and 70% of the content came from automated sources. In these cases, AI is likely to have already played a central role in text creation.
And finally, there were also pages with almost completely AI-generated content: 7.8% achieved a very high rate of between 71% and 99%.
What can be deduced from these figures: The majority of well-ranked pages on Google now rely on AI in some form - sometimes discreetly, sometimes clearly noticeable. Pure human or pure machine content is the exception rather than the rule. The best results currently appear to be achieved through a balanced combination of both approaches.
Most of the top websites are AI-supported
The team's analysis showed that pure, completely manually created content is the exception rather than the rule in the Google Top 20. Only 13.5% of the pages analyzed manage without AI at all - the majority already use it in some form.
Whether for optimization, idea generation or for individual text passages - AI has long been integrated into everyday editorial work. Tools such as Google Docs, writing assistants and SEO software are increasingly relying on intelligent support.
The fact that Google is taking this change into account is reflected in its ranking behavior: Pages with AI content also perform well. The concern that AI content would be penalized seems unfounded.
A large industry survey of 879 marketers underscores this trend: 87% already use AI tools to create content - from social posts to search engine-optimized texts.
Google does not penalize or reward AI content
The study also took a closer look at the correlation between the proportion of AI-generated content and the respective ranking position. This resulted in a correlation value of 0.011 - an extremely low value that is considered statistically insignificant. In other words, there is no relevant correlation between the use of AI and the ranking in Google search results.
A high proportion of AI does not appear to noticeably worsen the ranking, nor does a purely human-generated text automatically ensure better visibility. The position of a page in the search results therefore depends on many factors. The AI component alone does not appear to play a decisive role. Google therefore does not penalize the use of artificial intelligence in principle, but does not consider it a clear advantage either.
AI websites rarely among the best
The results of the analysis indicate that pages that rank in first place on Google tend to have a slightly lower proportion of AI-generated content. The study distinguishes between three categories: Content with an AI share of 0 to 30 % is considered minimally AI-supported, between 30 and 70 % as moderate, and at a share of 70 to 100 % one speaks of strongly AI-supported texts.
Interestingly, it can be seen that sites with a minimal proportion of AI are more frequently represented in the top positions than those with heavily AI-dominated content. The differences are therefore measurable, but not dramatic. Purely AI-generated content can certainly rank well.
Conclusion
Don't be afraid of AI content. Our language is changing and so are our writing tools. The data shows: AI support is normal today. Google rates what readers get, not who types. Therefore, rely on a clever mix of human creativity and AI efficiency. Then you will secure the best rankings, a lot of trust and save a lot of time.