Automatically generated content is content that software produces, for example from templates and data feeds, through translation, or with generative AI. In SEO, the question is whether it helps users or only aims to manipulate rankings.
What does Google say?
Google permits generative AI content that meets the standards of Search Essentials and its spam policies. Using generative AI tools to generate many pages without adding value for users may violate the policy on scaled content abuse. That policy does not distinguish by how a page was made, whether by automation, humans, or a combination.
Google also notes that generative AI output may contain inaccuracies and recommends manually fact-checking and reviewing all AI-generated content before publishing. Sharing how a piece of content was created can give readers more context.
In March 2024, Google reworded the policy. Before, it targeted content clearly generated through automation. Since then it addresses producing content at scale to boost rankings, whether automation, humans, or a combination are involved.
Example
A shop generates 5,000 location pages from one text block with only the city name swapped. This is a typical case of scaled content abuse.
Sources
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