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Google Search guidance about AI-generated content explained by Yannis Divramis

Google Search’s Guidance About AI-Generated Content in 2026

Google Search guidance about AI-generated content explained by Yannis Divramis

Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content in 2026

Hello folks! Can you use AI to write content and still rank on Google? The official answer is in a short page called Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content. It was published in February 2023, and on 1 October 2026 Google added a strong new warning to its related documentation. I have been doing SEO since 2013 with my Best SEO Agency team, so let me explain what Google really says, in plain words.

As always, I will not invent anything here. Every rule below comes from Google’s own pages, from Search Engine Journal and from Searchprex. When something is my personal opinion, I tell you.

What Is Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content?

Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content is a post on the Google Search Central blog, written by Danny Sullivan and Chris Nelson on behalf of the Google Search Quality team on 8 February 2023. In one sentence, it says that Google rewards high-quality content, however it is produced. If you are new to these ideas, read my notes on why content is king first.

So the short answer is yes, you can use AI. But Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content also draws a hard line: if you use automation, including AI, mainly to manipulate rankings, you break the spam policies. Everything else in the guidance lives between those two sentences.

In this post I cover the original 2023 guidance, the newer Google documentation page about generative AI content, and the change of 1 October 2026 that tells you to fact-check AI content by hand before you publish it.

The Core Rule In Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content

The heart of Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content is this: Google’s ranking systems aim to reward original, high-quality content that shows E-E-A-T, which stands for expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Google says it focuses on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced. That is the first thing Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content asks for.

Google gives a nice historical example. About ten years before the post, there were concerns about a rise in mass-produced content written by humans. Nobody thought it reasonable to ban all human-generated content. Instead, Google improved its systems to reward quality. The same logic now applies to AI, and that is the spirit of Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content.

Not all automation is spam

Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content reminds us that automation has long been used to create helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts and transcripts. Our own YouTube video SEO work uses transcripts in the same helpful way. Google also says AI can power new levels of expression and creativity and can be a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.

Using AI gives no special boost

One of my favourite lines is in the FAQ: using AI does not give content any special gains. It is just content. If it is useful, helpful, original and satisfies aspects of E-E-A-T, it might do well in Search. If it does not, it might not. Simple, but not easy! That single line explains most of Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content.

When Is AI Content Spam Under Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content?

Here is the line you must never cross. According to Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content, using automation, including AI, to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of the Google spam policies.

Google also says its spam-fighting work, including the SpamBrain system, will continue however spam is produced. And the newer Google documentation adds a specific warning: using generative AI tools to generate many pages without adding value for users may violate the spam policy on scaled content abuse.

So, under Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content, the problem is never the tool. The problem is the purpose. One helpful article written with AI help is fine. Ten thousand thin pages made only to catch search traffic are not. I wrote about the same trap in programmatic SEO and in content pruning. I explained the full list of Google spam policies in my post about the Google September 2026 spam update.

What Changed On 1 October 2026?

This is the news that made me write this post. On 1 October 2026, Google updated its documentation page called Google Search's guidance on using generative AI content on your website. That page sits next to Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content, and it now carries a much stronger warning.

Search Engine Journal reports that three sentences were added to the section called Focus on accuracy, quality, and relevance. Google now says that generative models do not retrieve facts, but predict a likely sequence of words based on their training data, so the output may contain inaccuracies, also known as hallucinations. And then the key sentence: it is critical to manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content for accuracy and trustworthiness before publishing.

The review covers metadata too

The update goes further than the article text. Google says the review also applies to metadata like title elements, meta description elements, structured data and alternate texts for images, which can appear in Search results. If your team uses AI to write title tags or alt text, that output needs a human check too. Our on-page optimisation and image optimisation notes cover those elements. This metadata rule is the most practical addition next to Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content.

Why Google made the change

Search Engine Journal says the Google changelog entry describes the update as bringing in information from the Search Quality Raters document, the handbook Google gives its search raters. Searchprex reports that Search Engine Roundtable quoted Google saying the change was made to get the documentation in sync with the presentations Google uses at its developer events.

Searchprex also reports that Barry Schwartz noted Google rarely uses the word critical in its search documentation, and that he suggested a possible link with the September 2026 spam update. That is his suggestion, not a Google statement, but it is worth keeping in mind.

And one more important detail from Searchprex: this is a documentation update, not an announced ranking change. Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content still does not ban AI.

Who, How And Why In Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content

Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content points to the Google help page about creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. There, Google suggests you evaluate your content with three questions: Who, How and Why.

Who created the content?

Google says it helps people understand the E-E-A-T of content when it is clear who created it. Ask yourself whether it is self-evident who authored your content, whether your pages carry a byline where one might be expected, and whether the bylines lead to more information about the author.

Google also warns against deceptive authorship, and this connects directly with Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content. Fabricating creator profiles, for example with AI-generated headshots, made-up names or false credentials, is a form of deception and a signal of a low-quality page. Real authors also build personal branding and online reputation that no AI headshot can fake.

How was the content created?

If automation is used to substantially generate content, Google suggests you ask whether the use of AI is self-evident to visitors through disclosures, whether you give background on how AI was used, and whether you explain why AI was useful for that content.

Why was the content created?

Google calls this perhaps the most important question. The why should be that you are creating content primarily to help people. If the why is mainly to attract search engine visits, that is not aligned with what Google systems seek to reward.

Bylines, Disclosures And AI As An Author

The FAQ in Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content answers three practical questions that many site owners ask me.

  • Should I add author bylines? Google says to consider accurate author bylines when readers would reasonably expect them, such as on any content where someone might think, who wrote this? Publishers in Google News should use bylines and author information.
  • Should I add AI disclosures? Google says AI or automation disclosures are useful for content where someone might think, how was this created? Consider adding them when it would be reasonably expected.
  • Can I list AI as the author? Google says giving AI an author byline is probably not the best way to follow its recommendation to make clear to readers when AI is part of the content creation process.

On this blog, every post carries my name. That is the simplest way to answer the who question in Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content.

What About Ecommerce And Merchant Center?

Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content from 2023 does not go into online shops, so the newer Google documentation fills that gap with hard rules. According to that page, Google Merchant Center has policies for AI-generated content. AI-generated images must contain metadata using the IPTC DigitalSourceType TrainedAlgorithmicMedia value, and AI-generated product data such as titles and descriptions must be specified separately and labelled as AI-generated.

If you run an eshop and use AI for product descriptions or product photos, this is not optional advice. Read the Merchant Center policies and set up your feeds properly. If you sell on Shopify, check your app settings too, because many apps now write product text with AI. Those Merchant Center rules sit next to Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content, not inside it. Our ecommerce SEO page explains how we approach online stores.

What Does The Search Quality Raters Handbook Say?

The Google documentation points to two sections of the Search Quality Raters handbook: section 4.6.5 on scaled content abuse, and section 4.6.6 on main content created with little to no effort, little to no originality and little to no added value.

Google is careful to explain that this handbook is not a recipe for ranking first. They are used by search raters to help evaluate the performance of Google ranking systems, and their ratings do not directly influence ranking. Still, they show you exactly what Google considers low quality, and they explain the thinking behind Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content.

What Did Googlers Say Before The Update?

The fact-check rule is not a surprise if you follow Google closely, and it fits perfectly with Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content. Search Engine Journal reports that in an April 2024 Search Off the Record episode, Gary Illyes said generative AI output always has to be fact-checked. In an August 2025 interview, reported by Roger Montti, Illyes said AI content should be human curated, with someone checking that it is accurate.

So the October 2026 change puts in writing what Googlers had been saying for more than two years. Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content and the newer documentation now say the same thing in strong words: AI can help you, but a human must stand behind every page.

My Take On Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content

I have been against low-quality content for a very long time. Back in 2013, in my post about the 10 things I hate most in blogging, I wrote about poor quality content with bad language, thin videos and pointless PLR articles, and I asked: who is still using article spinners today? Today the spinner has a new name, but the problem is the same.

In my post on three basic SEO tips for evergreen results, I wrote that copied content can be harmful for your ranking in the long run, and that a very basic rule to rank on Google is to create unique content. I also wrote there that I usually write the posts of my blogs myself, because I like writing, and that I rarely use the ghost writing services we offer. Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content does not say you must write everything yourself. But it rewards the same things I always believed in: original work, real experience and someone accountable behind the page.

My advice is simple. Use AI for research and structure, exactly as the Google documentation suggests. Then put your own knowledge, your own examples and your own voice on top, and check every fact before you press publish. Remember Aristotle: quality over quantity. That is how you stay safe with Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content today, and with whatever Google adds next.

A Simple Checklist Before You Publish AI Content

Based on Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content and the October 2026 update, here is the checklist I would use:

  1. Fact-check every claim by hand. Google calls this critical, because AI can hallucinate.
  2. Check the metadata too. Titles, meta descriptions, structured data and image alt text fall under the same review.
  3. Add real value. Do not publish many pages that add nothing for users; that may count as scaled content abuse.
  4. Answer who, how and why. Show a real author, explain how AI was used where readers would expect it, and write for people first.
  5. Never fake an author. No AI headshots, made-up names or false credentials.
  6. Follow Merchant Center rules if you sell products with AI images or AI product data.

Follow these six steps and you follow Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content in practice. If you want a second pair of eyes on your site, our SEO site audit and our SEO copywriting service can help you clean up AI content before it becomes a problem.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Search's Guidance About AI-Generated Content

What is Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content?

It is a Google Search Central blog post from 8 February 2023 that says Google rewards high-quality content however it is produced, and that using AI mainly to manipulate rankings breaks the spam policies.

Is AI content against the Google rules?

No. Google says appropriate use of AI or automation is not against its rules, as long as it is not used to generate content primarily to manipulate search rankings.

What changed on 1 October 2026?

Google updated its generative AI content documentation to say it is critical to manually fact-check and review all AI-generated content before publishing, including metadata such as titles, meta descriptions, structured data and alt text.

Does Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content require AI disclosures?

No. Google says disclosures are useful where someone might ask how the content was created, and to consider them when readers would reasonably expect them.

Can I list AI as the author of a post?

Google says giving AI an author byline is probably not the best way to make clear to readers that AI was part of the process.

Will AI content rank highly on Google?

Google says using AI gives no special gains. If the content is useful, helpful, original and shows E-E-A-T, it might do well. Content that fails those tests may not do well.

What is scaled content abuse?

It is when many pages are generated mainly to manipulate rankings and not to help users, no matter how they are created. Google warns that generating many pages with AI without adding value may violate this policy.

Was the October 2026 update a ranking change?

According to Searchprex, it was a documentation update, not an announced ranking change.

When was Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content published?

On 8 February 2023, on the Google Search Central blog.

Who wrote Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content?

Danny Sullivan and Chris Nelson, on behalf of the Google Search Quality team.

Where can I read Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content?

On the Google Search Central blog. The link is in the sources at the end of this post, together with the newer Google documentation page about generative AI content.

More From My Blog On AI, Content And Google

Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content is one piece of a bigger picture. These posts and pages on my site will help you see the rest.

AI search and AI SEO

Read whether ChatGPT built its own search index, generative engine optimisation, ranking first in ChatGPT, AI first search, how to win in Google AI search, whether your site is ready for AI search, rank or die by 2026, AI SEO keyword research, AI web design, 10 critical AI SEO mistakes and AI automation with Martin Atrin.

Google updates

Every update tests how well you follow Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content. See Google core updates, the August 2025 spam update, what to do if your site disappeared from Google, the Penguin algorithm, the BERT update, the EMD update and the Pigeon update.

Content that people want to read

Write with help from AI if you like, but write for people. Read how to write great pillar articles, the four pillars of SEO, money keywords and the funnel, my older lesson on content, blogging for money, how to start your internet business blog and why your eshop needs a blog.

Trust and E-E-A-T

Trust is what Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content is really about. See a Google review link, removing a review on Google, the 11 most common SEO mistakes, why you need an SEO audit, white hat versus black hat SEO and how to destroy your site.

Links and authority

Good content still needs good links. Read why links are still the most important ranking factor, link earning versus link building, why people are afraid of backlinks, exact match anchor text and our link building services.

Technical foundations

See technical SEO, the checklist before a website launch, responsive websites, search engine friendly URLs and a redesign without losing your SEO.

Learning SEO and working with an agency

Start with the best way to learn SEO yourself, how to rank your site on Google, getting on the first page of Google, 11 reasons to do SEO, 7 lethal misconceptions about SEO, retaining traffic for the long term, keyword research, the Google ranking factors, how to start with SEO, in-house SEO versus an agency, how much SEO costs and what to look for in an SEO company.

Interviews and conferences

Hear it from people in the field: Craig Campbell on SEO in 2026, SEO testing with Kyle Roof, Chiang Mai SEO conference 2025 and Steven Khanna on SEO income.

Sources And Further Reading

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I am Yannis Divramis, I am an SEO Expert. I have been doing SEO since 2013.

I run the Divramis SEO Agency, and I am very glad that you’ve watched this video and keep watching the other videos, because we are posting many videos about SEO every month.

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