How AI Writing Tools Can Hurt Your Marketing Game

AI writing tools like ChatGPT or Jasper might seem like a shortcut to getting content done faster, but if you’re not careful, they can actually harm your marketing strategy, especially when it comes to ranking on Google. 

Back in March 2024, Google put out a major update, and if you’ve been using AI to churn out content, you’ll want to pay attention. 

Now, to be clear, Google didn’t straight-up say, “Hey, AI is bad and we’ll punish you if you use it.” That’s not how they work. But they did make one thing very obvious: they care way more about quality than how fast you crank out content.

Now, here’s how Google decides if your page deserves to show up when someone searches for something:

First, it looks at your keywords, the images you’re using, and the links you’ve got in there. Then it checks the length and overall quality of your content. And yes, it watches out for anything spammy.

A lot of AI-generated content misses those key quality signals. If your site is packed with thin, repetitive, or unhelpful content, especially the kind that sounds like a soulless bot wrote it, then you could be in trouble. Google might hit your site with a manual action, which is basically a penalty that drops your rankings, sometimes overnight.

They even have a system called SpamBrain. It’s an AI-powered system that detects patterns in content that don’t seem natural. Basically, if it looks like a robot wrote it just to rank, SpamBrain is going to notice.

So, can Google detect AI-generated content? Definitely. Not only can it detect it, but if your content isn’t helpful or original, Google’s going to bury it. Or worse, completely remove it from their index. That means your pages won’t show up at all. Needless to say, poor online visibility means losing well-paying clients to your competitors. 

Does Google penalize AI content in 2025? Technically, they haven’t come out with a new rule targeting AI this year. However, if your AI content is extremely lazy, lacks real value, or just rehashes stuff without offering something unique or useful, it’s still going to get hit. This means that even if there’s no “AI penalty” on paper, nonsensical or low-quality AI content is definitely on the chopping block.

Can You Safely Use AI Content for Marketing?

The short answer to this is yes, you can, but – and this is a big but – you’ve got to use it wisely. You can’t just copy and paste whatever ChatGPT spits out and throw it onto your blog or landing page. That’s where most people mess up.

If you’re just dumping raw and unrefined AI content onto your site without editing and fact-checking, you’re asking for trouble. You will likely face actual penalties that can sink your rankings and hurt your digital presence. Not to forget, your users – just like search engines – can now identify the AI writing pattern. Here are some overused phrases that scream AI:

However, if you are savvy and ready to ‘enhance’ and ‘humanize’ the AI content to sound authentic and deliver value, you can use generative tools for writing. 

Let us show you what using AI the smart way actually looks like.

There was this experiment done by SEOwind in 2023. They pushed out 116 AI-generated articles in just 30 days and saw a 77% increase in clicks and a 124% boost in impressions. However, those articles weren’t just AI-generated. The team did keyword research, optimized content, and edited it heavily before publishing. 

So, the real takeaway is that AI alone doesn’t guarantee success, but when combined with human input, it can be useful.

On the other hand, Hubspot looked into this too, and found that 10% of websites that leaned too hard on AI saw their rankings drop. Why? Because most raw AI content just doesn’t go deep enough. It misses that spark, that personal take and context, those real-life examples – the real stuff your readers are actually looking for.

So when you ask, “Is AI content good for SEO?” The answer isn’t black and white. It’s a yes, if you’re using it smartly. That means proofing it, editing the dull sections, thinking about your reader, and not just copy-pasting a chunk of words and hoping they magically rank.

How AI Performs With User Engagement in Marketing

Even if AI content ranks well, its ability to actually engage users is a different matter altogether. Let’s say you’re using AI to crank out content. Sure, it ranks decently on Google, but here’s the real question: Is anyone actually engaging with it? Are they reading it, sticking around, maybe even clicking through or commenting?

When it comes to stuff like guides and product reviews, things where you’re mostly after facts or how-tos, AI does a decent job. You might find an AI-generated “How to Bake Banana Bread” article and think – okay, that’s helpful.

But!

When it comes to personal stories, opinions, or anything that needs some actual human emotion behind it? That’s where AI falls flat on its face. No soul. No sass. No energy. No “this reminds me of that time…” vibe. It just can’t fake real-life experience.

AI content detectors can often identify text that lacks authenticity, which could harm engagement.

And then there’s this really telling A/B test from a Danish news outlet, TV 2 Fyn. They ran 46 tests comparing AI-generated headlines with human-written ones. You’d think AI would blow humans out of the water, but no, AI headlines won 46% of the time, while human headlines won 24% of the time. The rest were draws.

What this tells us is simple. AI can be catchy, especially with headlines. It can grab attention. But if you want something that actually sticks, that feels like someone real is talking to you, you still need a human touch. You need to hire a professional copywriter or content expert – someone who knows when to say, “Yeah, this is bland but I can fix this.”

So, Will Google Penalize AI Content?

Not necessarily. Google doesn’t penalize AI content just because it’s AI-generated. 

Like we mentioned earlier, Google doesn’t care how your content is made; it cares what it delivers. If you’re pushing out tedious, spammy, low-effort stuff just because it came from a bot, that’s when you’ve got a problem. 

But, if the content’s actually detailed and helpful, genuine, and sounds like someone who knows what they’re talking about – you’re fine.

Google uses a framework called E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to judge content quality. If your AI-written piece lacks those things? It’s not going anywhere near the top of search results. But that’s not the AI’s fault; it’s how you use it.

Josh Blyskal, a marketing expert at HubSpot, puts it best: 

“Now, more than ever, the value of content hinges on the authenticity of its creator and the underlying value, meaning, story, and perspective of the content they’re creating.” 

In other words, using AI for writing can’t replace human expertise and storytelling. You still need to bring your voice, your angles, your knowledge, your examples, and all the other stuff that makes the content feel real, human, and truly relatable to your target audience. And if you think creating people-first content is a tough row to hoe, trust professional content writers from top content writing agencies like Shape My Content. Our team is skilled in delivering quality content and social posts, written with intent, purpose, and your marketing goals in mind. No matter if you need to hire content writers for travel blogs or to create high-quality TOFU content for your marketing firm, reach out to us and discuss your needs. 

FAQs

Is AI content harmful for SEO?

AI content can be harmful to SEO, but not always. The key factor isn’t whether AI is used but how it’s used. Google doesn’t punish AI-generated content outright, but if the content lacks clarity, depth, originality, or expertise, it can negatively impact rankings.

Will AI disrupt SEO?

Yes, and the disruption is already visible, as clear as day. 

You’ve probably noticed how Google’s search results are getting weirder. That’s because AI is being used to generate snippets, summaries, and answers right there in the search results. So users are getting what they need without ever clicking through to your site.

With more AI-generated content flooding the internet, businesses must focus on producing high-quality, human-written, and human-reviewed content to stand out and stay relevant. 

Does Google punish AI content SEO?

Google punishes low-quality content, period. So, whether a bot wrote it, a tired intern did it at 2 a.m., or you tried to cheat the system with keyword stuffing and fluff, Google doesn’t care who wrote it; it cares how good it is. Their AI content policy is crystal clear on that. Focus on quality, not who (or what) writes it.

Do AI-generated images affect SEO?

Well, yes and no. If you’re using AI-generated images smartly, meaning they’re relevant, compressed properly, named with SEO in mind, and you’ve added descriptive alt text, then they can actually help your SEO. They keep users engaged, make your site look polished, and give Google more context. 

But if you go overboard with huge files, random art that doesn’t match your content, or skip all the basic optimization steps, then they’ll slow down your site, confuse search engines, and mess with your rankings. 

Let Our Human Writers Scale Your Marketing!

If you’re serious about getting your brand message across, then using AI for writing alone just won’t cut it. Sure, it can spit out words quickly, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t know your customer. It doesn’t feel what they feel. And it definitely can’t read the room the way a real person can.

You’ve probably seen what AI writing looks like; it’s bland, generic, and just off. You know it when you read it. And guess what? So does your audience. If they don’t feel a connection, they’re not sticking around.

Besides, when your marketing campaign is on the line, why risk relying on something that can sometimes hallucinate data and produce inconsistent, unchecked content? At Shape My Content, our writers are 100% human, experienced, and skilled at tailoring content that aligns perfectly with your marketing strategy. 

Over the last five years, we’ve worked with more than 100 clients across the globe, brands like yours who needed content that actually works. Whether you’re in finance, fashion, tech, or marketing, we know how to shape your message to speak directly to the people you’re trying to reach. 

So if you’re serious about getting results, stop settling for generic, copy-paste content. Let’s build something real, something human, something that actually moves the needle in your favor.

Book your free consultation today, and let’s talk strategy, human to human. And remember, your first content is on us!