Google-fu still goes a long way–and, for those that know even a little, it goes a lot further than adding "reddit" to search queries. But it has a new enemy, one that doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and which will absolutely will not stop, ever, until you have had a dictionary definition of the thing you searched for regurgitated to you in not less than 1000 words in a peculiar voice reminiscent of mid-2010s content farm bloggery. The internet is drowning in garbage text, writes Mia Sato, courtesy of generative SEO content.
It's a universal experience for small business owners who've come to rely on Google as a major source of traffic and customers. But it's also led to the degradation of Google's biggest product, Search, over time. The problem is poised to only continue to spiral as business owners, publishers, and other search-reliant businesses increasingly use artificial intelligence tools to do the search-related busywork. It's already happening in digital media — outlets like CNET and Men's Journalhave begun using generative AI tools to produce SEO-bait articles en masse. Now, online shoppers will increasingly encounter computer-generated text and images, likely without any indication of AI tools. …The result is SEO chum produced at scale, faster and cheaper than ever before.
AI will make it, AI will read it, AI will show it to you, and AI will bury it!
