AI-Generated Content vs. Human Writing: A Guide to SEO Success

The question of whether AI-generated content can rank well on Google has sparked much debate. Recent research from Semrush sheds light on this topic, revealing surprising results that demonstrate the potential of AI as a viable tool for creating high-ranking, high-performing content.

In a study analyzing 20,000 blog articles, researchers found that approximately 8% of these were AI-generated, with 57% of those articles landing in the top 10 search results (Semrush, 2024). Comparatively, 58% of human-written content reached similar rankings, demonstrating that AI content performs nearly on par with its human counterpart.

But what does this mean for marketers and businesses looking to scale their content efforts while increasing audience engagement and maintaining quality?

AI-Generated Content: Changing Perceptions

According to Semrush, a survey of over 700 marketers further supports the effectiveness of AI content creation:

• 31% of respondents said AI-generated content performs similarly to human-authored material (Semrush, 2024).
• 33% reported that AI content outperformed traditional methods (Semrush, 2024).
• Only 9% observed AI-generated content underperforming (Semrush, 2024).

These statistics challenge the long-held assumption that AI cannot compete with human creativity and expertise. Instead, they highlight how AI can become a powerful tool in the content creation process.

Why AI Content Works

Google's algorithm prioritizes content that provides value, is informative, and aligns with user intent. Whether content is human or AI-generated matters less than its overall quality and relevance in improving website traffic and boosting search engine rankings.As long as AI-generated content meets these standards, it can rank just as well as human-written material.

However, this doesn’t mean AI replaces the need for strategy. Effective content starts with understanding your audience, conducting keyword research, and planning topics that increase audience engagement by addressing user needs.

AI tools amplify creativity and productivity but work best when guided by thoughtful human oversight. For instance, marketers using AI for content creation should combine automation with manual edits to ensure content feels authentic and avoids pitfalls like over-optimization or redundancy.

The Role of AI Tools in Content Creation

AI tools for blog writing are evolving rapidly, offering features that simplify the content creation process while maintaining quality. Here’s how AI tools can streamline your content marketing strategy, helping you produce more content in less time while focusing on how to engage an audience effectively.

1. Idea Generation: AI tools can analyze trending topics and competitor content, providing inspiration for blog topics that resonate with your target audience.
2. Draft Writing: Many AI platforms can create complete drafts based on a title, outline, or a few key points. This allows writers to focus on editing and refining, rather than starting from scratch.
3. SEO Optimization: Tools like Semrush’s ContentShake AI provide keyword suggestions, content structures, and optimization tips to ensure your blog is search-engine friendly (Semrush, 2024).
4. Consistency and Scalability: AI tools can help you maintain a consistent publishing schedule by reducing the time needed to produce each article. This is especially useful for businesses aiming to scale their content output.
5. Multilingual Capabilities: Many AI tools support content generation in multiple languages, enabling businesses to reach a global audience without hiring additional writers.

While automation plays a vital role in streamlining processes, thoughtful human oversight ensures the content remains engaging, authentic, and aligned with brand values.

Scouts Solution

At Scout, our experience aligns closely with the findings of the Semrush study. Over the past few months, we’ve utilized our SEO Blog Generator to create AI generated content and the results have been fantastic.

By leveraging AI to streamline our content marketing strategy, we’ve been able to consistently produce high-quality, SEO optimized blog posts that perform exceptionally well in search rankings and drive audience engagement.

Now, we’re making it easy for you to do the same. Our ready-to-use SEO Blog Generator template allows you easily add this to your workspace and is guaranteed to take your content marketing to the next level.

How it works

Our workflow starts with a user input—typically a blog topic, a short overview, key points, and targeted keywords. This information is then processed through one of our SERP blocks, which identifies supporting articles and credible citations to build a solid foundation for the content.

Next, we use LLM (Large Language Model) blocks to analyze the data, identifying core themes, search intent, and any potential content gaps for the topic. This step ensures the content is aligned with user expectations and SEO best practices.

With this added context, the workflow generates a draft. Once the draft is complete, another SERP block refines the content by enriching it with targeted, high-ranking SEO keywords relevant to the draft.

Finally, we craft a compelling and actionable CTA before running the content through a final LLM block to “humanize” the language. This step is critical, not just to ensure the piece reads naturally and engages readers, but also to avoid the stale, robotic tone often associated with AI-generated content. While high quality AI content can rank well on Google, this final step is all about enhancing the reader experience, making the content feel authentic and relatable.

Conclusion

AI is transforming the content creation landscape, making it easier than ever for businesses to produce high quality, SEO-friendly content at scale. But creating content that ranks well and resonates with readers requires the right tools—and that’s where Scout comes in.

From generating ideas to optimizing for SEO and crafting human-like language, Scout ensures your content doesn’t just rank, it connects with your audience. Sign up for free today at scoutos.com and see how SEO optimized blog posts can can help you improve website traffic, create content that resonates with readers, and expand your reach.