Everyone’s using AI to write content-but should you?
That’s the question a lot of business owners are asking right now. Some swear by AI for speed and savings. Others say it’s the fastest way to tank your SEO. And if you’ve read advice from different SEO experts lately, you’ve probably noticed one thing: they don’t all agree.
Google’s guidelines haven’t made it any simpler. They’re not saying “no” to AI content, but they’re also very clear: the quality of your content still matters. A lot.
So, where does that leave you?
This blog breaks down what works, what doesn’t, and how we can use AI to support strong, human-led content strategies that actually perform.
The Promise of AI Content
There’s no denying what AI brings to the table. For businesses trying to keep up with demand, AI offers speed and output at a scale that’s hard to match. You can generate hundreds of words in seconds, structure pages in minutes, and even get basic SEO recommendations without needing a full team.
It also solves a key issue that many small businesses and agencies face-budget. Creating quality content at scale can be expensive and slow. AI looks like a way around that, especially for tasks that don’t need deep strategy or creativity.
For straightforward content, product descriptions, bulk pages, summaries, and outlines, AI for content creation can help speed up production and bring costs down. And for teams that are short on time or resources, it can be a welcome assist.
But the value stops there.
The Reality Check: Where AI Falls Short
AI can write. But it can’t think. That’s the simplest way to explain the gap.
Most AI tools don’t understand your business, your audience, or the market you’re speaking to. They can stitch together grammatically correct sentences, but they lack context, tone, and the subtlety that makes content feel real. What you often get is surface-level writing that says a lot without meaning much.
Accuracy is another issue. AI pulls from patterns and existing data; it doesn’t fact-check or verify sources. If you’re in a field where trust matters, this can lead to real problems. The last thing you want is a piece of content that’s confidently wrong.
Then there’s originality. AI can only remix what already exists. It won’t bring new thinking or a unique point of view. And when everyone’s using the same tools, the content starts to sound the same.
That might be fine for filler pages. But not for content that represents your brand or drives meaningful results.
What Google Really Says About AI Content?
Google isn’t against AI-generated content; its focus is squarely on quality. In a 2023 post, Google clarified:
“Rewarding high-quality content, however it is produced… our systems aim to reward original, high‑quality content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.”
Still, that doesn’t mean any AI is acceptable. Google’s updated Quality Rater Guidelines (January 2025) include this warning:
“Generative AI can be a helpful tool for content creation, but like any tool, it can also be misused.”
And if “all or nearly all of the main content is … AI-generated with little or no added value,” it warrants the lowest quality rating.
Here are some real-world shifts in how Google displays AI results:
- AI Overviews now appear in 13% of desktop searches, up from about 6.5% in January.
- They occupy nearly half of mobile screen space, and often come with fewer clicks.
- Google admits such summaries can be wrong; some have “hallucinated” errors, and pages using them saw 40–60% fewer clicks to original sources.
Also Read: How Google Evaluates AI Content in 2025
When AI Content Might Work for You?
Not all content needs deep expertise or strategic insight. In the right situations, AI can be a useful tool, as long as there’s human direction behind it.
If you’re working on large volumes of basic content, like product descriptions, meta titles, FAQs, or taglines, AI can help save time. These are areas where structure matters more than creativity, and speed often outweighs depth.
It’s also useful in the early stages of content development. Drafting outlines, summarising research, or suggesting ideas, AI for content creation can do this quickly. But these outputs should never go live without careful review. Even simple errors or generic language can affect how people (and search engines) see your brand.
In these cases, the best results come when AI is used as an assistant, not the final writer. It speeds up production, but humans still guide the voice, direction, and value.
When AI Content Can Hurt You?
There’s a point where using AI stops being efficient and starts being risky. That usually happens when the content needs more than just words; it needs thinking.
If you’re creating thought leadership, opinion pieces, or anything that reflects the core of your brand, AI falls short. It can’t bring new ideas to the table. It can’t build authority. And it definitely can’t replace lived experience or deep subject knowledge.
This matters even more in sensitive or high-impact areas. For content related to finance, health, law, or anything Google classifies as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life), quality expectations are much higher. AI-written content in these spaces, without strong editorial control, can backfire. You risk publishing information that’s shallow, inaccurate, or simply untrustworthy.
Lead-generation content is another red flag. These are the pages that do the heavy lifting, convincing, converting, and building trust. If the content feels generic or disconnected, it won’t convert. Worse, it can damage credibility with your audience.
What do We Do at Justwords?
When content plays a central role in building trust or driving business, cutting corners rarely works. Relying on AI to write thought leadership, lead-gen pages, or YMYL content can create more harm than help, especially when depth, accuracy, and originality matter.
That’s why at Justwords, we don’t use AI for content writing. Every piece of content we deliver is written by a real person who understands your business, your market, and what your audience is looking for. AI plays a limited role in our process, mainly during ideation and research. It helps our team gather background information or explore angles more efficiently, but the content itself is fully developed and written by experienced writers.
We also don’t publish content in bulk using automated tools. Each project is tailored, written from scratch, and built to serve a clear business goal. It’s not about filling space, it’s about delivering content that performs.
So… Should You Use AI Content?
The answer depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
If your goal is to publish basic, low-risk content quickly, like product descriptions, FAQs, or internal pages that don’t require original insight, AI can help. But if your content needs to build trust, drive leads, or show authority in a competitive space, you need a human-first approach.
There’s also SEO to think about. Content written just to match keywords, without depth or value, might still get indexed, but it won’t last. Google is becoming more selective, and the bar for quality keeps rising.
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
- If your content needs to reflect your brand voice
- If you’re writing for an audience that expects expertise
- If results matter more than volume
Then you need content written by people.
If you’re still unsure, ask yourself: Would I be comfortable putting this content in front of a potential customer or client, without edits? If the answer’s no, it needs a writer, not a tool.
Conclusion
AI content has its place. It can save time. It can speed up simpler tasks. But it isn’t a full content solution, especially if you care about quality, performance, and brand voice.
If your content needs to do more than fill a page, it needs to be created with intent. That still takes people, writers who understand your market, your audience, and your goals.
If you’re looking for content that balances speed, strategy, and SEO services, we can help.
Need content that balances speed, SEO, and strategy? Let’s talk.
