AI Articles are Great But Will Hurt Your Website
Please be warned that faith-based AI articles are persona non grata in Google search, no matter what the “experts” say. Over the past month or so, I have had ChatGPT write more than 70 articles for this faith-based website. Like many, I was excited to have this new tool to create content for a website dependent upon it.
However, over the same time period, I learned a lesson that will be passed on to you, the faith-based community, to better understand content creation options, what you should avoid, and how Google views AI articles in general.
AI Articles Will Be Indexed and Then De-Indexed
Initially, out of about 70 articles, 10%, or seven, were indexed by Google. None, of course, made it to page #1 in the selected keyword markets, but all the same, it was a great beginning—or so I thought. After three weeks, even those articles started to disappear from indexing, and as of this writing, only one article out of the 10% remains indexed.
Before beginning this process, I had personally written around 167 articles but had not created any new content for more than a year. While this could be chalked up to laziness, I was finishing my master’s in Christian Apologetics, which I will write about soon.
However, among the articles I wrote (personally) versus AI, I had about a 25% indexing success rate. This does not include main pages such as products, about me, FAQ, or others.
AI Articles Will Dissappear into Oblivion
While I cannot say for sure that your results of the massive de-indexing will be the same as mine, I would be stunned if your experience is not similar. What is interesting is I saw at least one faith-based article in the #1 spot in its keyword indexing market.
After spending much time researching the SEO (search engine optimization) benefits and consequences of using AI to write blog posts, I was none the wiser with respect to whether I should even make the attempt to undertake this massive effort.
Some advice, straight from Google, is murky at best, while the top SEO companies say something different. In the end, and as it has always been, personal testing is key irrespective of what others think.
My belief was, as Google stated, that articles they deemed “helpful” would be indexed regardless of who created them, but that fails to mention that, apparently, mass-produced articles, no matter how informative, are not generally welcomed.
Next Steps for My Content Strategy
The next step for me is to choose articles from those written by AI and put them into my own words. After all, the non-traditional subjects of each were my idea, and the prompts used to create them were mine.
For example, here are some (but not limited to) of the subjects I had AI write articles for that I am going to rewrite:
Four Times God Warned a Leader by Two Different Prophets
The Implications if Jesus is Not Messiah
If Jesus Sent Paul to the Jews and Peter to Gentiles
World History if Cain Had Not Killed Abel
How the Trinity is Expressed in Three-Part Bible Verses
God’s Greatest Attribute is Information
If Jesus Called Pharisees as Disciples and Not Commoners
These unusual content viewpoints were a mix of a few things. First, that is who I am—a bit different, called to the ministry of a watchman. And next, Google likes unique viewpoints. However, Google likes the human touch, combined with unique viewpoints, and content that is helpful more than anything else!
Do Not Depend on AI for Content
Although Google, by their own admission, utilizes AI to create certain forms of content, you can believe it makes it to the top of search pages! However, it is Google’s platform, and they write the rules, and I am okay with that. This notion that the United States Government can discipline Google for unfair trade practices on its own platform is absurd on its face.
In the meantime, the same government uses unfair trade practices, known as “economic sanctions,” with respect to other countries that do not bend to its will. AI content is missing what matters most in communicating, which is human-to-human insight. Further, being written in the third person, there are no feelings or context with respect to how we, as God’s people, interact with one another.
Just Be Who God Made You
When I began using AI to write articles, I had a saying: “This is an arms race, and AI-produced content has leveled the playing field.” Boy, was I wrong! God made us each to complete a task, and certainly, we were born into a purpose for the Kingdom of God.
As we tell our children, we must remind ourselves: “There are no shortcuts to demonstrating excellence.” Not only was I wrong for trying to use AI in this way, but I am also repenting before the Lord God for not having trusted Him.
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