The internet is flooded with AI-generated content, raising concerns about search quality and information reliability. In 2024, Medium saw AI-created posts skyrocket to 47% of total content—up from just 3.4% in 2018. Meanwhile, Google’s AI-generated search overviews plummeted from appearing in 64% of queries in February 2024 to just 7.47% by July, highlighting the struggle to maintain quality. If search engines respond by prioritizing human expertise over mass-generated AI content, a concept like HumanRank could define the future of search.
The Internet Is Drowning in AI-Generated Content
The sheer volume of AI-generated content is making it harder to distinguish credible, human-created material from automated noise. As AI tools rapidly churn out articles, blog posts, and even news stories, search engines are increasingly saturated with low-quality, often misleading content. This influx raises concerns about the reliability of online information, as AI-generated material frequently lacks the critical thinking, originality, and fact-checking that human writers provide.
Recent studies highlight the extent of this problem. An analysis of 120,000 keywords across 22 websites found that Google’s AI Overviews now appear in nearly 47% of all search results, sometimes occupying roughly half of a mobile screen. The prominence of AI-generated content in search means that users may unknowingly rely on information that has not been rigorously vetted. Additionally, search volume for the term “AI” tripled between November 2022 and March 2023, skyrocketing from 7.9 million to over 30.4 million monthly searches. This surge reflects an overwhelming influx of AI-related content, much of it created by machines rather than experts.
The Explosion of AI Content in Search
Search engines, once a gateway to curated and credible information, are now flooded with AI-generated content. With the rise of AI-powered writing tools, websites can produce massive volumes of text in seconds, leading to a proliferation of machine-written articles designed to rank in search results rather than provide real value. This trend has sparked concerns about the declining quality of search engine results as users increasingly encounter repetitive, low-effort content optimized for algorithms rather than human readers.
One major issue is that AI content generation prioritizes speed and volume over depth and accuracy. Many AI-written pieces regurgitate existing information without verifying sources, creating a cycle where misinformation or outdated facts are endlessly duplicated across the web. As AI-driven search features, such as Google’s AI Overviews, continue to gain visibility, the challenge of separating high-quality, well-researched content from automated filler becomes even more daunting.
Why AI-Generated Content Undermines Trust
The fundamental flaw of AI-generated content is its lack of human insight. While AI can assemble words coherently, it cannot think critically, provide nuanced analysis, or verify the credibility of its sources. As a result, AI-written material often falls into one of three problematic categories:
- Lack of originality: AI tools draw from existing sources, meaning they rarely offer fresh perspectives or in-depth expertise.
- Absence of fact-checking: Without a human to verify claims, AI-generated content can amplify false or misleading information.
- Superficial or generic writing: AI content often lacks depth, relying on broad generalizations rather than detailed, well-researched insights.
As AI-generated material continues to flood search engines, trust in online content is eroding. Users must now be more vigilant than ever, carefully evaluating sources to determine whether they are engaging with fact-checked, expert-driven information or AI-created filler. Without stronger efforts to promote authenticity, the internet risks becoming a sea of low-quality, algorithm-driven noise—where finding credible information becomes increasingly difficult.
Google’s Problem: AI Content Is Making Search Worse
AI-generated content is actively degrading the search experience, making it harder for users to find accurate, trustworthy information. Google’s ranking system, once a reliable filter for quality content, is struggling to keep pace with a flood of low-effort, AI-generated material that clogs search results. While Google has attempted to refine its algorithm to combat this issue, AI-powered content farms continue to exploit ranking mechanisms, diluting the quality of search results and undermining user trust.
In response to growing concerns, Google launched a core algorithm update in March 2024 aimed at reducing low-quality, unoriginal content by 40% in search results. This update specifically targeted mass-produced AI-generated material, an acknowledgment that automated content has become a significant problem. However, as AI content generation rapidly scales, many users still report that search results feel less useful, with AI-generated pages often ranking higher than well-researched, expert-written content.
Search Results Are Becoming Less Useful
Google’s algorithm is being gamed by AI content farms—websites designed to mass-produce AI-generated articles optimized for search rankings rather than user value. These sites use AI tools to generate thousands of articles in seconds, targeting high-traffic keywords and structuring content to rank well, regardless of its actual usefulness.
This trend has led to an increase in search results filled with generic, low-value content that prioritizes SEO tactics over human insight. Many users now find themselves clicking through multiple pages before landing on information that feels credible and well-researched. In fact, a 2024 survey found that 70% of consumers familiar with generative AI agreed that AI-generated content makes it harder to trust what they see online. This growing skepticism reflects how AI-generated material is eroding confidence in search results as people struggle to differentiate between fact-checked, authoritative sources and algorithmically generated noise.
Even Google’s AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, contribute to this problem. These summaries pull from various sources, often lacking context or verification, creating a feedback loop where AI-generated content reinforces itself in search rankings. As a result, users may encounter misleading or redundant information, further reducing the effectiveness of search as a tool for discovery.
The Limits of PageRank Regarding AI
Google’s ranking system, which historically relied on backlinks and keyword optimization to determine content authority, is no longer sufficient to ensure quality. While these factors once helped surface valuable, expert-driven content, AI-generated articles can now mimic these signals—stuffing keywords, generating artificial backlinks, and even crafting fake engagement metrics to trick Google’s algorithm into ranking them higher.
The PageRank model was designed for an internet built on human-generated content, where backlinks acted as a vote of confidence in a site’s credibility. But with AI-generated sites now producing content at an unprecedented scale, traditional ranking factors struggle to distinguish between a well-researched article and a convincingly written AI-generated page. The result? A decline in search result quality is prompting Google to play catch-up with increasingly sophisticated ranking updates.
While recent algorithm updates attempt to filter out AI spam, the sheer volume of AI-generated content means that some low-quality material will always slip through. Search engines are refining their methods, but users are still encountering unreliable results. More than ever, they must determine which content is credible and which is not.
Without more advanced ranking mechanisms that prioritize human expertise, originality, and verifiable sources, search quality will continue to decline. Users will then have an internet where AI-generated content dominates, even when it lacks real value.
Introducing HumanRank: How Google Could Fight Back
As AI-generated content continues to flood search results, Google faces mounting pressure to ensure that human expertise remains at the forefront of search rankings. A possible answer is HumanRank, a theoretical upgrade to Google’s algorithm. It would ensure that verified experts, not AI, shape search results through fact-checked and credentialed content.
The need for such a ranking system has never been greater. In March 2024, Google’s core algorithm update targeted AI-generated content, penalizing sites that relied too heavily on automated material. This shift signaled Google’s growing emphasis on original thought and human expertise as a defining factor in search visibility. However, as AI-generated content continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, the search engine may need to take bolder steps to preserve trust and credibility in its rankings.
What Is HumanRank?
HumanRank is a theoretical ranking factor that scores content based on human expertise, verifiable credentials, and original thought. Unlike traditional SEO factors such as backlinks and keyword density, HumanRank evaluates the authenticity and credibility of the author and prioritizes content from experts with demonstrated knowledge in their field.
The rise of generative AI in business further underscores the urgency of distinguishing human-created content from AI-generated material. By 2024, 65% of organizations reported using generative AI in at least one business function—nearly double the percentage from the previous year. As AI adoption accelerates, Google must refine its ranking system to differentiate between content generated by algorithms and content shaped by human insight, experience, and deep domain expertise.
HumanRank could introduce a scoring mechanism that rewards content with:
- Verified authorship: Content written by credentialed experts with traceable backgrounds
- Fact-checking accuracy: Articles citing reputable, primary sources rather than AI-synthesized information.
- Original analysis and insights: Content that adds new perspectives rather than merely summarizing existing material
When implementing these factors, Google could filter out low-quality AI-generated content while boosting authoritative, well-researched human-created material in search results.
The Role of Expertise and Fact-Checking in Search
For HumanRank to be effective, Google would need to shift its ranking signals to favor deep knowledge and verified expertise. Instead of relying primarily on backlinks and keyword relevance, HumanRank could introduce a credibility metric, assessing content based on:
- Author qualifications: Does the writer have demonstrable expertise in the topic?
- Source integrity: Do authoritative, fact-checked sources back claims?
- Editorial transparency: Does the content disclose who wrote it and how it was created?
Incorporating HumanRank principles into Google’s ranking system would incentivize content creators to focus on depth, accuracy, and trustworthiness rather than gaming the algorithm with AI-generated text. As Google continues refining its search capabilities, prioritizing human expertise could be the key to restoring user trust and ensuring that search results remain a reliable source of information in the AI era.
What Content Marketers Must Do to Stay Relevant
As AI-generated content floods search engines, human expertise is becoming the key differentiator in SEO and content marketing. To maintain relevance, content marketers must adapt by emphasizing originality, expert-driven insights, and verifiable credentials—elements that AI alone cannot replicate. While AI can enhance efficiency, it cannot generate truly original thought, creative problem-solving, or in-depth expertise.
The business world is already acknowledging this shift. A 2024 survey found that while 70% of business owners expect AI to speed up content creation, 50% believe human oversight is essential for ensuring quality and authenticity—marketers who fail to prioritize human expertise risk getting lost in a sea of generic, AI-generated material.
Prioritize Expert-Driven Content
Brands that invest in verified subject matter experts rather than rely solely on AI-generated content will thrive. While generative AI can assist with ideation and drafting, human experts bring credibility, depth, and trustworthiness—elements that search engines and audiences increasingly value.
To adapt, marketers should:
- Feature insights from credentialed experts in their content to enhance credibility.
- Invest in industry-specific writers who understand the nuances of their field.
- Use AI as an assistant, not an author—ensuring that all AI-generated content is heavily edited and fact-checked by a human.
This approach aligns with Google’s ongoing push to prioritize authoritative, original content over mass-produced AI material, making expert-driven content a necessity for SEO success.
Demonstrate Authority Through Author Credentials
Google’s ranking signals are shifting toward content created by verified professionals, meaning content marketers must actively highlight the expertise behind their work. Consumers and search engines alike are looking for proof of credibility before trusting online information.
Ways to showcase author authority include:
- Displaying bylines with author bios, emphasizing their expertise and experience
- Linking to professional credentials, certifications, or academic research to validate expertise
- Including author interviews or first-hand industry insights to differentiate content from AI-generated summaries
This shift reflects the growing importance of authenticity in content marketing. A 2024 study found that while 76% of marketers use generative AI to create content, 71% also use it to inspire creative thinking.
Focus on Original Analysis and Thought Leadership
The most successful content marketers will be those who go beyond regurgitating existing information and instead offer unique insights, deep analysis, and original perspectives that AI cannot replicate. AI-generated content is often predictable, surface-level, and lacking in genuine thought leadership—creating an opportunity for human-driven content to stand out.
Strategies to emphasize originality include:
- Publishing exclusive research, case studies, and expert opinions rather than AI-generated summaries.
- Offering critical analysis and unique takes on industry trends to provide added value.
- Using personal experiences, real-world examples, and storytelling to create engaging content AI cannot imitate.
When focusing on expert-driven insights, verified authority, and unique perspectives, content marketers can future-proof their strategies—ensuring their work remains relevant, valuable, and competitive in an era increasingly shaped by AI.
The Future of SEO: Will Google Really Implement HumanRank?
As AI-generated content continues to flood search results, Google faces a critical decision: Should it double down on ranking systems that prioritize human expertise? The idea of HumanRank—a ranking factor that prioritizes content created by verified experts—seems like a logical next step in Google’s ongoing battle against low-quality, AI-generated material.
There’s already evidence that Google is moving in this direction. The March 2024 algorithm update specifically targeted AI-generated content, aiming to reduce low-quality results by 40%. This update aligns with Google’s long-standing commitment to surfacing trustworthy, authoritative content. Additionally, past updates—such as the introduction of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness)—demonstrate that Google has already taken steps to prioritize human-created content over automated, low-effort material.
However, the question remains: Will Google fully implement a HumanRank-style system, or will it continue refining its existing approach?
Early Signs of Google’s Shift Toward Human-Centric SEO
Google has been steadily refining its algorithm to favor human expertise over mass-produced content, with multiple updates reinforcing this shift. The E-E-A-T framework, introduced to improve search quality, places a strong emphasis on experience and credibility, encouraging brands to showcase real-world expertise rather than relying on keyword-stuffed AI-generated content.
In March 2024, Google’s core update took an even stronger stance by penalizing low-quality, AI-driven content farms, signaling that search engines are actively shifting toward a more human-centric ranking model. This update was not an isolated incident—it followed a broader trend of rewarding:
- Content that credentialed professionals with verifiable expertise write
- Longer dwell times and higher engagement metrics, which studies show favor human-authored content over AI-generated material.
- Transparency in content creation, including clear bylines, author bios, and citations from reputable sources
All of this suggests that Google could be laying the groundwork for an official HumanRank system—one that further elevates content based on expertise and trustworthiness rather than just backlinks and keywords.
How AI and HumanRank Could Coexist
While Google has taken steps to penalize low-quality AI-generated content, it is unlikely to eliminate AI from search rankings completely. Instead, the future of SEO may involve a hybrid model where AI-generated content is augmented and verified by human expertise.
For example, Google could:
- Prioritize AI-generated content that verified experts have fact-checked.
- Use engagement metrics such as dwell time and click-through rates to rank human-authored content higher.
- Reward content that blends AI efficiency with human insight, ensuring that articles offer depth, originality, and verifiable accuracy.
Studies have already shown that human-authored content outperforms AI-generated material in terms of traffic, engagement, and dwell time—key factors Google considers in its rankings. If Google analyzes this data further, HumanRank could become an official ranking factor, blending AI’s efficiency with the credibility and critical thinking that only human expertise can provide.
Ultimately, the future of SEO will not involve eliminating AI but ensuring that human oversight and expertise remain the foundation of quality content. Google’s past updates and ongoing algorithmic refinements suggest that HumanRank—or something similar—may not be a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’
Will HumanRank Save the Internet?
The rise of AI-generated content is a growing problem, but a future where search engines prioritize human expertise could reshape content marketing and SEO. While AI has its place in content creation, its unchecked dominance threatens the credibility and usefulness of online information. A future where search engines prioritize human expertise, verifiable credentials, and original thought could restore trust in search results, reshaping both content marketing and SEO strategies.
But if HumanRank—or a similar ranking system—becomes a reality, how will brands adapt? Will they invest in expert-driven content, or will they risk being buried beneath an algorithm that increasingly favors authenticity over automation?
Original Author: Jenn Greenleaf, Managing Editor, nDash
This is Muhammad Asad. I like to play table tennis and love Digital Marketing and SEO. I have more 7 years of Digital Marketing experience. I would love to chat.