Using AI to Write your Blog? Here’s How to Avoid Publishing AI Slop
In late 2025, AI wrote more of the new articles published online than people did. Graphite, a search agency, tracked this and found AI-generated articles reached about 51% of new posts. [1] Yet when Graphite looked at what actually ranks in Google, only about 14% of articles were AI-generated. [2]
So a lot of AI content gets published, but very little of it gets found.
If you run a law firm, a real estate agency a holiday park or a trade business, that gap matters. You don't have a steady stream of repeat customers. Most of your work comes from new people finding you, and every month you need fresh enquiries. Publishing useful articles on your website is one of the most reliable ways to get them. AI can help you publish more often. Used carelessly, it can also make your website look like everyone else's and potentially be penalised in SEO and AIO results.
Why regular articles still bring in leads
HubSpot studied thousands of businesses and found that companies publishing 16 or more articles a month got about 3.5 times the traffic and 4.5 times the leads of companies publishing four or fewer. [3] Most small businesses will never publish 16 articles a month, and they don't need to. What the data shows is that consistency pays.
Articles also keep working long after you publish them. HubSpot found that 75% of its monthly blog traffic and 92% of its leads came from posts written in earlier months. [4] An article answering "how much does a conveyancer cost in Brisbane?" can bring in enquiries for years.
Each new article is another page Google can index, another search phrase you can rank for and another page other websites can link to.
Search has changed: answer engines
People now get answers from Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity, often without clicking through to a website. Pew Research Center tracked real searches in 2025 and found people clicked a link 8% of the time when an AI Overview appeared, compared with 15% when it didn't. [5]
That sounds like bad news, but these tools still need sources. They cite websites that answer a question clearly, specifically and with up-to-date information. Getting your business cited is called answer engine optimisation, and it rewards the same thing good search engine optimisation always has: content that actually answers what people are asking.
What Google says about AI content
Google doesn't ban AI-written content. Its guidance says it rewards helpful, reliable content however it is produced. [6] What it targets is content made mainly to game the rankings.
In March 2024, Google introduced a "scaled content abuse" policy aimed at pages churned out in bulk with little value, whether a person or a machine wrote them. [7]
In January 2025, it updated the guidelines its human quality raters use. Raters are now told to give the lowest rating to content made with little effort, originality or added value, and generative AI is named as one way that content gets made. [8]
Google also looks for signs of experience, expertise, authority and trust. Experience is the one AI can't fake. It has never settled a property dispute, run a caravan park through a wet summer or rewired a 1960s Queenslander.
Social platforms are pushing back too
In July 2025, YouTube and Meta both announced moves against mass-produced, unoriginal content, cutting its reach and its earnings. [9]
Meta adds "AI info" labels to posts, and YouTube labels realistic AI-generated video. Researchers writing in Stanford Social Innovation Review found that AI disclosure labels reduced how much people engaged with posts. [10]
On LinkedIn, Originality.ai estimated that 81% of long posts it sampled in mid-2026 were likely AI-written. [11] Readers have noticed, and "this sounds like AI" is now a common criticism.
How to spot AI slop
AI slop is content that reads smoothly and says nothing. Watch for:
- phrases like "it's not just X, it's Y"
- lists of three that exist only for rhythm
- overused words like "delve", "deep dive", "pivotal", "game-changer" and more
- dramatic one-line endings to paragraphs
- passive grammar
- overuse of em and en dashes and words joined by hyphens
- advice that could apply to any business in any town
- no names, no numbers and no examples
If you could swap your business name for a competitor's and nothing else would need to change, the article isn't doing its job.
We have developed a list of 26 red flags which are commonly used in AI slop, and rewrite or remove them.
How to use AI without producing slop
Start with a real question.
Pick a question your customers actually ask you on the phone or at the front desk. AI doesn't know your customers. You do.
Let AI do the first draft, not the thinking.
Use it to outline, organise notes and get words on the page quickly. Then add what only you have: stories, opinions, local knowledge and real results.
For example, here’s the real inside information that we included in an article about The Best Family Accommodation in Stanthorpe.
“Country Style Holiday Park’s family facilities will make your getaway fun. Children can hand-feed goats and sheep, play giant outdoor chess or join a communal campfire. Campfires are generally held once or twice weekly when weather permits, so check the schedule during your stay. You can also check our Whats On page for seasonal and local activities. It’s updated every couple of weeks, so you can plan activities for your children or yourselves in advance.”
This is pertinent as only the owners of this Holiday Park know what is available for kids to do at their park, when they will allow campfires and what activities are coming up in the next few weeks . It is not generic information that could apply to any holiday park.
Check every fact.
AI tools invent statistics and sources with total confidence. If you can't find the original source, delete the claim.
Edit for a human ear
Read the article out loud. Cut out anything you wouldn't say to a person face to face.
Structure it for search and answer engines.
Answer the main question in the first paragraph. Use clear headings that match how people search, add a short FAQ, link to your related pages and put a real author's name on it.
Keep it current.
Update older articles when prices, laws or rules change. Answer engines prefer fresh, accurate content, and so do your readers.
A note on how this article was written
We used AI to help research and draft this article. A person then checked the facts, added the examples, cut the filler and rewrote it in our voice. That's the process we recommend, and it's the one we use for clients.
Want content that brings more website visitors and leads?
AI is a useful tool. But it isn't a human copywriter, and it doesn't know you or your business. If you'd like help with consistent writing, optimising and publishing content that delivers value and isn't dismissed as AI slop, we'd love to talk.
Sources
[1] Graphite, AI now writes as many online articles as humans do
[2] Graphite, How does AI-generated content perform in search and answer engines?
[3] HubSpot, How one company's investment in blogging increased traffic and National Law Review, HubSpot benchmark data
[4] HubSpot, Quality vs quantity: a 6-month analysis
[5] Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears
[6] Google Search Central, Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content
[7] Google Search Central, March 2024 core update and new spam policies
[8] Google Search Central, Guidance on generative AI content and Search Engine Land
[9] TechCrunch, Following YouTube, Meta announces crackdown on unoriginal Facebook content
