Google’s AI search results once had a strange habit. You could type in completely made-up sayings, and it would confidently explain them as if they were well-known idioms:
You can’t shake hands with an old bear
Stringing beans for pleasant means
People had fun with it and it proved AI isn’t infallible. Not even close.
But that doesn’t change the fact that AI is changing how we create and share content online.
We’re seeing AI results take up close to 50% of space in the search results. If you rely on content to drive traffic to your blog, you’re already feeling that shift. So, what do we do now?
Here’s what I’ve been thinking and testing.
AI Has Killed the Basics
There’s no way around it: AI is stealing traffic. Publishers have started speaking up. Automated summaries are swallowing up a significant portion of page views.
Much like we saw with the Helpful Content update, entire businesse models are collapsing.
But if you look closely at the kinds of queries AI is answering, most of it’s surface-level stuff. Think quick definitions, listicles, basic how-tos.
And yes, it’s still frustrating. Because behind every one of those “simple” answers is a real person who wrote it. Then comes Google to present it as its own without even an acknowledgment to the original creators.
Still, that’s not the full picture. AI can summarise but it can’t substitute lived experience.
Quality content fundamentals still matter
There’s still room for content that goes deeper. The internet still needs nuance, context, and actual experience. That’s the content I want to be making. And for now, that’s the content AI still can’t fake well.
Today, we’re searching across multiple platforms: ChatGPT, Reddit, Facebook groups, and traditional search. Our search behaviour is adapting constantly, and when I do click a link on Google, it’s because I’m looking for something AI can’t offer. I’m after a credible, human perspective or authoritative source.
Here’s where Google’s EEAT framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) comes in. Same goes for the idea of information gain. The goal is to add something new to the conversation, not just recycling what’s already out there.
If your content reflects real experience, thoughtful analysis, or deep research, there’s still a place for it online.
(At least until AI gets better at pretending to be you. But that’s a post for another dystopian day.)
Content experiments are key
This moment reminds me of my early journalism days. I’d cover an event, write up the story, and see it in print the next morning. Then came the wide-spread use of the internet. Suddenly, everything changed. We realised we needed to start writing differently. Prioritising relevance and analysis over speed.
Same thing now. I know I need to rethink how I get my content out into the world.
I’ve always loved writing. It’s helped me earn a living, build a career, and make sense of things. But if I want to keep doing this—whether as a freelancer, a business owner, or something in between—I know I need to diversify.
So I’m running experiments:
- Paid Facebook and Instagram ads
- PPC campaigns
Long-form content that I can repurpose across platforms sits are the core of this new approach. Again, it’s been my strength and provides a case from which I can safely explore the new work of content.
I have to learn to accept that not everything needs to rank. Some of it just needs to connect or prove a concept.
Consider the goal of your content
When I first started writing online, one of my clients had a pre publishing checklist I still remember. It included a great set of criteria for making sure the piece was ready and it made my truly assess the worth and purpose of the piece.
Applying that to your content operation more broadly, consider this: why are you online? We all have so many competing demands on our attention so setting time aside to create and share is not a trivial exercise.
What’s the point of your content?
That’s the real question to be asked and answered.
If you write to clarify your thinking, share ideas, or simply enjoy the process, then maybe the changes in search don’t matter much. For this blog in particular, traffic or visibility of any kind is a happy surprise. I use my personal blog as a way to process my thinking around my industry and keep my skills current.
But if your content supports your work, your income, or your visibility, then the stakes are higher. I have a project that’s not ready to launch and my intention is to generate an income. Brand awareness won’t be sufficient, I need to not only grow traffic but also convert the audience into paying customers. If you’re like me, that means you’ll need a strategy. Maybe new platforms. Definitely a more human, more intentional approach.
That’s what I’m working on this year. Watching. Testing. Writing through it.
