SEO has always been in a state of near-constant flux. Between regular algorithm updates, the rise of social media, major SERP changes and now AI, it’s a frantic history that’s characterized by the very tactics we’ve used throughout the years to drive organic search success for clients.
The latest chapter in SEO’s storied timeline is AI, both in how users discover and interact with content, and how marketers and SEOs produce it. The latter is highly debated in terms of tangible value. We know that Google has said that AI-produced content can rank without penalty — so long as it’s high-quality and provides value to readers.
A new Semrush study confirms that, while also providing an even clearer understanding of how well AI-produced content actually ranks, and how human expertise can augment AI content to encourage upward momentum on SERPs and into Position 1.
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Is the Industry Asking the Wrong Questions About AI?
When OpenAI first released ChatGPT, it was novel tech. It seemed like magic. And because it could write passable text really quickly, it drove excitement. But once the waters settled and people started to see AI through a clearer, more objective lens, it wasn’t long before they — rightfully so — started asking all kinds of questions, like whether it’s worth the time and money investment to learn, what value it can actually offer and if we’re better off just sticking to human-created content.
Today, there’s a healthy mix of people on all sides of the conversation, from those who reject AI completely to those who are curious but hesitant and even folks who have fully embraced, adopted and integrated AI into their workflows because they see the value it can offer when used responsibly.
If we focus on marketers specifically, there’s still a good mix of opinion, but a vast majority (81%) have adopted AI tools and are actively using them for content creation, according to a recent survey we conducted.
That shift has undoubtedly resulted in a higher volume of content, some good, some not-so-good. But more importantly, it’s re-exposed something the industry has always struggled with: balancing quantity and quality. Producing a huge volume of content that’s technically “optimized,” but not valuable, has never really been a viable strategy (remember Google’s 2011 Panda updates?). That remains the case today.
Ultimately, the real differentiator in search isn’t whether content is AI-generated, but whether it’s actually good.
What the Semrush Data Actually Shows
To move past any remaining speculation about whether AI content ranks, it helps to look at what the data says.
In its recent study of 42,000+ URLs, Semrush found that AI-generated content is already firmly embedded in search results. It appears across page 1 for a wide range of queries, often competing directly with human-written content.
Semrush also assured that Google’s crawlers don’t seem to care about the content creation process, i.e., whether AI was involved. Since it’s only scanning the final version of that content, it only ‘cares’ about how valuable it is to the end user — how much it satisfies user intent for that query.
From about position 4 downward, the Semrush data shows “a relatively narrow gap between human-written and AI-generated content.” Human content is still more probable to be in any given page 1 position, but in those bottom-few positions, AI-generated pages are much more likely to be present on any given SERP. But for positions 1-3, Semrush uncovered a much wider gap, with content classified as human-written approximately eight times more likely to reach position 1.
“If most teams are benchmarking against ‘ranking on page one,’ AI content is holding its own. It’s only when you zoom in on the top positions that human-written content pulls clearly ahead,” writes Margarita Loktionova, Semrush content marketing lead.
But this isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a debate about AI vs. human in content creation. Although human-written content is more likely to reach top SERP positions, it’s not only because a human wrote it — it’s because it’s high quality, original, shows expertise and satisfies intent. An AI tool can’t create a piece of content in one go that satisfies all those criteria — but it can help you get there a little quicker.
Why “AI vs. Human” Is the Wrong Debate
Framing this as a battle between AI and human content misses the point. Signals that have always mattered for ranking highly still matter. When evaluating a piece of content or a content opportunity, ask yourself:
- Is it relevant to the query?
- Does it go deep enough to be useful?
- Does it offer something original?
- Does it demonstrate real expertise?
AI content in its raw, unedited form is almost always obvious as such. It’s generic. That’s the largest pain point about the technology for marketers, according to our survey — and they’re still choosing to use it and work with it anyway. But not without intervention and QA. Marketers are augmenting AI outputs with human expertise and SME, and if that wasn’t working for their strategies — or worse, actively harming them — I have to doubt usage would’ve carried on as it has.
Content that reads as generic, predictable, surface-level or is undifferentiated from work already out there on SERPs will underperform — even if a human wrote it. Oppositely, content that is well-structured, expertly informed, that satisfies search intent and brings something valuable to the table will rank well — even if AI helped create it.
Winning the Efficiency Benefits of AI & the Ranking Potential of Human Content
Top-ranking pages don’t just answer a query; they do it in a way that feels complete, credible and difficult to replicate. That often includes:
- Original insights or perspectives that add something new to the conversation.
- Demonstrated expertise, whether through experience, examples or opinion.
- Depth and specificity that goes beyond generic explanations.
- Tight alignment with search intent, addressing exactly what the user is looking for.
These are the elements that are hardest to scale, and the ones most likely to separate a top 3 result from everything below it. But that doesn’t mean AI has no place in content creation. The technology has already staked its claim in the industry and is a part of many teams’ workflows, helping with research, drafting and scaling production.
Semrush’s advice following their dataset is simple and practical: “Use AI to move faster through research, outlining, and drafting. Then invest the time saved into incorporating expert insights, proprietary data, and other elements that make your content stand out.”
Invest time saved back into the final product. In marketing and SEO, time saved matters little if content gets stuck at the bottom of a SERP, bouncing between minor visibility and near-complete obscurity on page two.
It’s About What You Do With AI
The question of whether AI content ranks has already been answered. But the data makes clear that ranking isn’t the same as winning. AI-generated content has crossed the threshold of being “good enough” to compete, but not consistently good enough to dominate. The top of the SERP is still reserved for content that goes further.
AI has changed the speed and scale of content creation. What hasn’t changed is the standard. If anything, it’s raised the bar to increase content volume, which makes differentiation more important than ever. Be a brand that succeeds by using AI strategically and in ways that free up time to focus on what actually drives performance: originality, expertise and real value.
