ADA Website Compliance and the Hidden Cost of Getting It Wrong
ADA website compliance has become one of the most misunderstood and stressful issues facing small business owners today. I see…
If you’re hiring an SEO expert right now, chances are you may have asked, is AI generated content good for SEO?
You may have heard this line: “We don’t use AI,” which should raise questions, not confidence.
AI is now part of the modern SEO content stack, alongside keyword tools, analytics platforms, and content management systems. Claiming otherwise is either misleading or unnecessarily expensive for you as the client.
The real issue is not whether AI is good for SEO, but rather how it’s used, who controls it, and whether the content still sounds human enough to be worth reading.
As an SEO expert working with businesses in Long Beach and nationwide, I see this confusion constantly. Business owners are not worried about AI existing. They are worried about wasting money on content that looks fine to Google but does nothing for their brand or customers.
AI-generated content can rank, and Google has been very clear about that.
As Google explains: “This said, it’s important to recognize that not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam. Automation has long been used to generate helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.”
In other words, AI itself is not the problem; the thoughtless use of it is.
What remains true is that AI on its own does not create trust, personality, or conviction. Those are human signals, and they matter more than ever, especially in local search.
Unedited AI content tends to be:
That kind of content might get indexed, but it rarely gets remembered.
For local businesses in competitive markets like Long Beach, this is a real issue. Showing up in search is only half the battle. Standing out, sounding credible, and feeling trustworthy is what actually drives calls, form fills, and sales conversations.
That is why the conversation should not be AI versus human writers. The real distinction is AI-first content versus editor-led content.
Here is the uncomfortable truth most SEO experts will not say out loud: most professional writers today use some form of AI.
Outlining. Research aggregation. Competitive analysis. Optimization passes.
Avoiding AI entirely would mean intentionally working more slowly, not necessarily better.
So when an SEO expert charges hundreds of dollars for a single page and insists there is no AI involved, one of two things is happening:
Transparency matters more than posturing.
If you are hiring an SEO expert in Long Beach or elsewhere, you should care far more about process and accountability than about whether someone is trying to sound old school.
If an SEO expert is honest about using AI, which they should be, here is how to tell if they are using it well or just cutting corners.
1. Is there a human editor responsible for every piece?
Who owns the final output?
Who decides what stays, what goes, and what needs reworking?
If there is no clear editorial owner, quality will be inconsistent. This is one of the most common issues I see when Long Beach businesses come to me after working with cheap or outsourced SEO providers.
2. How is AI-generated content validated?
AI can summarize. It can also hallucinate.
Ask how facts are checked, how claims are verified, and whether local or industry-specific nuance is reviewed before publishing. For healthcare, legal, cannabis, adult, or other regulated industries, this step is non-negotiable.
3. Is brand voice defined or assumed?
Strong SEO content does not just sound good. It sounds like you. That requires:
Without this, AI produces polished but generic content. Generic content rarely converts, especially in local search, where trust matters.
4. How is AI-generated content differentiated from competitors?
AI is trained on what already exists. At its core, it reflects algorithmic consensus: the shared patterns, topics, and language that Google already considers relevant for a query. That consensus matters. Ignoring it is how content fails to rank. The problem is that consensus is treated as the final output rather than the foundation.
Without strategy and editorial direction, AI produces content that mirrors what already ranks. It aligns with the consensus, but it does not add perspective. The result is content that is technically correct, keyword aligned, and completely interchangeable.
A strong SEO expert understands that effective content works in two layers:
1) aligns with search consensus so Google understands where the content belongs.
2) introduces a clear, human angle that makes the content worth choosing.
Ask how your SEO expert handles that second layer. Specifically, ask how they create:
At Danielle Meyers SEO Consultant, we are transparent about our use of AI, but we never let it run the strategy. AI helps us move efficiently by supporting research, outlining, and identifying keyword opportunities, while every piece of content remains editor-led and human-reviewed.
Tone, accuracy, and messaging are refined to align with your brand and business goals, not just search intent. Brand voice is defined before content is scaled, so messaging stays consistent across blog posts, service pages, and long-term SEO campaigns, which is especially important for local businesses building local authority. Strategy always comes before keywords, and every piece of content is created to educate, support conversions, and strengthen topical and local relevance for both search engines and real people.
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