A recent study by Ahrefs has confirmed that Google will not penalize AI content in rankingsto debunk common myths that AI-driven content is negatively influenced by search algorithms. This finding challenges the popular belief that using AI in content creation could harm SEO performance.
AI content in rankings: Key findings from the Ahrefs study
Ahrefs analyzed data from 600,000 pages to verify this AI content in rankings. The correlation between AI usage and rankings was found to be almost zero at just 0.011. This supports the results of a similar study conducted by Byword in April 2024, which analyzed 5,000 websites. At the time, many feared that Google’s March 2024 update would de-index AI content, but the study showed that AI was not the problem. Instead, the problem was due to poor content strategy.
I've been saying this for 17 months. The data keeps proving the same thing.
Ahrefs released a study analysing 600,000 pages. The data shows Google doesn't penalise AI content. The correlation between AI usage and rankings was 0.011. Basically zero.
This might sound familiar.… pic.twitter.com/X44RXbgthv
— Jake Ward (@jakezward) October 21, 2025
Here are the key findings from the Ahrefs study:
- 81.9% of top ranking sites Use a mix of AI and human-generated content.
- Pure AI content rarely ranks at the top, but also not purely human content.
- AI content and rankings showed a correlation of only 0.011, proving that there are no disadvantages to using AI.
- Content strategy is key: Sites focused on niche topics saw a 6.2% increase, while sites with random content saw a 26.4% drop in traffic.
Also Read: Zoom Stats: Users, Revenue and Market Dominance
The study proves that Google cares Quality And relevance of the content and not the process underlying its creation. Content that serves a niche, is helpful to users, and is of high quality performs better, regardless of whether it is created by AI or humans.
If you’ve been hesitant to use AI content for fear of punishment, this data suggests you’ve been optimizing for the wrong thing. As Ahrefs notes, “Google probably doesn’t care how you created the content. It only matters whether searchers find it helpful.”
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