Google Expands Rules on Low-Value Content

For marketers using AI, Google’s stance is clear: It doesn’t matter who (or what) wrote the words. Quality trumps everything. 

In September 2025, Google released a broad update to its Search Quality Rater Guidelines, initially reported by Search Engine Land. The changes included an expanded definition of generative AI, new examples such as AI Overviews, and stricter expectations for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content. 

The update reinforces a rule introduced earlier this year: Scaled, low-value content should receive the “Lowest” rating, whether created by humans or AI. 

The Search Quality Rater Guidelines define generative AI as a machine learning model that creates new content (text, images, music, or code) based on training data. Google notes that AI can help with content creation but warns it’s often linked to scaled abuse and shallow paraphrasing. 

As detailed in the guidelines: 

“[Pages] with little to no effort, little to no originality, and little to no added value for website visitors” should be rated Lowest. Likewise, the use of Generative AI tools alone does not determine the level of effort or Page Quality rating. 

The takeaway is clear: quality matters more than authorship. This message reflects growing consensus among SEOs: 

“AI-generated content without human value-add is a dead end strategy,” AI and SEO consultant Britney Muller posted on X earlier this year. “[E]specially as search engines and users get better at detecting it.”

Aleyda Solís, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, shared a similar warning in response to an OpenAI job posting: “This should be a big warning for companies thinking they’ll automate content … content can be easily outsourced without real product know-how and SEO alignment.”

How Do Raters Judge Quality? 

The guidelines add detail on how raters should evaluate high-quality Main Content (MC). High-quality MC has long been expected to show effort, originality, and skill, and the update reinforces these standards with expanded examples. 

For informational or Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics, the stakes are higher. Misleading or shallow content on health, finance, or civic topics is considered especially harmful.

Reputation also matters. Raters check if the site and its creators are identifiable and credible. Missing author details, unclear sources, or weak reputational signals lead to lower ratings. 

Even structure plays a role: If the MC is hidden behind tabs or buried under ads, quality perceptions decline.

Ross Hudgens, founder and CEO of Siege Media, explained on LinkedIn that most AI workflows overlook the unique value-add that makes content rankable: 

“Most AI content is driven by the 80/20 rule.. without the 20. 

It’s true that for most content, 20% of the content drives 80% of the value. It’s the data, or the design, or the hook, or the short answers that’s the core part of the asset. 

When people create content end-to-end with AI, they never identify their 20%.” 

Why Does the Update Matter for SEO?

For SEOs, the September update to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines reinforces a long-standing rule: Pages with scaled, low-value content can be rated “Lowest.” What’s new is that the guidelines now explicitly include generative AI-produced content as a potential source of such low-value content. 

The guidelines don’t change Google’s algorithms. They train human raters to assess search results. Those ratings don’t affect rankings directly but help Google evaluate whether its algorithms surface trustworthy, high-quality pages. 

By linking AI output to scaled, low-value practices, the update signals that both algorithms and users are already becoming better at detecting shallow or repetitive text. 

“A lot of things I’m reading daily I’m second guessing, and when checking, they display one or more telltale signs of likely not being written by a human,” Azeem Digital, an international digital marketer and consultant, shared on X.

The implication is straightforward albeit not necessarily new: Google is rewarding content that demonstrates originality, accuracy, and trust. And penalizing shortcuts.

Stay Ahead with Semrush

Marketers need to align workflows with Google’s updated standards and rising user expectations. For many brands, that means using AI for efficiency while relying on human expertise for trust and value. 

The Semrush Content Toolkit is built for this balanced workflow:

• Generate with the SEO Brief Generator. Build a data-driven brief that shows what top-performing pages in your space are doing. Use it to structure content and identify semantically related keywords.
• Draft with the AI Article Generator. Use the brief as a guide so AI-assisted drafts cover the right topics and deliver real value.
• Optimize with the Content Optimizer. Check for originality, tone, and readability. Remove generic phrasing and showcase human authority.
• Validate with trust signals. Add author credentials, fact-check thoroughly, and include unique insights to demonstrate expertise and originality.