AI tools promise to make content creation faster and easier. They can brainstorm topics, draft articles, and even suggest keywords. But if you’re relying on AI to write your content from start to finish, you’re likely missing out on real results.
Let’s break down why using AI as your main content writer is a losing strategy – and what actually works if you want your website to grow.
AI Content Isn’t the Shortcut You Think
AI tools can speed up certain tasks. They can help you come up with ideas and even generate a first draft in minutes. But publishing AI-written content without significant editing is a mistake. NP Digital ran the numbers and found what happens when you rely on AI for content creation.
First, let’s talk about the time investment. On average, using AI to write and publish a single article takes about 16 minutes. That includes generating the content, formatting it, and uploading it to your CMS. In comparison, a human writer takes around 69 minutes for the same process. It sounds like a huge time saving, right?
But the problem is: speed doesn’t equal quality – or results.
The Problem With AI Content: It’s Just Recycled
AI doesn’t create new ideas. It pulls from what’s already out there, mixing and matching information that’s already on the web. The result? Content that feels familiar, generic, and often adds nothing new for the reader.
People crave fresh insights. They want to learn something they haven’t seen before. When your blog posts or landing pages sound like every other site, you become forgettable. Worse, search engines are getting better at recognizing regurgitated content and don’t reward it with high rankings.
Human Content Wins in the Rankings – Almost Every Time
At InfluxJuice, we wanted to see how AI and human writers stack up in the real world. We learned a lot from NP Digital’s large-scale experiment: they looked at 68 websites, 744 articles, half written by AI and half by humans. Both groups targeted similar keywords and had comparable word counts.
The results? Human-written content outranked AI content 94.12% of the time. That’s not a fluke. Google’s algorithms favor original research, unique perspectives, and content that adds genuine value. AI struggles to deliver on those fronts.
Traffic Over Time: The Real Numbers
Let’s look at the impact over time. Looking at the organic traffic for each article over five months. In month one, both AI and human articles started at roughly the same level. But by month five, the gap was impossible to ignore.
- AI-written articles averaged 52 visitors per month.
- Human-written articles averaged 283 visitors per month.
That’s more than five times the traffic for human-written content. If you’re hoping to grow your site’s audience, relying on AI alone is a losing bet.
Can’t You Just Publish More AI Content?
Some marketers think they can outsmart the problem by publishing more AI content. If each article gets less traffic, just publish ten times as many, right?
Unfortunately, that approach backfires. Flooding your site with low-quality or mediocre posts drags down your entire domain’s authority. Google notices when a website is filled with thin, repetitive, or low-value pages. Instead of boosting your rankings, this can cause your site to drop in search results.
At InfluxJuice, we’ve seen this firsthand. After pruning and removing underperforming content, we saw an increase in overall traffic – sometimes as much as 11% to 12%. Less, but better, wins every time.
User Engagement: Humans Hold Attention Longer
Traffic isn’t the only metric that matters. How long do people actually stay on your site? This is the result when user engagement was compared for both types of content:
- Average time on page for human-written articles: 4.10 minutes
- Average time on page for AI-written articles: 3.25 minutes
Readers spend significantly more time with human-written content. Longer sessions mean more trust, more conversions, and better signals to search engines.
“But I Hate Writing!” – How to Use AI the Right Way
If you dread writing, you might be tempted to let AI do the heavy lifting. While AI can help, it shouldn’t be your only tool. Here’s how to use AI without sacrificing quality:
- Start with AI for Structure: Use AI to generate a rough outline or suggest headlines and subheadings.
- Pick the Best Elements: Select the title, introduction, and headings that match your intent and target keywords.
- Let AI Draft, Then Rewrite: Allow AI to create a first draft, but don’t publish it as-is. Rewrite sections, add your own insights, and update facts.
- Add Real Value: Inject your expertise, unique experiences, or original research. Share stories, data, or tips that aren’t found elsewhere.
- Optimize for SEO: Use AI to help identify and integrate relevant keywords, but always write for humans first.
- Polish and Edit: Thoroughly review, edit, and fact-check every piece before hitting publish.
AI can give you a head start, but your content should always feel human, fresh, and genuinely helpful.
Where InfluxJuice Uses AI: Research, Not Writing
At InfluxJuice, we use AI tools to speed up research, not to write final drafts. For example, when working with clients like Rise, we used AI to collect statistics, spot trends, and organize information quickly. But each piece of content was crafted, checked, and enhanced by a human writer.
This approach allowed us to scale content production without sacrificing quality. The result? Higher rankings, more traffic, and more sales.
The Bottom Line: AI Is a Tool, Not a Replacement
AI can help you brainstorm, research, and organize your ideas. But if you rely on it to write your content from start to finish, you’re wasting your time. Search engines and real readers both want something new, insightful, and trustworthy.
If you want your website to grow, focus on quality over quantity. Use AI where it helps, but always finish with a human touch. That’s how you get more traffic, better rankings, and real results.
So, are you still letting AI write your content? Or are you ready to stand out with something truly original? Let us know in the comments.
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