Recently, one of the biggest questions surrounding publishing AI-assisted content has been whether Google penalises it. Google has stated that it doesn’t reward or punish content created by AI, provided it adds value and meets Google’s Search Essentials standards. However, Google does evaluate the quality and usefulness of AI-assisted content against some strict guidelines.
This subject was recently spotlighted by Search Engine Journal. A website owner reported receiving a partial manual action from Google for thin content on a forum section of a website that’s existed for almost 20 years. The forum contains more than half a million posts, with an AI chatbot labelled as a staff member generating over 100,000 replies. While Google hasn’t confirmed that the AI-generated responses caused the penalty specifically, some experts are speculating that the automated AI chatbot replies may have impacted the value of the forum, as one of the main reasons why users visit forums is to read answers based on genuine human experience.
Understanding Thin Content and Manual Actions
Google has often described thin content as pages that provide little or no value to users, that don’t help answer questions or solve a problem. These pages tend to be shallow or created primarily to rank in search results instead of serving a genuine purpose. Other common examples of thin content that Google looks for include:
- Duplicate content – Content copied or scraped from other websites without adding any original insight or value
- Low-quality affiliate pages – Basic product pages that rely on manufacturer descriptions or affiliate links without providing genuine reviews or comparisons
- Doorway pages – Pages created purely to target specific keywords before directing users elsewhere
- Superficial pages – Surface-level content that doesn’t answer the user’s question.
Google’s aim is to surface content to users that is genuinely useful and accurate, so pages that fail to meet these standards may not rank or, in more serious cases, receive a manual action where they’re removed from search results altogether. A manual action means a member of Google’s search team has reviewed a website and determined that it violates Google’s spam policies. Depending on the issue, the action can affect individual pages, a section of a website, or the entire site.
The important thing to note here is that AI doesn’t automatically create thin content. However, if AI-assisted content is published without editing, fact-checking, adding value, or injecting expertise, it may be flagged as thin content.
E-E-A-T Explained
One reason why thin content performs so poorly and gets penalised is that it often lacks Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). These are signals that Google looks for when assessing whether content is likely to help users. This means the strongest content should demonstrate knowledge of the subject and give readers a tangible reason to choose it over another result.
For experience, content should demonstrate first-hand knowledge. This could include personal experience, original research, unique data, testimonials, or examples from real-world situations. For example, an SEO agency writing about a technical SEO migration could explain what happened during a real migration, including the problems they encountered and how they were resolved.
To cover expertise, content should show the information presented is written by someone who understands the subject in-depth. This could mean an author with relevant professional experience, references to credible research, case studies, or displaying or mentioning relevant certifications. For example, an accountant writing about changes to tax regulations could explain how the rules apply to businesses and cite the relevant legislation or official guidance.
The authority pillar of E-E-A-T is based on how others view your expertise. High-quality, relevant websites linking to your content (also known as backlinks), industry peers referencing your work, and users recognising your brand as a reliable source all contribute to your authority. For example, if an ecommerce brand publishes research related to its products and this information is cited in authoritative blogs, the brand has stronger evidence of authority than an ecommerce website publishing generic articles without external recognition.
For trustworthiness, your content and website should be accurate and transparent. Check claims, statistics, and factual information against credible sources. Clear author information, genuine customer reviews, and an honest explanation of who is responsible for your website can also help establish trust. An example you may have seen before is how healthcare websites clearly show their authors and reviewers and provide sources for medical claims to make it easy for readers to understand when the information was last reviewed.
Best Practices for AI-Assisted Content Generation
AI can be a great accelerator for content creation. However, to produce high-quality content, AI output should serve as the foundation rather than the final product. By incorporating genuine human expertise, unique professional insights and real-world anecdotes, you can upgrade the piece from generic to authoritative. This layer of human oversight – ensuring accuracy, demonstrating E-E-A-T and tailoring the voice to your audience – is essential for creating content that readers find valuable and that meets Google’s quality standards.
If you’re using AI to support your content creation process, here are some best practices to ensure the final result is aligned with Google’s quality expectations:
- Focus on user intent – Answer the primary question thoroughly while also covering related topics readers are likely to search for next
- Add original expertise – Include personal experience, industry-specific knowledge, unique data, or observations that AI doesn’t always provide on its own
- Use relatable examples – Real-world scenarios and analogies can make complex topics easier to understand and add value
- Personalise the voice – Rewrite generic introductions to reflect your unique brand voice and perspective
- Cover topics in depth – Avoid skimming the surface of a topic and leaving knowledge gaps. Search engines look for topic completeness when evaluating content, determining rankings, and citing pages in AI experiences
- Provide practical value – Include step-by-step guides, recommendations, comparison tables, or actionable advice readers can use to make decisions
- Fact-check the AI output – Ensure every AI-generated statistic and claim is accurate before you publish
- Remove repetition – Tighten the AI output by cutting unnecessary filler words and sentences, as well as repeated ideas
- Improve readability – Replace any generic AI-generated headings with descriptive language. Include bullet points and clear formatting so readers can find information and scan your content quickly.
A Few Ways to Fix Thin Content
Recovering from a manual action for thin content can be difficult, so prevention is always the best option. If parts of your website aren’t providing enough value, there are several practical improvements you can make. However, we recommend getting professional input before making any radical changes to your site or giving all your content a complete overhaul.
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Audit
At Herdl, we conduct CRO audits to find actionable opportunities to improve your website. This audit combines insights from analytics, heatmaps, scroll behaviour, and competitor analysis, focusing on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter to your business. Whether it’s reducing friction in the conversion funnel or restructuring pages to optimise the user journey, the ultimate goal is to boost the percentage of visitors from passive browsers to active conversions.
E-E-A-T Audit
Our E-E-A-T audit identifies if your website clearly demonstrates the principles of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. We evaluate how well your site aligns with the current search landscape and provide a clear action plan for improvement to strengthen your overall visibility against your target audience’s search intents.
The Final Word
The recent forum case mentioned on Reddit reinforces what Google has been saying for a long time about how quality matters more than how content is created. AI can play a role in content production, but it shouldn’t replace human expertise or oversight. If you’re using AI-assisted content to support your digital marketing and want to check if your pages meet Google’s quality expectations, feel free to contact us and let’s chat about it.