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A large-scale analysis by Ahrefs of 600,000 webpages finds that Google neither rewards nor penalizes AI-generated content.
The report, authored by Si Quan Ong and Xibeijia Guan, provides a data-driven examination of AI’s role in search visibility. It challenges ongoing speculation that using generative tools could hurt rankings.
How the Study Was Conducted
Ahrefs pulled the top 20 ranking URLs for 100,000 random keywords from its Keywords Explorer database.
The content of each page was analyzed using Ahrefs’ own AI content detector, built into its Page Inspect feature in Site Explorer.
The result was a dataset of 600,000 URLs, making this a comprehensive study on AI-generated content and search performance.
Key Findings
Majority of Top Pages Include AI Content
The data shows AI is already a fixture in high-ranking pages:
- 4.6% of pages were classified as entirely AI-generated
- 13.5% were purely human-written
- 81.9% combined AI and human content
Among those mixed pages, usage patterns broke down as:
- Minimal AI (1-10%): 13.8%
- Moderate AI (11-40%): 40%
- Substantial AI (41-70%): 20.3%
- Dominant AI (71-99%): 7.8%
These findings align with a separate Ahrefs survey from its “State of AI in Content Marketing” report, in which 87% of marketers reported using AI to assist in creating content.
Ranking Impact: Correlation Close to Zero
Perhaps the most significant data point is the correlation between AI usage and Google ranking position, which was just 0.011. In practical terms, this indicates no relationship.
The report states:
“There is no clear relationship between how much AI-generated content a page has and how highly it ranks on Google. This suggests that Google neither significantly rewards nor penalizes pages just because they use AI.”
This echoes Google’s own public stance from February 2023, in which the company clarified that it evaluates content based on quality, not whether AI was used to produce it.
Subtle Trends at the Top
While the overall correlation is negligible, Ahrefs notes a slight trend among #1 ranked pages: they tend to have less AI content than those ranking lower.
Pages with minimal AI usage (0–30%) showed a faint preference for top spots. However, the report emphasizes that this isn’t strong enough to suggest a ranking factor, but rather a pattern worth noting.
Fully AI-generated content did appear in top-20 results but rarely ranked #1, reinforcing the challenge of creating top-performing pages using AI alone.
Key Takeaways
For content marketers, the Ahrefs study provides data-driven reassurance: using AI does not inherently risk a Google penalty.
At the same time, the rarity of pure AI content at the top suggests human oversight still matters.
The report suggests that most successful content today is created using a blend of human input and AI support.
In the words of the authors:
“Google probably doesn’t care how you made the content. It simply cares whether searchers find it helpful.”
The authors compare the state of content creation to the post-nuclear era of steel manufacturing. Just as there’s no longer any manufactured steel untouched by radiation, there may soon be no content untouched by AI.
Looking Ahead
Ahrefs’ findings indicate that content creators can confidently treat AI as a tool, not a threat. While Google remains focused on helpful, high-quality pages, how that content is made matters less than whether it meets user needs.
