AI-Generated Content Dominates Online Articles, Study Finds
Key Points
- Graphite's study finds AI‑generated articles now exceed 50% of new English‑language web content.
- Analysis covered roughly 65,000 URLs using AI‑detection tools with low error rates.
- Most AI‑written pieces rank poorly in Google search and are rarely shown by ChatGPT.
- The rise aligns with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 and cheaper, faster AI models.
- Content farms and marketers adopted AI to cut writing costs, leading to high volume output.
- Low‑quality, repetitive AI articles limit reader engagement and SEO performance.
- Google deprioritizes AI content, prompting publishers to reconsider pure automation.
- The proportion of AI‑generated articles has plateaued, suggesting a shift toward hybrid workflows.
A recent study by Graphite, using Common Crawl data and AI‑detection tools, determined that more than half of newly published English‑language web articles are now written by artificial intelligence. While the volume of AI‑generated content has plateaued, most of it fails to rank well in Google search or appear in ChatGPT responses, indicating that human‑written pieces still dominate visibility. The findings highlight a shift in how publishers, marketers, and content farms produce material, as well as ongoing concerns about quality, SEO performance, and the future role of AI in online publishing.
Study Overview
Graphite analyzed a large set of English‑language URLs from the Common Crawl archive, focusing on pages that included article markup and publication dates. By applying AI‑detection tools to roughly 65,000 URLs, the researchers classified each piece as either AI‑generated or human‑written based on whether over 50% of its content matched detection criteria. The study reported false‑positive and false‑negative rates of about 4.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
Key Findings
The analysis revealed that AI‑generated writing now exceeds the 50% threshold for newly published web articles. This marks a significant shift from earlier periods when AI‑authored content was virtually nonexistent. Although the proportion has recently plateaued, the sheer volume indicates that machines now produce more articles than human authors.
Despite the high output, most AI‑written articles do not perform well in search engine rankings. They are rarely featured in Google search results or in responses generated by ChatGPT, which continue to prioritize human‑created content. Consequently, a large share of AI‑generated material goes unnoticed by everyday readers.
Drivers of the Trend
The surge in machine‑written content aligns with the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Within a year, AI authorship rose dramatically, driven by publishers, marketers, and click‑bait farms seeking to reduce the cost of content production. The decreasing price and increasing speed of advanced AI models have further encouraged this shift.
Quality and Visibility Concerns
Many AI‑generated articles are described as bland, repetitive, and low‑quality, which limits their appeal to readers and search algorithms. Google has openly deprioritized AI content in its ranking system, and platforms that rely heavily on low‑quality AI output may face penalties from both audiences and search engines.
While the volume of AI‑written material remains high, the plateau suggests that publishers may be reassessing the balance between automation and human editing, potentially moving toward hybrid approaches that combine AI efficiency with human oversight.
Implications for the Future
The study underscores a new reality in which the internet is co‑authored by humans and machines. However, the human voice continues to dominate the content that audiences seek and engage with. As AI‑detection tools improve, the ecosystem may evolve to favor higher‑quality, human‑enhanced AI content, ensuring that the benefits of automation do not come at the expense of relevance and credibility.