Google Confirms Rewriting AI Content Won’t Automatically Fix Your Rankings
Over the past year, many businesses and site owners have experimented with AI-generated content to see how it would perform in Google search. For some it worked briefly, but for others it led to poor visibility, indexing issues, or complete stagnation.
Over the past few years, AI has changed how content is created. Faster production, lower costs, and endless output have made it tempting for businesses to scale content quickly. But over time, it’s clear that more content does not automatically mean better search performance.
Many websites are now discovering that rewriting AI-generated content by hand doesn’t lead to improved rankings, better indexing, or increased visibility. And that’s because search engines are no longer just evaluating how content is written – they’re evaluating why it exists.
It’s Not AI, It’s Purpose
One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that AI content fails simply because it was created by a machine, but in reality, the issue usually runs deeper.
Websites struggle when content exists purely to fill space, target keywords, or tick SEO boxes. Rewriting that same content manually doesn’t change the underlying intent. From a search engine’s point of view, the site still lacks purpose, depth, and originality.
Strong SEO today is about creating content that adds something meaningful to the web.
Why ‘Fixing’ Pages Rarely Fixes the Site
When a website has been built around low-value or automated content, the problem is rarely isolated to individual pages. The structure, messaging, and positioning of the site are often misaligned from the start.
In these cases, editing headlines, expanding paragraphs, or rewording text doesn’t change anything. Search engines assess websites holistically, so if the overall quality, relevance, and usefulness remains weak, small changes won’t change improve it.
What Do Search Engines Want to See?
Modern search algorithms are primarily focused on trust and usefulness. They look for clear signals that a website exists to serve real people, not just to attract traffic or fill gaps.
This includes things like clear positioning and expertise, content that answers genuine questions, original insights and consistency across the entire site. These are all things that are difficult to fake.
When To Start Over
In some situations, rebuilding from scratch is more effective than repairing what’s already there. This is particularly true for websites that started as experiments, or were built entirely around AI content with no real defined audience.
Starting fresh allows you to define your purpose properly, align your content with real user needs, and build trust from day one. While it’s not always necessary, it’s often faster and more sustainable than trying to undo years of weak signals.
How to Use AI The Right Way
AI isn’t the enemy here, but it does work best as a supporting tool rather than the driving force. We’ve seen so many businesses treating AI output as fact or final copy, when in reality it should be a starting point, not the end result.
Used well, AI can help with research, structuring, and efficiency. When used poorly, it creates generic content that blends into and sounds like everything else already online.
The strongest content we see is written by humans, insight-driven, and supported by AI where it genuinely adds value.
Peppermint’s Advice to Businesses
If your website relies heavily on AI-generated content and performance has stalled, the solution isn’t to rewrite – you need to rethink smarter.
Ask yourself:
Why does this content exist?
Who is it actually helping?
What makes it original, compared to thousands of similar pages already online?
If those questions don’t have clear answers, no amount of editing will fix the problem.
How Peppermint Can Help
At Peppermint, we help businesses get beyond those shortcuts and build content strategies that stand the test of time. We focus on clarity, credibility, and long-term performance – not quick fixes.
Whether you’re reassessing AI content, rebuilding a site, or planning your next SEO strategy, we help you create content that search engines trust and people actually want to read.
If you’re unsure whether your current content strategy is working for you or against you, get in touch with Peppermint.