Google has updated its Search Quality Rater Guidelines with changes to its focus on addressing AI (artificial intelligence)-generated content and new types of spam.
These updates are part of Google’s ongoing effort to improve the quality of search results and ensure the search engine continues to prioritise unique, high-quality and trustworthy content.
This is the first major update that the search engine giants have made to their Search Quality Rater Guidelines since March last year.
The Search Quality Rater Guidelines serve as a source of information for Google’s evaluators, who assess the quality and relevance of search results based on several factors, including user experience and trustworthiness.
Key points of these changes include:
The inclusion of a Generative AI definition
Google has taken a step in formally addressing AI-generated content in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
In section 2.1, under the subheading “Important Definitions” the guidelines now include a definition of generative AI.
By adding this definition, Google is recognising the rise of AI tools while helping to differentiate between high-quality, valuable AI-generated content and low-quality, spammy content.
The definition reads:
“Generative AI is a type of machine learning (ML) model that can take what it has learned from the examples it has been provided to create new content, such as text, images, music and code.”
In adding this definition, this update gives Quality Raters clear guidelines on how to evaluate AI-generated content and determine if it meets Google’s standards for relevance, quality and user value.
Identifying new forms of spam and low-quality content
Google has updated Sections 4.0 through 4.6 of the Search Quality Rater Guidelines to provide clearer and more detailed guidance on recognising new types of spam and low-quality content.
These updates have been made to help Quality Raters better differentiate between content that just doesn’t meet high standards and content that is spammy or misleading.
This update highlights three main areas of concern: expired domain abuse, site reputation abuse and scaled content abuse.
These changes ensure that Google’s Quality Raters can identify and flag websites that rely on deceptive or spammy tactics to manipulate search rankings.
Identifying and rating AI-generated content
An update to Section 4.7 of the Search Quality Rater Guidelines provides its Quality Raters with specific examples and clearer instructions on how to identify and evaluate AI-generated content.
The guidelines show raters how to distinguish AI-generated materials from high-quality, human-produced content.
The update highlights Google’s efforts to ensure that AI-generated content upholds the same standards of quality as content produced by humans.
As AI continues to evolve, these updated guidelines ensure that Google maintains its focus on prioritising high-value content that genuinely serves its users’ needs, whether created by humans or AI.
At Engage Web, we keep our finger on the pulse of any new updates released by Google, and how they affect our clients’ websites. Get in touch today if you’d like to discover more about our services.
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