Is AI content dominating the internet?

Luke Meredith

A new report on search results has revealed that over half of all new articles on the internet are generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

The report was published by the search engine optimisation (SEO) company Graphite and sampled 65,000 new articles published from January 2020 until May 2025.

Classing any article found to score over 50% on an AI-detection software as AI-generated, the latest data showed that 52% of articles came from AI.

The emergence of ChatGPT caused a huge spike in figures, with numbers rising from 10% in 2022 to over 40% in 2024. However, 2025 has seen the rise of AI articles slow down somewhat, with some months seeing human-written content take a slight majority.

Why AI content is slowing down

It’s not exactly clear why the increase of AI-written content appears to have slowed down after a rapid rise. One explanation could be that AI content isn’t as successful in ranking with search engines as human writing. Graphite also found that 86% of articles ranking in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) were human written, with only 14% created by AI.

The data could suggest that while AI content benefits the creator in terms of ease and convenience, those aiming to get the very best results from their content should not rely on it too heavily.

Should you use AI to create content?

AI has many uses for businesses and website owners, and can play a worthy role in a successful content marketing campaign. Nevertheless, multiple investigations into AI-generated content, as well as advice from Google itself, has suggested that AI shouldn’t be the sole or primary contributing factor to your content creation.

For example, you may make use of AI for content ideas, while leaving the actual writing to yourself, as an expert in your field. Reports such as the one mentioned above suggest this approach is much more likely to result in SERP success.

At Engage Web, our (human!) experts help our clients rank in this AI SEO-driven landscape. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch with us today.

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Luke Meredith

Content Editor at Engage Web

At home in both the digital sector and the world of communications, Luke thrives on deadlines and has held roles in healthcare, retail and digital marketing, gaining a sound knowledge of a wide range of sectors. He’s a massive swot as well, holding a first-class degree in BA Communication and Media, and now uses his writing skills and keen editorial eye in his role as Content Editor here. Luke helps to oversee our clients’ content requirements, while also looking after a pool of freelance writers across three continents.

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