How to Prevent Harmful feedback loops from AI-generated copy

Quality of AI-generated text is not a new concern, but there’s a snowball effect occurring that you need to prepare for. As more and more brands rely on AI to create copy for web pages, articles, and social posts, large language models (LLMs) have less human-generated content to learn and improve from. As a result, LLMs feed off of text created by their own or other AI models, creating a feedback loop of AI learning from AI. This can lead to a phenomenon called model collapse, in which models trained on AI outputs return low quality–or, in extreme cases, completely nonsensical–results. 

While AI offers the benefit of saving time on detailed copywriting, model collapse threatens brands on multiple levels. 

What to expect

Brands publishing 100% AI-generated text will face greater consequences in 2025. First, the quality of AI text will likely continue to go down if nothing changes. However, we can expect Google to continue to fine-tune its algorithms to penalize AI-generated text. This means that even if your marketing team is proofreading AI text before posting, your content can still be identified as AI-generated on Google and ranked accordingly. Websites full of AI content will see a decline in their SEO health, and even face blacklisting by Google. The same goes for social media accounts, with Meta and LinkedIn employing similar approaches. 

How to respond 

As always, you need to approach your content marketing strategy holistically and aim for high value content. Even if you’re flying under Google’s radar with AI content, your audience knows the difference. There’s no point in turning out content that offers no educational value and doesn’t speak to your viewers. If you’re a small business or working with limited bandwidth, block out time for one or two key members of your content team to create original articles, webpage copy, and social posts on a weekly basis. 

If your content requires intensive research, you also need to consider where you are sourcing your information. AI can assist with gathering research, but you should always be able to trace that back to credible sources in your industry for relevant data, news, and insights. In order to truly establish your brand as a thought leader, you can take this up a notch by leveraging your own business experiences and social proof. By fueling your content campaigns from within, you’ll be better equipped to craft meaningful, high-performing stories and insights for your audience.