AI-generated content and images: what Google accepts

What Google actually says

Google does not penalise text because it was written with AI. Its rule is the same for all content: be useful to the reader. What it penalises is called scaled content abuse: producing lots of pages to climb the results rather than to help people, whatever the tool. Its rules explicitly name pages generated in bulk with AI without adding anything for the reader.

An example: a plumber publishes a hundred pages, “Plumber in Nice”, “Plumber in Cannes”, “Plumber in Menton”, written by AI, where only the town name changes. These pages add nothing beyond the first one, and that is exactly what Google targets. One good page, with the area covered, photos of real jobs and precise answers, is worth more than all hundred of them. For the basics, see my SEO guide.

On 1 October 2026, Google also updated its guidance on generative AI. It now asks you to check by hand everything AI produces before publishing it, because these tools do not look up facts: they predict a likely sequence of words. And the check does not stop at the text: it also covers page titles, the descriptions that may be shown in Google, structured data (the code that describes the page to search engines) and the text that describes images.

The figures point the same way. A study published by Ahrefs in July 2026 looked at the top ten results of 100,000 Google searches, using a tool that estimates how much of a page was written by AI. In the top three positions, 9% of the pages analysed are 80% or more AI-written, according to that tool, so Google does not push them aside.

But in a second sample of around 100,000 pages, the most AI-heavy pages are indexed less often: around 40%, against 49% for pages written mostly by humans. Ahrefs’ conclusion: Google is fighting bad content, not AI, and the two often overlap.

Text: what works, what to check

AI saves time on a first draft, a rewrite or a batch of product listings. The point is knowing where it belongs, and what needs reviewing.

AI in your text: good uses and points to check
Use	What Google thinks	My advice
The first draft of an article or page	Accepted, if the text is useful and checked	Add your own examples and experience
Product listings in bulk	Accepted, if each listing is accurate and useful	Start from the product’s real specifications, never from what the AI imagines
Titles and descriptions for Google	To be checked like the rest of the text	Review them one by one: they are what people see in the results
Text describing images	To be checked like the rest of the text	Describe what the image really shows
Dozens of near-identical pages made to climb the results	Penalised: this is scaled content abuse	One good page is worth more

Should you tell readers that AI helped? Google does not require it, but encourages it: explaining how content was made can give readers more context. The EU AI Act only requires a label on text in one specific case: text published to inform the public on matters of public interest, unless a person has genuinely reviewed it and someone takes editorial responsibility for it. A business website that genuinely reviews its text, and stands behind it, is generally not affected.

Online stores: what Google Shopping requires

If your products appear in Google Shopping, they go through Merchant Center, the Google tool that receives your catalogue. There, the rules are stricter: titles, descriptions and images produced by AI must be flagged.

Titles written by AI go in a separate field called structured_title, with the value trained_algorithmic_media, which indicates that the title was created by AI. Like a regular title, they are limited to 150 characters.
Descriptions written by AI follow the same principle, with the structured_description field.
Images created by AI must contain a hidden label in the file: an IPTC metadata value, TrainedAlgorithmicMedia, saying the image comes from AI. For an image created with a tool like Product Studio, Google’s AI tool for merchants, the rule is simple: never remove this label.

Flagging AI to Google Shopping: each piece of AI content has its own place, and the image label must reach Google intact.

On PrestaShop as on WooCommerce, the catalogue is usually sent to Merchant Center by a module or extension. Before handing your listings over to AI, check that the module or extension can fill in these separate fields. If not, the simplest option is to keep titles and descriptions written by you for Google Shopping. To get the rest of your listings ready for AI shopping, see my guide to selling through ChatGPT and Google.

Product photos: the EU rule since 2 August 2026

Since 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act requires a clear label on images created or altered by AI that resemble real people, objects or places and could pass for real, what the law calls a “deep fake”. The guidelines published by the European Commission on 20 July 2026 give very concrete examples for retail.

A photo embellished by AI, showing the product looking better or of higher quality than in reality, is a deep fake: it must carry the label. A realistic person created by AI, such as a model who does not exist, can also be one: if in doubt, add the label. On the other hand, a real product shown on an AI-generated background is not one, as long as the photo does not mislead about the product, and a simple lighting or colour correction generally needs no label.

Product photo: as long as AI only touches the setting or the lighting, a label is generally not needed; as soon as it embellishes the product, it becomes mandatory, and it is wiser to add it when AI invents a realistic person too.

The label must be visible as soon as the customer sees the image, for example a clearly legible “Image altered by AI” notice on or just below the photo, wherever it appears. The hidden label in the file is not enough on its own. Images created and published before 2 August 2026 do not need to be labelled retroactively. However, an image created before that date but published after it must carry the label.

One last point, if your website has a chat assistant (a chatbot): the law requires it to tell visitors clearly that they are talking to an AI, from the first exchange. The rule is aimed first at whoever supplies the tool, but it shows on your website: check that yours does. To see where AI is really useful on a website, see my guide to AI on a website.

Where to start: five checks

List what AI produced. Text, listings, titles, descriptions, images: note where AI was involved, page by page.
Review and check. Every figure, name and date, down to page titles, descriptions for Google and image descriptions.
Merge duplicate pages. If AI produced near-identical pages, keep the best one, improve it, and redirect the others to it.
Declare AI to Google Shopping. Titles and descriptions in the dedicated fields, the label kept in images, and checked on an image as Google receives it.
Label what needs labelling. A visible label on any photo that embellishes the product, and, if in doubt, on those showing a realistic person created by AI. And a chat assistant that introduces itself as an AI.

AI on your website: need an outside view?

I design and develop WordPress websites and PrestaShop stores for businesses in Monaco and on the French Riviera. For AI, I start with a review: which pages and listings were written with AI, what needs checking or merging, what Google Shopping receives, and whether your images keep their label. Then I fix things, starting with what matters most for your sales, and you approve every change on a test version of your website before it goes live. You talk directly to the person who writes the code.

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Reply within one business day

Frequently asked questions

Does Google penalise text written by AI?

No. Google judges the quality and usefulness of content, not the tool used to write it. It does penalise pages mass-produced to climb the results without adding anything for the reader, whether they are written by AI or by people.

Can Google tell when text was written by AI?

Google does not say whether it tries to find out when ranking pages, and it is not what matters: its rules are about the value of content for the reader, however it was written. Text written with AI, checked and enriched with your own experience, is in line with those rules.

Do I need to say that an article was written with AI?

For Google, it is not mandatory, but Google encourages it when it helps readers understand how the content was made. The EU AI Act only requires it for text that informs the public on matters of public interest and has not been genuinely reviewed by a person, with someone taking responsibility for it. For Google Shopping, however, titles and descriptions written by AI must be declared.

Does a photo with an AI-generated background need a label?

Not if the product is real and shown as it is: according to the European Commission’s guidelines, a real product on an AI-generated background is not a deep fake. The label becomes mandatory if AI embellishes the product itself. For Google Shopping, always keep the hidden label the tool put in the file.

My company is based in Monaco: do these rules apply?

Google’s rules do: they are the same everywhere. As for the EU AI Act, Monaco is not part of the European Union, but the law also applies to businesses outside the EU as soon as what the AI produces is used in the EU: if your photos are seen by customers in France, the rule applies to you in principle.

How much does a check of my website cost?

It depends on the number of pages and listings, and on what AI produced. I never quote without looking first. Tell me about your website: I will send you a clear, itemised quote. Reply within one business day.

Sources

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