I know what you\u2019re thinking. \u201cI\u2019m going on a trip to Cape May, NJ and need a true \u2018hidden gem\u2019 of a travel guide.\u201d Well, if by some extreme fluke, you see one of BuzzFeed\u2019s AI-assisted content in your search results, here\u2019s my recommendation: avoid it. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s because BuzzFeed has published 20 low-quality travel articles under the byline \u201cAs Told to Buzzy.\u201d They\u2019re all super formulaic and written in the first-person point of view. Or, do we now have to call it the \u201cfirst-AI point of view\u201d? (Does AI even have a view?)<\/p>\n
Why we care. <\/strong>Multiple articles are calling these \u201cSEO-driven\u201d travel guides. Let\u2019s stop that now. If these pages rank for any competitive terms, Google has failed as a search engine. <\/p>\n No, what BuzzFeed has done here is not \u201cSEO\u201d. BuzzFeed has simply published super low-quality, shallow, AI-generated articles written as a first-person narrative by the AI, about locations that exist in the world. Nothing more, nothing less. If these pages rank, it will be because it lives on an authoritative site, not because it\u2019s any good.<\/p>\n As Told to Buzzy.<\/strong> That is the profile name under which the 44 articles live. The biography<\/a> of this AI writer: \u201cArticles written with the help of Buzzy the Robot (aka our Creative AI Assistant) but powered by human ideas.\u201d But this is BuzzFeed, so E-E-A-T<\/a> doesn\u2019t matter, right?<\/p>\n All of Buzzy\u2019s articles I looked at had a note at the top saying a version of \u201cThis article was collaboratively written by\u00a0[insert name here]\u00a0+ Buzzy, our creative AI assistant.\u201d Those collaborators seemed to all be non-editorial staff (from the business and sales side of the company), the Verge reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fun fact: BuzzFeed has a separate AI quiz writer byline for Buzzy the Robot, author of 26 quizzes.<\/p>\n Hilariously terrible.<\/strong> Some of the lowlights, via Futurism<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cNow I know what you\u2019re thinking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA hidden gem\u201d<\/p>\n And beyond.<\/p>\n