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On 2 October we found a bug on our own website. The code that turns the FAQs on two of our service pages into structured data, the hidden labels Google reads, had been merging two questions into one answer: a paragraph sat just outside its answer box, and the code that reads the page misread it. Visitors saw the right page, while Google was given a muddled version of it. We fixed it the same day. A day earlier, on 1 October, Google had updated its guidance on AI-generated content to say, in effect, that this is exactly the kind of thing you have to check before you publish.
What Google changed
Google’s page “Google Search’s guidance on using generative AI content on your website” was updated on 1 October 2026.[1] Its documentation changelog describes the change as bringing the guide in line with the Search Quality Raters guidelines and with the presentations Google gives at its developer events.[2] We first saw it reported by Search Engine Journal.[3]
The key lines are plain. Google explains why AI text needs checking: “Keep in mind that generative models don’t retrieve facts, but predict a likely sequence of words based on their training data.” Then the instruction: “It is critical to manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content for accuracy and trustworthiness before publishing.”[1]
The part most business owners will miss is the next sentence. The review “also applies to metadata like <title> elements, meta description elements, structured data, and alternate texts for images, which can appear in Search results.”[1] In other words, the bits of a page nobody looks at closely are now named alongside the article itself. Page titles matter more than most people think, because Google may rewrite them; we explain how in title tags people click.
The guide also repeats the warning that matters most for anyone tempted to publish in bulk: using generative AI “to generate many pages without adding value for users may violate Google’s spam policy on scaled content abuse.”[1]
Our view
This isn’t a ban on AI, and Google doesn’t present it as one; the page opens by saying generative AI “can be particularly useful when researching a topic, and to add structure to original content.”[1] It is a reminder of who is responsible. If a page says something wrong, it is the business’s page, not the tool’s.
The metadata point is the useful one. Plenty of WordPress plugins now write page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text and FAQ markup automatically. That saves time, and it also means text that can appear in Google is being published without anyone reading it. Our FAQ bug is a small example: correct page, wrong labels.
Our rule is the same for every article, however it was drafted: every number, quote and client claim is traced to a dated record or a source fetched that day, or it is cut. In the past week that check corrected a count from five to four, and removed a description of a business’s rating as a “Google rating” when we could not confirm where the rating came from.
What we checked on our own site, 5 October 2026
Google names four kinds of metadata, so we checked all four on the 24 posts published on our site.
| Metadata | What we checked | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Page titles | Present on every post | 24 of 24, between 46 and 64 characters |
| Meta descriptions | Present on every post | 24 of 24 |
| FAQ structured data | Every question in the markup also appears on the page | 16 posts carry FAQ markup; all 80 questions match a visible heading |
| Image alt text | Every image in the article body has a description | 70 of 70 |
What this check doesn’t cover: whether each description is good, or whether each alt text describes its image well. Those need a person reading them, which is the point of Google’s guidance. A script can tell you something is missing; it can’t tell you it’s right.
What not to do
- Don’t publish AI drafts unread. Google’s word is “critical”. A wrong price, opening time or medical claim costs more than the time saved.
- Don’t forget the hidden text. Titles, descriptions, alt text and structured data generated by a plugin are covered too.
- Don’t mass-produce pages. Fifty near-identical location or service pages written by a tool is the pattern Google calls scaled content abuse.
- Don’t mark up what visitors can’t see. FAQ or review markup should match the visible page, word for word where it can.
Check it yourself
- Titles and descriptions: search Google for
site:yourdomain.comand read your own results as a stranger would. Anything wrong, vague or repeated is the first fix. - Structured data: run your main pages through Google’s Rich Results Test and compare what it lists with what the page shows.
- Alt text: in WordPress, open Media, switch to list view, and look at the alt text of your most-used images. If it is blank, or says something like “IMG_2041”, it needs a person.
- Your plugins: check which plugins write titles, descriptions, FAQ markup or alt text automatically, and decide who reviews their output.
Frequently asked
Does Google penalise AI-generated content?
Not for being AI-generated. Google says generative AI can be useful for research and structure. What it acts on is content that breaks its policies, such as generating many pages without adding value for users, which it calls scaled content abuse.
What did Google change on 1 October 2026?
It updated its guidance on using generative AI content. The page now says it is critical to manually fact-check and review all AI-generated content before publishing, and that this applies to titles, meta descriptions, structured data and image alt text as well as the main text.
Do I have to say that content was made with AI?
Google’s search guidance suggests considering it where it makes sense for your audience, as context for readers. For online shops, Google Merchant Center has its own rules for AI-generated images and product data.
Want a second pair of eyes on your site?
Send us your website. We will check your titles, descriptions, structured data and alt text against what visitors actually see, and reply in writing with anything that is wrong or missing. Request a free written review, or read our on-page SEO checklist.
References
- Google Search Central, “Google Search’s guidance on using generative AI content on your website”, last updated 1 October 2026. Accessed 5 October 2026.
- Google Search Central, “Latest Google Search documentation updates”, entry for 1 October 2026. Accessed 5 October 2026.
- Matt G. Southern, Search Engine Journal, “Google Wants AI Content Fact-Checked, Gemini UTM Tags – SEO Pulse”, 3 October 2026. Accessed 5 October 2026.
- Total Web Solutions: read-only check of the 24 published posts on totalwebsolutions.co, 5 October 2026; FAQ structured-data fix on two service pages, 2 October 2026.
