MainWP Roundup: Search Generative Experience issues, Deep Fakes and ZeroBound Email stats

In today’s MainWP Roundup, we look at ZeroBounce’s 2024 email statistics report, AI, as it relates to Google’s Search Generative Experience results and deep fake images and the dangers that lie within.

Buckle up. Let’s ride.

AI news + Google AI Generated Content

Boosting AI Generated news content above journalism content by Google is something I’ve been monitoring. For one, if they do it with news content, they may do the same with other types of content.

According to the article by Kristi Hines at Search Engine Land,

“A recent report from 404media.co alleged that ‘Google News is boosting sites that rip-off other outlets by using AI to rapidly churn out content.’”

I have already seen several times Lily Ray’s claim that spam content was seeping into Google’s SGEs (Search Generative Experience)

My teammate (Alec Cole) just detected spam ranking in Google's Top Stories on desktop for the keyword "Mariners," a 1.2 million MSV search query, nbd.

The bottom right result redirects from rethnea .gr to an ecommerce store homepage.

Not gonna add their website here. pic.twitter.com/U5P4ihJ4wm

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) January 25, 2024

She also has received reports that journalists are finding ” AI-generated garbage ranking in the search results.”

Now journalists are contacting me because they're finding AI-generated garbage ranking in the search results and are asking me why this is happening…

…that's when you know it's gotten bad.

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) February 1, 2024

There are also reports of sites using AI to steal content.

@searchliaison, is there anything being done to combat parasite sites stealing content with AI? My site, along with others in my niche, have had to deal with a larger site (https://t.co/z2JSmMfyXJ) using AI to rewrite our articles hours after we do and are ranking higher.

— Jack McBryan (@McBDirect) January 31, 2024

The bottom line is that Google’s new Search Generative Experience results are mixed at best.

So, in Hines’ article, according to Google, they are not boosting AI Generated news sites to the top of the results above more traditional news outlets.

Hines then pinpoints “5 Reasons Why A News Article Ranks Well In Google Search And Discover,” according to ranking factors.

They include:

• Recency
• Domain Age & Backlinks
• Relevance
• Crawler Access
• Topics API

Regardless, I think two things are true. One, ranking factors that Google has internally still matter. Two, the way many websites operated for years may no longer be effective.

We are still figuring out how the Google SGE is going to affect rankings moving forward.

Have you had issues with Google’s SGE Results?

AI & Deep fakes take center stage.

Taylor Swift has gotten more than her share of media attention in the past few months. Her relationship with tight end Travis Kelce has put her in the light of the NFL, increasing her visibility even more.

It is also no secret that many have not been happy with that. Now, AI has entered the world of NFL and Taylor Swift.

Recently, deep fake photos of her circulated online.

And this raises an important issue, and that is the dark side of the AI world. AI itself isn’t a bad thing, but bad people use tools badly.

The event with Taylor prompted Congress to file a bill that would allow victims to sue.

“…The (DEFIANCE) Act would add a civil right of action for intimate ‘digital forgeries” depicting an identifiable person without their consent, letting victims collect financial damages from anyone who “knowingly produced or possessed’ the image with the intent to spread it.”

It appears to have bi-partisan support, a rarity these days.

The problem isn’t unique in the United States. Recently, Spain has their own issue with deep fake images.

These kinds of issues remind me of when Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben told him, “Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.”

Other issues with AI have included plagiarism, privacy, and just about anything you have ever seen in a sci-fi movie.

We are entering the wild west where the public now has access to these capabilities.

Into the Inbox: Email Statistics Report for 2024

I came across the ZeroBounce statistics report on LinkedIn from Simon Harper. How important are emails to our business? It’s pretty important.

“Eighty-eight percent of people check their email every day, and 40% of them do it because they’re looking for coupons and discounts from brands. Is your business in the right inboxes when people are ready to hit the ‘Buy’ button?”

To be fair, I would have guessed higher, but emails are definitely checked by everyone.

Let’s look at some of the results.

Spam is still a huge problem for everyone.

“8% of the participants said they mark an email as spam if the email ‘looks like spam.’ Also, 54% stated they report a message as spam if the sender didn’t ask permission to email them, while 49% will submit a spam complaint if the email doesn’t give them a way to unsubscribe.”

Most people check email on mobile.

“61% of people check their email primarily on mobile.”

Most people are like us Gen-Xers and would rather communicate via email. No more meetings!

“61% of them say email is their preferred channel for work communication.”

Send too much email? You might get unsubscribed.

“78% of the participants said they mark an email as spam if the email “looks like spam.” Also, 54% stated they report a message as spam if the sender didn’t ask permission to email them, while 49% will submit a spam complaint if the email doesn’t give them a way to unsubscribe.”

Check out the report.

Wrapping it up

That’s a wrap on the MainWP Roundup for February. We looked at the mixed results of Google’s Search Generative Experience and the dangers of Deep Fake images.

Finally, we peeked at the statistics of ZeroBounce’s Email Statistics.

Have you encountered the Search Generative Experience results from Google? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments or at the MainWP Users Facebook Group.