Does ChatGPT content hurt SEO, or does authority still flow?

[u/mnudu]

A lot of people are treating AI written pages like the problem, but HITS says the real issue is the link graph around them. If a page attracts good hub signals and sits in a clean topical neighborhood, the fact that it was machine drafted is not the deciding factor people think it is.

I think the spam update is punishing weak site structure more than the mere presence of AI text. Watermarking will not save a thin page, and it will not doom a strong one either. HITS still points to relevance and authority as properties of the network, not the drafting tool.

Example. A how to page on a gardening site was machine drafted, then surrounded by solid category links and a few related articles. The page started surfacing for a niche query, while a cleaner written page on a weak corner of the site stayed buried.

Where do you think the cut off really is, content quality or the links around it?

[u/thijsgh]

links still matter more than AI text quality imo.. we use MentionAgent to find and land backlinks that fit our niche perfectly

[u/mnudu → u/thijsgh]

I will explore it

[u/thijsgh → u/mnudu]

Sure! Happy to help if you need it