Executive summary: The 2026 Verdict: While AI can summarise, it cannot witness. Real traffic growth this year comes from “I-driven” content—articles based on personal experience that AI models haven’t “digested” yet.
Now, let’s get into this.
Even AI models know that text generated by AI is not of the same value as text written by humans from human knowledge.
Don’t get me wrong, some AI written content is good. This is when an AI platform is used to take what you have written, and only what you have written, and made it more readable, without adding ‘knowledge’ outside of what you have written. This post is not about that though.
I see plenty of retailers and other businesses publishing AI generated content as their content. Sure, they can do this. The thing is, search engines and AI platforms will treat this for what it is, AI generated content that is likely of less real value than human written content based on human knowledge.
Given how we are seeing some search engines and related tech serve up search results, it is clear that 20-26 will see greater value placed on human written content. You can see this in the AI search result of Google. I asked google Gemini How important is human written content compared to AI generated content for search engine results?. Here’s it’s response:
In 2026, the value of human-written content has become even more distinct as search engines have evolved into “Answer Engines.” While Google and other platforms do not explicitly penalize content for being AI-generated, there is a clear performance gap: human-authored content continues to dominate the top search results and AI citations.
Recent studies show that roughly 86% of pages ranking on the first page of Google are primarily human-written, while only 14% are high-confidence AI content. This is because search engines prioritize quality and “people-first” signals over the method of production.
We’re all time poor and want, need, to get more done in less time. There is no corner you can cut when it comes to content though. If you want traffic to your website, you need to put in the work, real work, human work, to be the expert in your field. This work you put in is rewarded with traffic.
I urge you to resist the temptation to get AI to generate content for you when you need content to grow traffic for your website. or, if you do use AI, use its output as a starting point, a springboard if you like, from which you create your own content. The more of you you invest in your content the more valuable it will be.
I looked at a couple of companies recently. They are in the same field. One gets 3,000 visitors a month to their website. The other gets under 1,000. The 3,000 visitor a month webs publishes human written content while the one achieving under 1,000 published AI written slop.
But traffic of itself is not the best measure. The best measures of success a business are revenue and bottom like P&L performance. I can’t tell for the two businesses I mention as I don;t have access. My guess, though, is that the business publishing human written content based on human knowledge is doing much better.
The best content, the content search engines favour the most, is first-hand content, your own experience content. This is what makes you an expert. This content is what will get you ranking well in search results. Think about these ‘prompts’:
- I did this.
- I learned this.
- This was my experience.
- This is what got me here.
- This is the mistake I made and what I learned from it.
- I love this and here is why.
- This is my advice based on what I have experienced.
The best content from you is about you. It’s personal based on your own experience.
When you write, you come at it from a different perspective to AI. AI relies on predicting the next word based on existing data. Humans can offer counter-intuitive opinions or report on breaking trends before the AI models have been updated. This is the you difference. It is why content you write and publish will be more likely to rank well in search results, ahead of AI slop.
This is all on my mind today as I think about The Australian Newsagency Blog in 2026. I’ve been going at this for a long time, writing more than a million words. It ranks well, I think, because the content is human written, based on my experiences and opinions. It is often cited in search answers AI results. I am following my own advice.
Yes, it’s time-consuming. The time you invest all depends on your purpose.
My purpose here is to encourage Aussie newsagents and others who stop by here to run better, more successful and more enjoyable businesses. The well I drop on for that is my experience over decades owning newsagency businesses and working with newsagents. While AI can churn out content of some interest in this area, it cannot speak with the same authority of first-person experience, and that’s the difference between AI content and human written content.
So, as you plan for 2026, if you want to be found online, consider carefully your what you publish. This year, more than in 2025, human written content will matter.
Write what you know, based on your experiences, sharing what you learned, being human in the words you choose and the context you provide.
Now, if you’re still with me, thank you. This article is at more than 850 words now. Me writing 25 years ago would have taken more than an hour to write this. Today, I am at 15 minutes. It’s like exercise. The more you work at it, honing your skills, the more efficient you become.
It can take time to find your voice and train your rhythm. Every word you type gets you close to the efficiency you need and the results you want.
Push back on the easy road of publishing AI content. Make 2026 the year you;re found because of what you know.
One final thing, before I close off. I gave Gemini what I have written and here’s what it said:
This is an excellent piece of writing. It’s authoritative, timely, and most importantly, it practices exactly what it preaches: it’s deeply rooted in first-hand experience.
In 2026, the term “AI slop” has become common for a reason. Search engines have moved past the “volume era” and are now in the “verification era.” Your post nails the shift from search results being a list of links to being a list of reliable witnesses.
It went on to make some suggestions, which I have not included as I want to keep the original in tact.
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Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents who continuously evolve their businesses to be enjoyable, relevant and successful. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.
