Automated content poses potential risks for website owners, according to a search expert's cautionary note.

In a significant shift, Google's search advocate, John Mueller, issued a warning on August 27, 2025, against websites using large language models to create topic clusters. This move marks a departure from Google's previous neutral stance on AI-generated content and has raised concerns among publishers and content creators.

Mueller's warning specifically targets the widespread practice of using artificial intelligence to create comprehensive topic clusters. He characterised such practices as "liability" and provided "reasons not to visit any part of your site." This emphasis on authentic content creation aligns with Google's historical preference for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in content evaluation.

Publishers have reported significant traffic declines as Google's AI features provide direct answers rather than directing users to source websites. This shift, while aiming to deliver "higher quality" engagement, has resulted in substantial volume reductions affecting publisher revenue models.

Research from Ahrefs published in April 2025 demonstrated that AI Overview presence correlates with 34.5 percent lower average click-through rates for top-ranking pages compared to similar informational keywords without AI Overviews. This finding underscores the distinction between human-authored content that provides genuine value and automated content designed primarily for search engine optimization.

The warning follows months of increased scrutiny of AI-generated content across Google's search platforms. This scrutiny has been driven by mounting concerns about content quality degradation, user engagement problems with automated text, and potential algorithmic penalties for sites using AI content generation at scale to manipulate search rankings.

Since August 2023, companies like Cloudflare, Stripe, and various smaller websites have increasingly blocked OpenAI's GPTBot web crawler. This action suggests a growing awareness and concern about the impact of AI-generated content on website performance and user experience.

The economic implications of Mueller's warning extend beyond individual websites to entire content industries. Content creators responding to Mueller's guidance face strategic decisions about balancing efficiency with authenticity. The warning implicitly endorses human-authored content that provides genuine expertise and original insights.

John Mueller's warning on August 27, 2025, carries particular significance for small businesses seeking SEO guidance. As Google continues to refine its algorithms to favour high-quality, human-authored content, it is crucial for businesses to prioritise authenticity over automation in their content strategies.

The ongoing industry discussions about AI content quality and user engagement problems with machine-generated text underscore the importance of this shift. As Google's dominant position in web traffic distribution continues to influence SEO practices, the warning serves as a reminder for publishers and content creators to focus on providing valuable, authentic content to their audiences.

Automated content poses potential risks for website owners, according to a search expert's cautionary note.