The Great AI SEO Scam: Why Your ‘Automated’ Content is Still Human Outsourcing
Why SEO and AI Go Hand in Hand (and Why You Should Care)
By Michael Henderson
Back in 2016, I was deep in the trenches of online copywriting, grinding for high-volume casino marketing right here in Las Vegas. No fancy machines that do everything or…steal everything lol back then, just pure human hustle. We were creating high-converting articles, pulling up sources, citing facts, the whole nine yards.
Mannn, the internet has really spoiled us since! Even then, I saw the writing on the wall: this level of intense, quality content was destined for outsourcing. Why? Because the dedicated human, trying to make an honest dollar, had to churn out articles at an insane clip, all while keeping standards sky-high.
I used to dream of an AI that could tackle these tasks, freeing us up to be razor-sharp efficient. Fast forward to 2025. Consider that dream realized. We are officially living in the age of Large Language Models (LLMs) and, what I call, 'pre-automation.'
Now, you might be wondering, 'Pre-automation? What's that about? Aren't we already fully automated?' Good question, my friend. Let's get our digital assistant on the case. ChatGPT! ASSEMBLE! We're about to lay down some facts.
SEO and AI are no longer separate tools, they’re strategic teammates.
AI is rewriting the rules.
Search engines like Google now rely on AI-powered algorithms like RankBrain and BERT. They analyze natural language, context, and search behavior in ways we’ve never seen before. They don’t just look at keywords; they analyze meaning, tone, and intent.
📌 According to Search Engine Journal, AI is transforming SEO in three big ways:
Automating content research and identifying trending topics before they peak.
Improving user experience through personalized, smarter content recommendations.
Helping search engines decode intent using Natural Language Processing (NLP).
🔗 Source: Search Engine Journal –
AI Isn’t Magic. It’s Still Powered by People (Mostly Underpaid Ones)
"The Wild West of COVID, AI, & SEO Scams"
When COVID hit and ChatGPT emerged, copywriting became one of the very first services to be aggressively outsourced.
Remember those barely-speaking-English calls and emails we all got during 2021 from brand-new 'automation' startups? (Yeah, we all got 'em, laugh out loud.) These operations were notorious for spewing out plagiarized content that wasn't just low-quality, it literally tanked businesses' organic traffic.
It was during this chaotic time that I launched my freelance services, and the stories I heard were wild. Companies were being outright lied to about their marketing results, all while their critical backend infrastructure was getting annihilated. I even witnessed a ridiculous case where a Las Vegas landscaping company was somehow ranking for Korean watches!Naturally, they weren't seeing sales, because their SEO strategy was literally 5,000 miles off-target and had nothing to do with their actual business!
This wasn't just a revolution; it was a 'scam-revolution.' So, let's tap into our trusted digital partner. ChatGPT! ASSEMBLE!(excuse me while I prompt and your eyes move to the co-signs) We're about to expose the truth behind these damaging practices and what real, targeted SEO looks like."
According to a 2023 exposé by The New York Times, companies were hiring workers in Kenya, Venezuela, and the Philippines to manually label content or even answer prompts pretending to be AI-generated.
So while it might look like the future, what you’re really buying is smoke and mirrors — just with a faster Wi-Fi connection.
Auto-Magic? Nah, It's Just Clever Automation
Look,not all automation is AI. That’s an important line to draw.
A ton of “AI-powered” platforms are just glorified IF/THEN workflows. Think macros, scripts, or conditional logic. Smart? Sure. Revolutionary? Not even close.
MIT Technology Review broke this down in 2023, exposing how many AI services in customer support and e-commerce are nothing more than smart scripting under the hood.
“AI Teams” = Global Outsourcing Rebranded
Let’s talk about the elephant in the Zoom room.
Plenty of companies are building “AI content departments” that are really just remote human teams using ChatGPT, Grammarly, or Jasper — lightly editing content, then calling it “AI-generated.”
It’s not wrong, it’s just... not what they’re selling you.
📌 Inside info (we’re keeping names NDA-safe): A handful of SaaS platforms pushing “AI-written” blogs are paying international freelancers $4/hour to write and optimize content through tools like ChatGPT, then upselling that as proprietary AI.
You're not buying AI, you’re buying a blended outsourcing model. Which is fine… if you know what you're getting.
AI Still Can’t Read the Room — and That Matters
You know this one already if you’ve ever let AI write a full email or ad copy: something’s just... off.
Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4 are impressive, but they’re still missing a key ingredient: contextual intelligence. They don’t truly “understand” tone, nuance, or human emotion they just mimic it.
A 2024 study by Stanford ads proof in the pudding that AI struggles big-time with sarcasm, emotional nuance, and implied meaning.
In business, especially marketing, that can be the difference between a sale... and silence,you know… that “Star charisma”.
AI as a Buzzword? Yeah, It’s a Thing
Fast forward to today, and let's be real: AI is everywhere. You see the ads promising AI for your lawyer cases, AI results for practically everything under the Vegas sun. Now, don't get me wrong, platforms like YouTube and Meta are brilliant showcases of LLMs done right, integrating them seamlessly to enhance user experience. But then there’s this whole other wave—these 'AI' companies, popping up like desert wildflowers after a rare rain, whose primary game is purely to close sales, all while employing the most egregious, bottom-barrel practices.
I've seen it firsthand, right here in our vibrant Las Vegas market. There was a particularly well-known 'AI' ad company, targeting lawyers, that would loudly proclaim on Meta how they'd run fully automated AI campaigns for their clients. The reality? It was one sharp cat on the front end, closing deals, then quietly offloading the actual work to folks who frankly couldn't articulate a coherent strategy, let alone speak the local business language OR EVEN ENGLISH!. You can imagine the fallout: the company eventually folded. And let me tell you, dealing with angry lawyers? My friend, that's a special kind of headache.
This isn't just about bad business; it's about deception masquerading as innovation. This ain't that. So, for the last time, I promise, let's have our trusted digital assistant—ChatGPT—ASSEMBLE! We're about to dissect the facts and separate the authentic from the artificial."
Gartner coined this “AI washing,” and their 2024 report found over 55% of tools using “AI” in branding have little to no true AI functionality.
So... Where Are We, Really?
Is AI useful? Yes Homie! Can it streamline workflows and cut costs? Yep. But is it the sci-fi-level revolution most marketers think it is?
Not yet.
So here’s my take: use AI where it actually adds value ,whether that’s for idea generation, content outlines, or data insights. But don’t get lost in the sauce. Don’t buy into buzzwords. And most importantly?
👉 Don’t confuse outsourcing with innovation if you have no workflow.
Because the real edge isn’t having AI.
It’s knowing how, and when to use it.
Want real AI + SEO strategies that actually work? Let’s talk.
