SE Ranking study shows AI content disappears from search after 3 months

According to SE Ranking's comprehensive experiment published August 4, 2025, 2,000 AI-generated articles across 20 brand-new domains achieved initial ranking success before completely disappearing from Google search results after three months.

The SEO platform conducted two separate experiments to evaluate AI-generated content performance. The first involved publishing six AI-assisted articles on the established SE Ranking blog between June and September 2024. The second, more ambitious experiment launched 20 brand-new websites in November 2024, each containing 100 AI-generated articles targeting different niches.

Initial success across new domains

According to the study methodology, SE Ranking selected 20 popular niches including Arts & Entertainment, Business & Services, Health & Medicine, and Technology. The company registered brand-new domains with no prior search history or backlinks for each niche.

The content generation process used SE Ranking's AI Writer with minimal human intervention. According to the research documentation, "We generated content in one click using SE Ranking's AI Writer. We created 2,000 articles in total and 100 per niche. We didn't provide extra prompts, guidance, or edits."

Results within the first 36 days showed promising performance metrics. According to the findings, 70.95% of all generated pages achieved indexation within 36 days, representing 1,419 out of 2,000 published articles.

Eight websites achieved ranking visibility for more than 1,000 keywords each during the initial period. According to the data, "Eight sites had an impressive start, ranking for over 1,000 different keywords each."

Traffic generation during November and December 2024 reached 122,102 total impressions and 244 clicks across all domains. The Hobbies & Interests niche led performance with 17,425 impressions and 55 clicks, while Games & Accessories generated 11,083 impressions and 41 clicks.

Mobile search performance exceeded desktop results. According to rank tracking data, five domains achieved between 29% and 37% of their keywords ranking in the top 30 positions on mobile devices, compared to 22% to 30% on desktop.

Dramatic decline after three months

The experiment's trajectory changed significantly in February 2025. According to the study results, "Since February 2025, none of the articles have ranked in the top 100 search results."

The research team documented complete traffic loss beginning February 3, 2025. According to the findings, "Although this experiment initially showed promise based on the results above, all of the articles dropped out of the search results on February 3, 2025."

SE Ranking attributed the decline to two primary factors. According to the analysis, "The sites hosting these articles were new and lacked domain authority" and "Google tends to deprioritize fully AI-generated content that lacks human input and originality."

Contrasting results on established domains

The performance gap between new and established domains proved significant. SE Ranking's six AI-assisted articles published on their main blog demonstrated sustained success throughout the tracking period.

According to the blog experiment results, these articles generated 555,000 impressions and 2,300 clicks between June 2024 and July 2025. Three articles achieved top 10 rankings, while four appeared as sources in Google's AI Overviews.

The key difference involved human editing and domain authority. According to the methodology, "AI-generated drafts served as a starting point rather than as a final product. Our team revised each article for clarity and accuracy."

Industry context and implications

The study's findings align with broader industry observations about AI content performance. According to Gagan Ghotra's analysis shared on social media, "All articles disappeared from search after three months" represents a pattern affecting AI-generated content strategies.

Recent PPC Land coverage has documented how AI search fundamentally changes SEO approaches. According to Brainlabs analysis published July 8, 2025, "96% of AI Overview links come from top 10 organic results, while AI search visitors demonstrate 4.4 times higher value than traditional organic traffic."

The content quality factor emerges as increasingly critical. According to industry research, AI systems prioritize information discovery over webpage promotion, allowing focus on content quality rather than overall page experience metrics.

Google's stance on AI-generated content emphasizes quality over generation method. According to previous reporting, Google's Danny Sullivan has stated that ranking systems evaluate content usefulness regardless of creation method, while maintaining that manipulation attempts violate spam policies.

Technical performance details

The indexation process revealed significant variations across niches. According to the data, 11 sites achieved complete indexation with all 100 pages included in Google's index, while four niches struggled with fewer than 10 pages indexed.

Keyword ranking distribution showed concentrated performance in lower-tier positions. According to the desktop search analysis, 189 out of 2,000 keywords (9.45%) ranked in the top 30, while 1,432 keywords (71.60%) ranked outside the top 100.

Industry analysis suggests these patterns reflect Google's evaluation criteria for new domains. According to the study conclusions, "You might see a short-term boost from quickly generated content, but without proper optimization and unique value, rankings and traffic are likely to drop soon after."

Measurement and monitoring challenges

The experiment highlighted current limitations in tracking AI content performance. According to recent industry analysis, 58% of marketers employ manual observation techniques to monitor their content's appearance in AI-powered search results.

SE Ranking utilized multiple tracking tools including Google Search Console, Keyword Rank Tracker, and AI Results Tracker to monitor performance across the 20 domains throughout the experiment duration.

The research team plans additional testing phases. According to the study conclusion, "We're continuing to test and explore, analyze the reasons for the drops, and plan to examine how internal links and images affect performance."

Broader market implications

The findings contribute to ongoing discussions about AI content sustainability in search results. According to earlier PPC Land reporting, industry analysts predict continued challenges as AI Overviews reduce organic clicks by 34.5% when present in search results.

Content creators face evolving optimization requirements. According to optimization guidance, successful AI content strategies require chunk-level retrieval optimization, answer synthesis capabilities, and citation worthiness rather than traditional ranking factors.

The study reinforces the importance of editorial oversight in content strategies. According to SE Ranking's recommendations, "If you do use AI to create content, it should always be followed by thorough editing, optimization, and other refinements."

Domain authority continues influencing content performance in AI search environments. According to recent patent analysis, Google's AI Mode emphasizes topic authority development rather than keyword optimization as the fundamental ranking factor.

Research methodology and limitations

SE Ranking conducted the new domain experiment between November 2024 and February 2025. The company selected keywords with monthly search volumes ranging from 10 to 990, averaging 106 across all niches.

WordPress served as the content management system for all test sites, with identical theme and plugin configurations. According to the methodology, "No internal linking was employed, and no images were added" to maintain experimental consistency.

The research approach isolated AI content performance by eliminating variables like link building, social media promotion, and manual optimization efforts. According to the documentation, "These sites were left untouched because we wanted them to be evaluated based on merit alone."

Future research phases will examine additional factors including internal linking structures, image integration, and keyword clustering effects on AI content performance in search results.

Timeline

• November 5-6, 2024: SE Ranking publishes 2,000 AI-generated articles across 20 new domains
• December 11, 2024: Initial results show 70.95% indexation rate and 122K impressions
• February 3, 2025: All articles disappear from search results completely
• August 4, 2025: SE Ranking publishes complete experiment results
• August 14, 2025: Study gains widespread attention on social media
• Related: Google's June 2025 core update brings dramatic ranking changes affecting website visibility
• Related: Brainlabs analysis shows AI search fundamentally changes SEO approaches
• Related: Industry research reveals AI search visitors worth 4.4x more than traditional traffic

PPC Land explains

AI-Generated Content

AI-generated content refers to articles, text, and multimedia materials created using artificial intelligence systems without human writing intervention. In SE Ranking's experiment, this content was produced using their AI Writer tool with minimal prompts or editing. The study demonstrates that while AI can create functional content at scale, sustainability in search results requires additional factors like domain authority and human oversight. The term encompasses both fully automated content creation and AI-assisted writing where human editors refine the output.

Domain Authority

Domain authority represents a website's credibility and trustworthiness as evaluated by search engines, typically built through factors like backlinks, content quality, age, and user engagement signals. SE Ranking's experiment highlighted this concept by comparing new domains with zero authority against their established blog domain. The dramatic difference in performance between these scenarios illustrates how domain authority serves as a critical ranking factor that can overcome content generation method concerns.

Indexation

Indexation describes the process by which search engines discover, crawl, and include web pages in their searchable database. The study achieved a 70.95% indexation rate within 36 days, demonstrating that Google readily indexes AI-generated content initially. However, indexation alone does not guarantee sustained visibility, as evidenced by the complete disappearance of these pages after three months despite successful initial inclusion in search results.

AI Overviews

AI Overviews are Google's feature that provides AI-generated responses directly in search results, synthesizing information from multiple sources. According to the study, four of SE Ranking's blog articles appeared as sources in AI Overviews, indicating content quality recognition. This feature represents a fundamental shift in how users consume search information, often providing answers without requiring clicks to source websites, thus changing traditional SEO success metrics.

Keyword Rankings

Keyword rankings indicate the position where specific web pages appear in search engine results for targeted search terms. The experiment tracked rankings across 2,000 keywords, finding that 189 achieved top 30 positions initially. Rankings serve as a traditional SEO metric, though the study reveals their limitations when content lacks supporting authority signals. The research shows that achieving rankings without sustainability factors leads to eventual complete visibility loss.

Traffic Generation

Traffic generation encompasses the methods and results of directing visitors to websites through search engine visibility. SE Ranking's new domains generated 122,102 impressions and 244 clicks during their brief successful period. This metric reveals the practical business impact of content strategies, demonstrating that while AI content can initially attract traffic, maintaining that flow requires comprehensive optimization approaches beyond content creation alone.

Content Quality

Content quality refers to the usefulness, accuracy, depth, and user value of published materials as evaluated by both search algorithms and human readers. The study emphasizes this factor by contrasting raw AI output with human-edited content performance. Quality encompasses factors like factual accuracy, comprehensive topic coverage, clear writing, and meeting user intent. The research suggests that content quality becomes increasingly critical as AI systems evaluate information for synthesis and citation purposes.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization involves strategies and techniques designed to improve website visibility in search engine results. The study represents a comprehensive SEO experiment testing AI content effectiveness across multiple ranking factors. Modern SEO increasingly requires understanding AI search behaviors, multi-platform optimization, and balancing traditional ranking signals with emerging AI-focused evaluation criteria. The research demonstrates how SEO strategies must evolve alongside technological changes in search platforms.

Click-Through Rates

Click-through rates measure the percentage of users who click on specific search results after viewing them. The study documented declining click-through rates industry-wide as AI Overviews provide direct answers without requiring website visits. This metric becomes crucial for understanding the economic impact of AI search features on website traffic and revenue. Changes in click-through patterns require businesses to reconsider how they measure content success and user engagement.

Organic Search Results

Organic search results are unpaid search engine listings that appear based on algorithmic relevance and quality evaluation rather than advertising payments. The study focused exclusively on organic performance, tracking how AI-generated content competed in natural search rankings. This distinguishes the research from paid advertising effectiveness and provides insights into algorithmic content evaluation processes. Understanding organic search dynamics helps businesses develop sustainable long-term visibility strategies.

Summary

Who: SE Ranking, a search engine optimization platform, conducted the experiment involving 2,000 AI-generated articles across 20 new domains. The study was authored by Yevheniia Khromova and reviewed by Valerii Khomenko.

What: A comprehensive study testing AI-generated content performance in search results. The experiment involved creating 20 brand-new websites with 100 AI-generated articles each, tracking their indexation, ranking, and traffic performance over several months.

When: The main experiment ran from November 5-6, 2024 through February 2025, with results published August 4, 2025. Articles achieved initial ranking success but completely disappeared from search results after three months on February 3, 2025.

Where: The study focused on Google search results across multiple niches including Arts & Entertainment, Business & Services, Health & Medicine, and Technology. All domains were new with no prior search history or authority.

Why: SE Ranking aimed to determine whether raw AI-generated content could achieve sustainable search rankings without human editing or domain authority. The study provides crucial insights for content creators and SEO professionals navigating AI content strategies in an evolving search landscape.