AI-generated blog posts are everywhere. They're cheap to produce, easy to scale, and they all share one thing in common: nobody reads them. The average bounce rate on AI content hovers near 90%, and most readers leave within 10 seconds of arriving.
Why AI blog posts are failing
The problem isn't that the content is AI-generated. It's that most AI tools are optimised for output volume, not reader value. They produce articles that tick SEO checkboxes — keywords in the right places, proper heading structure, adequate word count — but fail at the one thing that matters: giving the reader a reason to keep scrolling.
Open any of these articles and you'll recognise the pattern. A vague introduction that says nothing specific. Paragraphs that restate the heading in slightly different words. Lists of advice so generic they could apply to any industry. The reader learns nothing new, so they leave.
The pogo-sticking problem
When someone clicks your search result and immediately bounces back to the results page, Google calls that pogo-sticking. It's one of the strongest negative signals a page can send. It tells Google that your content didn't answer the searcher's question, and your rankings drop accordingly.
What readers actually want
Readers want answers. Specific, concrete, applicable answers to the question they typed into Google. They don't want an overview of the topic. They don't want a list of definitions. They want to learn something they didn't know before, and they want to learn it quickly.
“The best content doesn't just answer the question — it makes the reader glad they clicked.”
Articles that perform well share common traits. They open with a specific claim or observation. Each section introduces new information. The writing is direct and free of padding. And critically, they link the reader to related content on the same site, creating a natural reading path that reduces bounce rate and increases session duration.
How to fix your content
Fixing your content starts with understanding your audience. What questions are they actually asking? What problems are they trying to solve? Once you know that, every article has a clear purpose and a clear audience — and readers can tell the difference.
The difference between content that ranks and content that doesn't often comes down to whether the reader finishes the article. When they do, every signal Google measures — time on page, pages per session, bounce rate — moves in your favour.
