Dofollow Digest #32: AI content can accelerate growth

Author

Eric Carrell
June 27, 2025

Hey, it's Eric 👋

New research from Ahrefs just dropped some interesting data on AI content performance. The headline finding? Websites using AI content grew 5% faster than those that didn't over the past year.

Before you rush to automate your entire content strategy, there's more to this story. The data shows AI can be a powerful tool for SaaS companies, but only when used thoughtfully. Let me break down what this means for your content strategy.

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🔍 DEEP DIVE: AI Content Can Accelerate Growth (If You Do It Right)

Ahrefs surveyed 879 marketers and found that websites using AI content achieved 29% median growth compared to 24% for sites using only human-written content. That's a meaningful 5% difference that translates to real business impact over time.

What's particularly interesting is that both AI and non-AI users rated their content strategies almost equally effective (6.4/10 vs 6.3/10). This suggests that AI isn't necessarily making content better – it's making content creation more efficient.

The research reveals some important nuances for SaaS companies considering AI:

The quality perception gap remains real. 65% of respondents believe human content is higher quality than AI content. Only 14% think AI content is better. However, when it comes to search rankings, 34% believe AI and human content perform roughly the same, with another 32% unsure.

AI users face different risks. While human content was 4% more likely to be negatively affected by Google algorithm updates, AI content users were more likely to receive manual penalties (3.78% vs 2.70%). This suggests Google isn't systematically targeting AI content through algorithms, but human reviewers may flag obvious AI content that violates guidelines.

Volume matters, but quality still wins. The 5% growth advantage for AI users likely comes from increased publishing frequency. AI enables teams to create more content faster, which can drive more organic growth. However, the relatively small difference suggests that content quality and targeting remain more important than volume alone.

For SaaS companies, this research validates a balanced approach to AI. Use it as a productivity tool to scale your content creation, but maintain human oversight for accuracy, expertise, and brand voice. The sweet spot appears to be leveraging AI to accelerate workflows rather than replace human expertise entirely.

The companies seeing the best results aren't choosing between AI and human content – they're using AI to help their teams create more high-quality content that serves their users' needs. That approach gives you the efficiency benefits without sacrificing the quality that builds long-term authority.

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Til next time,

Eric