AI generated answers appearing first in the search engine is burying content creators

AI is affecting views for content creators

Often when I search for information, I find that an AI-generated answer appears at the top of the search results. Tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Co-Pilot are excellent when they provide accurate information, but they don't always do so.

There was a time when some of my articles would rank highly, and I felt very proud of that. Now, artificial intelligence is burying the hard work and efforts of diligent content creators, which costs us income.

I come from a generation where we were taught to search and compare information. I make it a point to skip AI-generated material and read an article that someone actually wrote. I have been informed that most people don't adhere to this approach and will click on what they see first.

Short attention spans are a problem

Study after study indicates that people today, especially the younger generation, have shorter attention spans because they have been conditioned by social media posts and electronic games. This suggests that they can't read a 600-plus word article, so should writing platforms adjust?

Some time back, NewsBreak reduced the number of words for an article from 500 to 100. Vocal requires 600 and Medium, and Hubpages asks for 700. Those of us who are older grew up reading novels and enjoying a good long story, but this is no longer the case. If readers are incapable of reading a 600-2000-word article, should the model be left as it is or reduced?

A young man in my family today said that sometimes young people read headlines and often don't click on the story. I experienced this when I wrote about the White Hurricane in the 180s, a blizzard that stretched from Virginia to New York.

One young man read the headline and not the article and accused me of race-baiting. He and other commenters were discussing an article they did not even read, and calling me racist.

Clickbait and sensationalism make money

I have been told that unless I write about sensationalism or use clickbait, I will not get the views I used to, which is discouraging. This has me wondering if Hubpages, Vocal, Medium, and similar sites might want to reconsider how many words are acceptable for a story.

This won't matter to those who only read headlines, but readers with short attention spans might engage. I have been writing since age 12 and enjoy producing articles from the comfort of my home. At 67, I don't think I can handle going back into the workforce, but if my livelihood and that of other content creators is cut off, what will we do?

What is the answer for online content creators?

Shorter attention spans and artificial intelligence dominating are demoralizing for those who put their heart and soul into writing a great article and desire people to read. The landscape has shifted, and perhaps we all should take note, but how do we go on making a living?

When you call businesses now, AI prompts you rather than a live person. Automated services have put people out of jobs. When I first heard that AI would take over online writing platforms, I did not believe it, but now I am living it.

We cannot force people to take the time to read our hard work, so how do we combat this growing problem? I don't have an answer for online content creators, but perhaps someone reading does. After making decent money, many writers are saying they are disappointed about how AI has affected the landscape. What do yu think? Please leave your comments.