If you used ChatGPT or another AI tool to write a service page, a blog post or your About page, Google just put out a message for you. On October 1, 2026, Google updated two of its own guidance pages for site owners. Neither one bans AI. Both are about what you do before you hit publish.
What Google changed
The first change is on Google's page about using generative AI content. It now says plainly that AI tools predict likely words instead of looking up facts, so they can state wrong things with confidence. Google's advice is to check AI-written content by hand for accuracy before it goes live. The same goes for the parts visitors rarely see: page titles, meta descriptions, structured data and image alt text. Search Engine Journal reported the same update.
The second change is on Google's page about helpful, people-first content. It now says that making up author profiles is deception. Google's examples are AI-generated headshots, invented names and fake credentials.
These are changes to guidance pages, so they tell you what Google expects. They are not an announcement of a new ranking update.
What this means for a local business
A wrong detail on your website hurts you with customers long before it hurts you with Google. Picture a plumber in Waukesha whose AI-written page promises 24-hour emergency service. The plumber does not offer it. Someone calls at 11 p.m., gets voicemail, and calls the next plumber on the list.
The same thing happens with service areas you do not cover, licenses you do not hold, and "years of experience" numbers the tool made up. AI tends to fill gaps with whatever sounds normal for your trade.
The people part matters too. A "Meet the team" section with stock-photo faces and invented names is exactly what Google is describing. If you have one, it is worth fixing even if you never planned to use AI again.
Three things to do this week
Reread every page AI touched. Check each fact against reality: hours, services, areas, prices, licenses, years in business. Delete anything you cannot confirm.
Check the hidden text. Look at each page's title, its meta description and the alt text on your photos. Make sure they describe the real page and the real photo. Alt text should say what is in the picture, in plain words.
Check your people. Use real names, real photos and real credentials, or remove the bio. A group photo of your actual crew beats a fake face every time.
Page titles and descriptions are a basic part of local SEO, so this is also a good moment to make sure each one is accurate and different from the others.
Is it still okay to use AI?
Google's page does not say no. It says AI content has to follow the same Search rules as anything else, and that publishing lots of pages with no real value for the reader counts as spam. It also suggests telling readers how a piece was made when that would help them.
For a small business, that points to a simple rule: use AI for a rough first draft if it saves you time, then do the checking yourself. A few honest pages about what you actually do will usually serve you better than a dozen generated ones. And if you are not sure your pages are showing up in search at all, start with our five-fix list.
Related: Local SEO. Want us to look at your site? Get a free audit and we will tell you exactly what we would change, whether or not you hire us.
