Google Search Advocate, John Mueller, shared some of his thoughts on AI Generated and Stock Images. He talked about how AI generated can be differentiated with stock images. He said that there’s no denying that AI tools like Dall-E generate impressive images but there are also certain cases in which a professional photographer is needed. Even though the real photographs have to be edited and then shown, there is still a touch of reality to them that makes the consumers see the actual product they are investing in. But on the other hand, if a person is using images for decorative purposes, it doesn’t matter if he is AI generated or stock images. Both types of images are good enough for making a website or a document good enough to attract people. This means that the decision about what type of images should be used must be based on where in the content the images are needed.
John Mueller also said that there are some times, when the people want to see real images on a website content while in some cases, it doesn’t matter if the images are real or not. At the same time, Mueller is also worried about the use of AI generated images just to save time. If someone wants their content to be best, they should not use AI or stock images on their website. These kinds of images do not seem professional at all and it can disappoint some viewers. John Mueller was also receiving some other questions about SEO, AI and images. He answered some questions regarding image links, AR (Augmented Reality) for online marketing and 3D models for marketing. When asked about decorative images and real time photography, John Mueller answered that decorative images are a good way to attract people to websites. But as for real time photography, he said that if you have the product, take a real picture of it instead of using AI.
He said that to him, using AI images means that someone is trying to not make any effort to website. He mentioned an example of a recipe website, saying that if he sees AI generated images on a recipe website, he would automatically assume that the rest of the content on the website is spam and AI generated. This means that when a consumer sees an AI content, he automatically loses interest. Photos captured through smartphones are less professional, so people should use stock images instead of opting for AI generated ones.
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