As the SEO industry spreads a strategy of “fragmenting” content to fit generative AI, Google has made clear it opposes the approach.

Ars Technica reported on Jan. 9 that Google’s John Mueller and Danny Sullivan said on the “Search Off the Record” podcast, “There is a misunderstanding that LLMs prefer short paragraphs,” adding, “Google does not use such signals.”

Content fragmentation is a strategy that breaks information into small paragraphs and question formats so LLMs can recognise it more easily. Sullivan said, “To raise search rankings, you should create content for humans, not AI,” and noted that in the long run, content chosen by human readers has higher value.

Google provides official SEO guidelines, but many SEO strategies have shifted based on speculation. In an unstable mix of AI and SEO, some publishers argue content fragmentation is effective, but it is likely only temporary. Sullivan said, “In some cases it may work, but as the system improves, human-centred content will regain the advantage.”

In the end, Google maintains that content for humans, not AI, is more advantageous in the long term. The content fragmentation strategy is unlikely to disappear immediately, but it is seen as unlikely that Google’s algorithm will continue to recognise it.