Used ChatGPT on your website? 6 things to check first

Used ChatGPT to write a page for your website? Google just weighed in. On October 1, it updated its guidance to say every AI-written page needs a human fact-check before it goes live. Use this 15-minute, 6-point check from Simpleman Digital Marketing, a marketing company in Cumming, to keep AI's speed without costly mistakes.

What Google changed on October 1, and why it matters to you

Google still allows AI-written pages. It now says you need to check every word before it goes live.

Google's guidance on using generative AI content calls it "critical to manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content." The reason is simple. AI tools predict likely words. They don't look facts up, so they can get things wrong. Google calls these mistakes hallucinations.

The check covers more than the words on the page. It also covers page titles, search descriptions, image descriptions, and the code that tells Google your business details. All of these can show up in Google results.

Google also warns against publishing lots of AI pages that add nothing new. Its spam policies treat that as a problem no matter how the pages were made.

The update doesn't say AI writing ranks lower. It says you're responsible for what you publish.

For a local business, your website is where new customers check you out before they call. One wrong detail there can send that call to a competitor.

ChatGPT is fast at first drafts. Facts about your business have to come from you.

Each check takes 1 to 3 minutes. Together, they take about 15.

Compare the draft to your Google Business Profile, line by line. AI fills gaps with details that sound right, and they aren't always correct.

Match your business name, phone number, address, hours (including holiday hours), and the towns you serve.

Say you run an HVAC company in Cumming. ChatGPT might write that you serve "the greater Atlanta area." If you only cover Forsyth County, that line can bring in calls you can't take.

Confirm any license, certification, or insurance claim before you publish. ChatGPT has no way of knowing which licenses you hold.

For most trade and professional licenses in Georgia, look yourself up on the Georgia Secretary of State's license lookup. It searches by profession, license type, name, or license number. If you're not sure a credential applies to your business, take it out.

Customers expect you to keep every promise on your site. ChatGPT may add phrases like "same-day service" or "lowest prices in town" because they sound persuasive.

For each promise, ask whether you offer it every time, with no fine print. If a customer could screenshot it and argue with you later, rewrite it to match what you really do.

Publish only reviews and testimonials from real customers. A quote written by ChatGPT is a fake testimonial, even if it sounds like something a customer would say.

The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials has been in effect since October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, and lets the FTC seek civil penalties against knowing violators. (This is general information, not legal advice.)

Getting more real reviews works better anyway. Here's how North Georgia businesses turn customer reviews into local search traffic.

Your page title, search description, image descriptions, and business-details code can all show up in Google. Google's update names each one as something to fact-check.

Your page title is usually the blue headline people click in Google results. Your search description (called a meta description) is the short summary under it. Make sure both name the right service and town, and that neither promises something you can't deliver.

Image descriptions (called alt text) should describe what's actually in the photo. The code that tells Google your hours and address (called structured data) should match your Google profile.

If a website tool or plugin filled these in for you, nobody may have checked them. Open a few pages and look.

If a competitor could publish your page word for word, it isn't helping you. Google warns against pages made with little effort or with nothing new to offer.

Add one or two details ChatGPT couldn't know. Describe a real job you finished last month, or answer the question your customers ask most. A real photo of your crew or shop helps too.

Checking one or two pages a month is easy to do yourself. Add ads and social media to the mix, and the review work adds up fast.

A good marketing company in Forsyth County should be able to show you who checks AI-assisted work before it goes live, and what they look for. If they can't answer that clearly, keep looking.

ChatGPT can get you from a blank page to a solid draft fast. Google's update makes clear that the draft is only your starting point. Spend 15 minutes on these 6 checks before anything goes live.

Want someone else to look at your site? Get your free local SEO audit, and find out what's worth fixing first.

Jesse Nelson is the founder and principal local search strategist at Simpleman Digital Marketing in Cumming, Georgia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Georgia Southern University. Simpleman is a four-time Best of Forsyth winner (2022–2025) and offers seven-day phone support to local businesses across Forsyth County and North Metro Atlanta.