PRE-PUBLISH CHECK FOR AI-ASSISTED CONTENT
BrandExpand by Data Innovation, October 2026. Free to use and share.
Based on Google Search Central guidance updated 1 October 2026 (generative AI content) and 5 October 2026 (helpful content).

Run it on every page before it goes live. Ten minutes, one person, signed off by name.

1. FACTS. Every number, name, date and claim is checked against a source a reader could open. Link it.
   Google: "It is critical to manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content for accuracy and trustworthiness before publishing."
2. THE FOUR HIDDEN FIELDS. A person reads the title, the meta description, the structured data and the image alt text. Google names all four, because they can appear in Search results.
3. STRUCTURED DATA. Validate the markup (Rich Results Test) and check it says what the page says.
4. BYLINE. The name on the page belongs to a real person who reviewed the content and can answer for it. No invented authors, no AI-generated headshots, no credentials nobody holds. Google (5 October): fabricating creator profiles "is a form of deception".
5. HOW IT WAS MADE. Say it, in a way that fits your readers: for example "Drafted with AI, checked and edited by [name]". Google: "consider adding information on how your content was created".
6. AI IMAGES. Label them in the caption. Keep the image metadata and any Content Credentials (C2PA); do not strip them. Ecommerce: Merchant Center asks for IPTC DigitalSourceType TrainedAlgorithmicMedia on AI-generated images.
7. WHAT ONLY YOU COULD ADD. At least one element a model could not produce alone: your data, your case, your photo, your judgement.
8. NOT ONE OF MANY. If the page is one of dozens built from the same template with little added, stop. Google: generating many pages "without adding value for users" may violate its spam policies.
9. EU. If you provide an AI system that generates content for people in the EU, its output must carry a machine-readable mark under the AI Act (from 2 August 2026; systems already on the market before then have until 2 December 2026). If a vendor generates your content, ask the vendor who owns the marking and how they prove it.

Sign-off: page ____________  reviewed by ____________  date ____________

Sources
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/using-gen-ai-content (last updated 2026-10-01)
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content (last updated 2026-10-05)
- https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2026/07/27/the-digital-omnibus-on-ai-enters-into-force-today-102nedo