Artificial intelligence and the digital content paradox: More words, less relevance in 2025
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 10:29 am
Capterra , a platform specialising in business software reviews, estimates that 48% of social media content will be AI-generated by 2026. This reflects the growing adoption of tools like ChatGPT, which allow brands and users to produce long, detailed texts with ease. According to Hootsuite , a leader in social media management, businesses are posting more than ever to stay relevant.
However, this massive capacity raises an essential debate: is quantity or quality of content more important? While length remains a relevant factor in some channels such as SEO, current trends suggest that relevance and the real value of content will be the keys to standing out in the digital future. This highlights the need for a balance between productivity and authenticity, something I will discuss in more depth in the next point.
2. SEO vs. social media: Different approaches to effectiveness
Although SEO is evolving towards more relevant and valuable content, brevity and visual impact predominate on social media as keys to capturing attention.
SEO: Long and well-documented content
The evolution of SEO has led to a re-evaluation of the effectiveness of long-form, well-researched content. While in 2020 studies such as Semrush’s indicated that long, optimized, well-linked articles of up to 3,000 words were effective in attracting organic traffic, current and future trends point to a shift towards content quality and relevance over length.
By 2025, search engines are expected to prioritize content that provides real value and accurately answers user queries. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in this process, allowing search engines to better understand user intent and assess content quality. However, according to Salesforce, human oversight will remain essential to ensure that AI-generated content is valuable and not redundant.
In addition, user experience (UX) and the satisfaction of their needs will be determining factors in positioning. Content that does not provide value or is perceived as filler will be penalized, regardless of its length. Therefore, the key will be to create authentic, relevant content aligned with the audience's expectations, following principles such as EAT extended to EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust), which Google uses to evaluate the quality of content. ( Semrush )
In short, while long, well-researched content has been effective in the past, the trend for 2025 is focused on the quality, relevance, and real value of the content, regardless of its length. AI integration and human oversight will be critical to achieving this goal.
Social media: The era of short content and video
On platforms like Instagram and Facebook, shorter, more dynamic direct moving leads email lists posts have a greater impact. Facebook’s parent company Meta has found that posts under 280 characters generate 48% more engagement. Additionally, video content is redefining social media strategies.
What is crystal clear and we can see it reflected in multiple predictive analyses of trends for 2025 such as the report “The year of impact 2025 MEDIA TRENDS” by the Dentsu agency and the analysis of trends for 2025 by MarketingDirecto , video is the most effective format, generating up to 1200% more interactions than text and images combined, especially in short formats such as Reels and TikTok. This is something that we already experienced first-hand at Marketing digital Huesca in the results of reach and interest in the strategies that we design for our clients during 2023 and 2024. It is also something that is endorsed by the analysis of 2024 and the predictions for 2025 that Metricool launched in September 2024 with its 2024 Instagram Study report.
However, this massive capacity raises an essential debate: is quantity or quality of content more important? While length remains a relevant factor in some channels such as SEO, current trends suggest that relevance and the real value of content will be the keys to standing out in the digital future. This highlights the need for a balance between productivity and authenticity, something I will discuss in more depth in the next point.
2. SEO vs. social media: Different approaches to effectiveness
Although SEO is evolving towards more relevant and valuable content, brevity and visual impact predominate on social media as keys to capturing attention.
SEO: Long and well-documented content
The evolution of SEO has led to a re-evaluation of the effectiveness of long-form, well-researched content. While in 2020 studies such as Semrush’s indicated that long, optimized, well-linked articles of up to 3,000 words were effective in attracting organic traffic, current and future trends point to a shift towards content quality and relevance over length.
By 2025, search engines are expected to prioritize content that provides real value and accurately answers user queries. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in this process, allowing search engines to better understand user intent and assess content quality. However, according to Salesforce, human oversight will remain essential to ensure that AI-generated content is valuable and not redundant.
In addition, user experience (UX) and the satisfaction of their needs will be determining factors in positioning. Content that does not provide value or is perceived as filler will be penalized, regardless of its length. Therefore, the key will be to create authentic, relevant content aligned with the audience's expectations, following principles such as EAT extended to EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust), which Google uses to evaluate the quality of content. ( Semrush )
In short, while long, well-researched content has been effective in the past, the trend for 2025 is focused on the quality, relevance, and real value of the content, regardless of its length. AI integration and human oversight will be critical to achieving this goal.
Social media: The era of short content and video
On platforms like Instagram and Facebook, shorter, more dynamic direct moving leads email lists posts have a greater impact. Facebook’s parent company Meta has found that posts under 280 characters generate 48% more engagement. Additionally, video content is redefining social media strategies.
What is crystal clear and we can see it reflected in multiple predictive analyses of trends for 2025 such as the report “The year of impact 2025 MEDIA TRENDS” by the Dentsu agency and the analysis of trends for 2025 by MarketingDirecto , video is the most effective format, generating up to 1200% more interactions than text and images combined, especially in short formats such as Reels and TikTok. This is something that we already experienced first-hand at Marketing digital Huesca in the results of reach and interest in the strategies that we design for our clients during 2023 and 2024. It is also something that is endorsed by the analysis of 2024 and the predictions for 2025 that Metricool launched in September 2024 with its 2024 Instagram Study report.