Study Finds AI Generated or Assisted Nearly 35% of New Online Content Since 2022

The launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 sharply lowered the barriers to producing written content with generative AI. Researchers at Imperial College London and Stanford University examined changes in online content to determine whether widespread AI adoption is making information sources more homogeneous and affecting readers' ability to assess authenticity and credibility.

The study found that the share of newly published online content generated or written with the assistance of AI has risen rapidly since ChatGPT's debut in November 2022 and is now approaching 35%. The analysis also found greater semantic similarity and a more positive tone, but the data have yet to confirm hypotheses that AI has degraded factual quality or diluted information.