Why Building a Content Moat Is Essential in the Age of AI Content Creation

A popular refrain goes, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” The saying is as true in life as it is in business. However with the rize of AI, Content has, in large parts, become a commodity.

If that’s the case, then how do you compete?

How do you differentiate?

This rapid normalization of AI-assisted content creation has turned what was once cutting-edge into the baseline for competition. Good enough content is the new normal.

With 2025, right around the corner it’s time, you need to take a hard look at the content that you’re creating. Does this add value, or could anyone have generated this answer to a question?

This commoditization of content and the rise of alternatives to Google Search, like ChatGPT Search, or Perplexity AI, have further heightened the stakes.

For your busines, the challenge isn’t just keeping up—it’s about staying ahead.

How?

You need to not start thinking of simple content, but you should be building a content moat: a strategy that ensures your content not only survives but thrives in an increasingly crowded and homogeneous digital ecosystem.

What is a Content Moat?

I can almost hear you thinking, a content moat? When you think of an effective moat in general, a few things come to mind:

• Difficult to Replicate: Moats are built on distinctive assets or processes that competitors find difficult to duplicate. Achieving similar advantages often requires considerable effort, expertise, and investment.
• Delivers Clear Customer Value: A true moat directly benefits customers and plays a crucial role in their purchasing decisions. Features that don’t solve real problems or add value fail to create lasting competitive barriers.
• Strengthens Over Time: The best moats grow more effective as they mature, with benefits compounding over the years. This increasing advantage makes it progressively harder for rivals to catch up.

So when talking about a content moat, I’m talking about a sustainable, strategic advantage in content creation and distribution that makes your brand’s content unique, defensible, and difficult for competitors to replicate.

Much like a physical moat protects a castle, a content moat safeguards your business’s authority, engagement, and traffic in the digital marketplace. When literally everyone can create a thousand articles at the drop of a hat by using AI, creating a content moat is not optional—it’s essential.

AI-Assisted content is the new normal

The Evolution of AI in Content Creation

AI-assisted content is no longer a novelty. Tools like years ago already like Jasper, and more recently ChatGPT, Claude have democratized content production.

They dramatically lowered the barrier for entry, by enabling even non-technical business owners to generate articles, social media posts, and marketing materials in minutes.

However, with this surge in AI-generated content, the Internet is now saturated with repetitive, boilerplate material. Everyone is just regurgitating the same old, same old boring content.

While these tools are invaluable, they often lack the nuance, depth, and originality that distinguish impactful content from noise.

Opportunities and challenges

For businesses, the rise of AI content brings both good and bad news. On the bright side, AI helps create more content faster. But at the same time, it has caused “SERP (Search Engine Results Page) staleness.”

This means search results are crowded with articles that all look and sound the same, making it hard to stand out.

To make your brand stand out, you must go beyond the basics. You must prioritize humanization, expert perspectives, and unique value propositions to create content that resonates with your audience.

Example of companies that built Content Moats

There are countless examples of companies that have managed to establish strong Content Moats—and even more that have failed to do so. HubSpot, and Monday are two standout examples of success.

HubSpot

Competing with HubSpot in the sales and marketing content space is no easy task. In the U.S. alone, they rank for nearly 200,000 top 10 keywords.

As pioneers of the Inbound Marketing movement, HubSpot has created a highly efficient content engine that consistently raises the bar in quality and value. Take their content hub on “sales process” as an example—it’s organized into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. This structure transforms their articles into a comprehensive library, almost like an educational course.

Monday.com

Another great example is how pre-IPO the project management software company monday.com scaled up its content production. In the 12 months leading towards the IPO the produced 125 new blog posts per month. 1,000 that year!

That traffic growth as you can see in the above graph was crazy. And if you want to find out more about the story on how they did this, I suggest listening to the “How the Fxck SEO podcast” talking about it.

Building Your Content Moat

But of course, we’re not all Hubspot, or Monday.com. We don’t all have a team of hundreds of writers, but how can you as an SME, or a SAAS, or any other business that doesn’t have those insane amounts of funding, still build your content moat?

How can you start building your content moat?

First you need to start looking beyond keyword tools. When everyone uses the same tools to search for keywords, search volume, they are all looking to hunt down the same traffic.

Start talking to your customers, and let your Sales, Customer Success and Support teams report back to you about the conversations they have daily with customers.

What are their FAQs? What are people asking them the most? Interview these team members and then create content on your website that these client facing people can refer to.

It sounds simple, but do you have pages on your site that your sales, or support team send people to for further subject they commonly talk about with customers – or potential customers?

I’m not talking about your sales pages, I’m talking about pages that leave no stone left unturned on whatever the subject is.

Next steps?

1. Prioritize Humanized Content

AI-generated content lacks the human touch—personal experiences, emotional nuance, and subjective insights. Incorporating these elements can elevate your content above the commoditized crowd.

Adding quotes from industry experts, sharing case studies, or weaving in personal anecdotes are powerful ways to make your content resonate.

Plus as E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is stil a thing in the world of SEO, so don’t forget to showcase your own Experience, and Expertise into your content. Why would anyone trust you for writing what you did?

2. Invest in Content Packaging

The way content is packaged is just as important as its depth. A well-packaged piece of content is visually engaging, easy to navigate, and rich with multimedia elements. Consider:

• Original Graphics: Custom visuals can simplify complex ideas and make your content more shareable.
• Embedded Videos: Videos increase dwell time and provide an alternative way for users to consume information.
• Interactive Elements: Tools like calculators, quizzes, or interactive infographics encourage engagement and keep users on the page longer.

3. Focus on Unique Research and Data

Creating your own research or analyzing data in innovative ways builds a strong content moat by providing insights that competitors cannot easily replicate. This can include:

• Conduct surveys: Collect data that directly aligns with the needs and interests of your target audience.
• Aggregating industry statistics: Combine existing data in a unique way to present valuable insights.
• Share internal analytics: Share exclusive data from your own operations that is relevant to your audience.

Original data not only positions your brand as an authority within your industry, but also provides content that is distinctive and adds lasting value.

4. Embrace Alternative Traffic Channels

With the rise of alternatives to Google, diversifying your traffic sources is essential. Platforms such as YouTube, Reddit and Instagram offer excellent opportunities to repurpose your content and reach new audiences.

For example:

• YouTube videos in blogs: By embedding a YouTube video in your blog, you not only improve the user experience but also increase the time visitors spend on your page. This can contribute to better SEO results.
• Reddit discussions: Share insights or answers to targeted questions within relevant communities to showcase your expertise and drive traffic to your website.
• Instagram content: Create visually appealing posts, reels or stories based on your existing content to engage a wider audience.

Diversifying channels strengthens your presence and increases the impact of your content, even beyond traditional search engines.

Putting this into practice

A fantastic example of all of this, is this article by Maze, targeting the keyword UX research methods. It’s packed with everything you’d want from a comprehensive piece of content.

First off, there’s a video version for those who prefer watching over reading.

Back to the Maze article.

It also features custom graphics that clarify complex ideas, subtle calls to action that promote their products without being pushy, and neatly organized tables for presenting data in a visually engaging way.

Then there are TL;DR callouts—these concise summaries break up the text and make it easy to skim. And the cherry on top? A quote from an outside subject matter expert that adds authority and credibility.

Now, why does this matter for SEO?

Two key reasons come to mind:

1. Backlink potential: Content that’s fresh, visually engaging, and different from the competition is more likely to earn backlinks.
2. Boosting dwell time: While we don’t know every detail of Google’s algorithm, one thing’s clear: the longer someone stays on your page or site, the better. By adding elements that hold a visitor’s attention, you’re improving their session time, which can positively impact your rankings.
   In short, crafting content that’s both engaging and thoughtfully designed isn’t just good for users—it’s a win for SEO too.

In short, creating content that is both engaging and thoughtful is not only good for your users-it’s also an SEO winner.

You can even take it a step further, an not just as for visuals you can insert in your content, but also let Claude or ChatGPT fully create them for you, or even ask “Can you make an interactive tool I can embed into my article that helps people do X“, when you have the paid version of Claude, you can also upload the CSS of your website, so it knows all your styling and it can use that as part of the tooling it creates for you!

Different ways to leverage AI to strengthen your Content Moat

While AI can be used to create the flood of same-old same-old articles like everyone else is doing online, it can also be used as a way more powerful tool that can help you rize above your competitors.

If you leverage AI thoughtfully, you can not only enhance the efficiency of your content creation process but also add the layers of creativity, personalization, and innovation necessary to build a truly defensible content moat.

So how can you turn AI into a strategic ally for your business?

1. Ideation and Planning

Use AI to brainstorm unique angles or identify trending topics within your niche. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help you refine your ideas and develop a content calendar tailored to your audience’s needs.

2. Enhancing Visual Content

As discussed, AI tools can assist in designing graphics, generating video scripts, or even creating mockups for interactive elements. These assets not only enrich your content but also make it more shareable across platforms.

3. Audience Engagement

AI-driven analytics tools can help you understand how users interact with your content, enabling you to make data-driven improvements that enhance engagement and retention. I even saw a tool the other day calld keak, that allows you to keep on running split tests on your landing pages automatically, to see what converts better and use that as the basis to run the next test again.

The long-term benefits of a content moat

Creating a content moat isn’t just about surviving the current wave of AI-assisted content—it’s about future-proofing your brand’s digital presence. A robust content moat offers:

• Increased Authority: By consistently delivering unique and valuable content, your brand becomes a trusted source in your industry.
• Improved SEO Performance: Engaging, high-quality content attracts backlinks, boosts dwell time, and enhances user satisfaction—all of which contribute to better rankings.
• Sustainable Growth: A content moat ensures that your traffic and engagement remain strong, even as competition intensifies.

In a digital world dominated by AI-assisted content, standing out requires more than just participation—it demands innovation, originality, and a commitment to excellence. By creating a content moat, businesses can rise above the sea of sameness, capturing the attention and loyalty of their audience. Whether it’s through humanized writing, innovative content packaging, or leveraging AI as an assistant rather than a crutch, the key is to stay ahead of the curve.

As the AI bubble continues to grow, those who invest in building a content moat will not only weather the storm but emerge as leaders in their industries. How are you using AI as part of your content machine?