Many food creators are raising alarm over what they call “sloppy” AI-generated recipes surfaced by Google. Their concern: AI summaries and recipe content are replacing their carefully tested recipes, often introducing inaccurate steps, mixed instructions, or simply unsafe cooking advice
One blogger, Eb Gargano of “Easy Peasy Foodie,” said her holiday-season recipes — like turkey and Christmas cake — usually see a spike in traffic. But this year, she claims those pages are being overshadowed by AI summaries instead of links to her site. She reports her traffic is down by about 40% compared to last year.
Worse, she points out a glaring example: an AI version of her Christmas-cake recipe suggested baking a small cake for nearly four hours — a cooking time that, in her words, would result in “charcoal.”
How AI Recipes Are Hurting Bloggers — Traffic, Trust, and Income
📉 Declining Web Traffic & Revenue Loss
Food bloggers say they’ve seen steep drops — some reporting a 30–80 % fall in traffic over months — because users get their recipe answers directly from AI overviews instead of visiting the original sites.
One anonymous creator told media she lost as much as 80% of views over two years, forcing her to scale back or shut down parts of her business.
🍲 Recipe Quality & Safety Concerns
AI-generated recipes often mix elements from multiple recipes, resulting in confusing or unsafe cooking instructions. That means home cooks may end up with ruined dishes — undermining trust in recipe content, and harming the reputation built by long-time food bloggers.
📸 Flood of AI-Generated Recipe Content & Fake Food Photos
The problem isn’t limited to Google Search. Social platforms like Pinterest, Facebook — and general web content — are flooded with AI-generated recipes and food photos that look appealing but often don’t match reality. This content saturates the space, making it harder for authentic, tested recipes to surface.
Why This Isn’t Just About One Blog — It’s a Sign of a Wider Shift
- Many independent food bloggers and recipe creators rely heavily on search-driven traffic (via Google or other engines) for visibility, ad revenue, and business viability.
- By surfacing ready-made AI answers — even if shallow or erroneous — Google reduces the incentive for users to click through to original sources. That undermines the long-standing “search → click → content creator” model. This challenge is echoed across other sectors too, like travel blogs and niche content sites.
- When AI-generated content becomes the norm, it threatens the value of carefully tested, authored content. For food creators — whose credibility depends on recipe accuracy and consistency — this could be existential.
What Food Bloggers Are Saying — Voices from the Community
- Eb Gargano: Her key holiday recipes lost visibility — with AI summaries taking precedence over her tested recipes. Moneycontrol
- Many bloggers report that AI’s “franken-recipes” mix steps from different dishes, making them confusing or outright unworkable.
- Some say they’ve been forced to shut down parts of their business — as revenue falls and trust declines.
One summarized complaint stands out:
“What used to promise tried-and-tested recipes is now replaced by scrambled AI steps — and home cooks are stuck paying the price.”
What This Means for Readers — Be Cautious with AI-Only Recipes
If you’re a home cook:
- Be aware that an AI-generated recipe may not have been tested — treats AI instructions with caution.
- Prefer recipes from trusted bloggers or recipe sites with reviews/comments by real users — they’re more likely to be reliable.
- If following a recipe from AI output, double-check ingredient ratios, cooking time and method before trying.
If you value quality cooking and want to support creators — consider giving preference to human-authored recipes over AI-generated summaries.
Possible Consequences — For Cooking Culture and Online Content
- Loss of trusted recipe sources: As many bloggers scale down or close, we lose a large portion of carefully curated cooking knowledge.
- Misinformation & cooking disasters: More people might follow flawed AI recipes — leading to bad meals, waste, and loss of trust in online cooking content.
- Lower quality standard for recipe content: With rise of AI-driven content, originality and testing might take a back-seat — reducing overall content quality online.
- Economic blow to small creators: Many food bloggers rely on ads, affiliate income or brand deals — with declining traffic, these revenue streams shrink.
What Google & Platforms Might Do — And What Bloggers Want
Some hope that platforms will:
- Give credit and visibility to original recipe creators rather than AI-generated summaries.
- Add disclaimers when displaying AI-generated recipes, especially warnings about unverified instructions.
- Offer compensation or support to creators who see losses due to AI-powered search.
Indeed, previously Google Search ended a trial feature called Recipe Quick View (which showed recipes directly in search results) in mid-2025 — after creators voiced concerns about lost traffic and ad revenue.
But many bloggers remain skeptical that future AI-driven features may repeat the same issue, unless structural changes are made.
Final Thought — AI Recipes: Convenience vs Credibility
AI-driven summaries and recipe generation might be quick and convenient. But when they overshadow human-tested recipes, spread inaccuracies, and disrupt creators’ livelihoods — the cost may be too high.
For food lovers, creators, and readers alike — this could be a turning point. It’s a wake-up call to value authenticity over convenience, and support real creators behind the recipes we enjoy.
