Google and publishers are connected in a feedback loop. Google subsidizes content -> content makes google useful. Google has always had the upper hand in this relationship and set the price tag for content makers. Ad prices have gone down the drain the past 10 years so naturally you 'll only get SEO spam because there is no motive for quality content. If google wants that to change , they have to start subsidizing publishers again. They don't seem interested in that so perhaps they're betting on AI that will de-SEO the content.