Forward-looking marketers are already using AI in their SEO workflows. And you should be using it, too.
By the end of this guide, you’ll have some specific ideas on how to use AI for SEO. And the exact prompts you can use to get the best results.
Before we get into it, let’s look at how some marketers are currently using AI in their SEO work.
How Are Marketers Using AI for SEO?
We surveyed 100 marketers to find out how they’re using AI to streamline or improve their SEO efforts.
Here’s what we learned:
The most popular SEO use case for AI is keyword research. An impressive 60% of our polled marketers state they use ChatGPT and similar tools to research keywords for their content.
Almost half (48%) of respondents state they use AI to brainstorm content ideas. And 38% use it to create content briefs and outlines.
Other popular use cases include:
- Updating or refreshing existing content (34%)
- Generating page titles and meta descriptions (26%)
- Optimizing content with secondary keywords (24%)
Only about 1 in 5 marketers use AI to draft SEO articles, which suggests the best content still requires human editing and improvement.
Now, let’s look at how you can use AI for all of the above tasks yourself.
1. Brainstorm Content Ideas
AI is great for generating topics that are tailored to your specific audience, products/services, and goals—if you prompt it appropriately.
For example, let’s say you’re doing SEO for a SaaS company that sells CRM software.
Here’s how you might prompt ChatGPT to come up with content ideas:
“You’re an SEO strategist for a SaaS company that sells CRM software. Generate 10 blog post ideas targeting real estate agents. Focus on bottom-of-the-funnel topics that would help drive conversions. And present them in a comparison-style format.”
The main limitation here is that ChatGPT can’t really tell you whether a particular topic is popular with your audience. That said, this is a great way to get some preliminary ideas.
2. Conduct Keyword Research
AI tools can quickly generate a list of relevant keyword ideas that help point you in the right direction when you’re in the early stages of content planning.
Just know that tools like ChatGPT don’t have the same features and access to relevant metrics that dedicated keyword research tools do.
Continuing with our CRM SaaS example, here’s a prompt you could use to generate keyword ideas:
“Act as an SEO specialist. Generate 20 long-tail keyword ideas that small business owners might search for when evaluating CRM software. Focus on question-based keywords and purchase-intent terms.”
You’d then get a list that might include some of these suggestions:
- “what is the best crm for small business”
- “how to choose crm software for a small business”
- “best affordable crm for startups”
- “crm with email marketing for small businesses”
- “which crm is easiest to use for small business”
You can plug this list into Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool and enter your domain to get data on search volumes (the number of monthly searches the terms get) and AI-powered, domain-specific metrics like Personal Keyword Difficulty and Topical Authority.
And if you scroll down to the “Keyword ideas” section, you can click “View all # keywords” under “Keyword Variations” to see a list of other relevant keyword ideas in Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.
From here, you can filter the keywords by Personal Difficulty Score by using the “Personal KD %” drop-down filter.
3. Plan Topic Clusters
AI can help you plan topic clusters (content groups focused on core themes related to your business), which each consist of:
- A pillar page: A main page that targets a broad, high-volume keyword and touches on the associated topics
- Cluster pages: Supporting pages that target related long-tail keywords and cover the respective topics in greater detail
Organizing your content using topic clusters creates an effective website structure that’s easy for both search engines and users to navigate.
Here’s a prompt you can use to generate a topic cluster:
“Act as an SEO strategist. Based on the following list of keywords, create one topic cluster. Identify one pillar page topic and five to seven supporting cluster page topics. Focus on a logical grouping that reflects search intent and supports internal linking. Here’s the keyword list: [keyword list].”
You might get a result that looks like this:
Pillar page:
- The Complete Guide to Sales Management: Strategies, Tools & Best Practices
Cluster pages:
- What Does a Sales Manager Do? Key Responsibilities Explained
- Top Sales Management Techniques to Boost Team Performance
- Sales Forecasting Methods Every Manager Should Know
- How to Structure a High-Performing Sales Team
- Sales KPIs and Metrics Every Manager Should Track
For a more streamlined approach, use Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder to plan topic clusters that are automatically based on real keyword data.
Here’s how to use it:
Start by entering up to five seed keywords related to your business—no need to do any keyword research ahead of time. Then, click “Create list.”
The tool will generate topic clusters. And each cluster will consist of a pillar page and multiple subpages.
You’ll be able to see the search volume, difficulty, and intent (what users are trying to achieve) for each page at a glance. This can help you quickly decide whether a topic cluster is worth pursuing.
4. Perform SERP Analyses
AI can speed up the process of analyzing the top-ranking pages for a keyword to see what concepts those pages cover and what they’re missing.
From there, AI can generate an outline for creating a comprehensive piece of content that stands out and is worthy of being prominently shown on the first search engine results page (SERP).
Here’s a prompt you can use:
“Act as an SEO strategist. I’m targeting the keyword . Here are the top-ranking pages:
[URL 1]
[URL 2]
[URL 3]
[URL 4]
[URL 5]
Analyze these pages and provide the following:
- A summary of the main topics and subtopics each page covers
- Common questions or angles that are addressed
- Notable content gaps or underrepresented perspectives
- Average word count and how in-depth the content is
- Use of visuals (e.g., charts, screenshots, videos)
- Readability and structure (e.g., headings, bullet points)
Then, generate a blog post outline that fills in the gaps and offers more value and clarity than the existing content.”
You’ll then end up with an outline you can use to draft your content.
For a more thorough SERP analysis, you can review the search results manually.
Open the search results page in incognito mode and examine the structure and format of the top-ranking pages. And take note of SERP features like AI Overviews or featured snippets.
5. Draft Content
AI tools like ChatGPT can turn an idea or an outline into a complete article or blog post. And the better your prompt, the better the end result will be.
In general, more detail is better.
At the very least, you’ll want to mention the target audience, the tone, and style you’d like to use.
However, something more detailed like this example prompt will most certainly yield better results:
“Act as a B2B content writer with experience in SaaS and sales enablement. Write a blog post titled ‘10 Sales Management Tips for B2B Teams.’ The audience is sales managers at small to mid-sized B2B companies.
Use an informative but conversational tone. Incorporate the following keywords naturally throughout the article: sales management tips, how to manage a sales team, improving sales performance.
Follow this structure:
Intro: Briefly explain why effective sales management is crucial for B2B growth
Tips 1 through 10: Each with a subheading, two to three sentences of explanation, and a short practical takeaway
Conclusion: Recap key points and encourage managers to implement one or two tips right away”
You can also ask it to draft your content one section at a time. To give you more control over the output and let you fine-tune it.
For example:
“Now write the introduction. Hook the reader by briefly explaining the importance of strong sales management in B2B. Keep it under 150 words, use simple language, and make it engaging.”
Keep in mind that AI can make up facts and write in a generic or repetitive way.
So, you should treat the content it generates as a rough first draft that needs editing. And always double-check that all the information is accurate.
If you’re looking for a more advanced, SEO-focused alternative, try out Semrush’s AI Article Generator. It uses real-time data to determine the right search intent, structure, and keywords to use for your article.
Here’s how to use it:
Start by entering your topic and clicking on “Get suggestions”
On the next page, fill out details about your article, such as the target audience, title, keywords, word count, and brand voice. And then click “Create article.”
The tool will then generate the first draft based on your input. From here, you can use the built-in editor to fine-tune the draft.
6. Generate FAQs
Using AI to add FAQ sections to your content can make it more comprehensive and allow you to target question-based keywords that can help you rank for featured snippets and People Also Ask (PAA) answers.
Here’s an example prompt:
“Act as an SEO strategist. I’m writing a blog post titled ‘Best CRM Tools for Small Businesses.’ The primary keyword is ‘best CRM for small business.’ The audience is small business owners evaluating their options.
Generate six to eight frequently asked questions that would naturally complement this post. Focus on real questions people might search in Google during the decision-making process. For each question, include a concise answer (two to three sentences) written in a helpful, conversational tone.”
This will give you a list of questions and answers you can use to create an FAQ section.
7. Optimize Content with Secondary Keywords
Secondary keywords are terms that are closely related to your target keyword. They can help search engines better understand what a page is about and enable your page to rank for multiple keywords.
You can use ChatGPT or a similar AI tool to help you insert secondary keywords into your draft. Here’s an example prompt:
“Act as an SEO editor. I’m working on a blog post that reviews the best CRM tools for small businesses.
Please insert the following secondary keywords naturally into the draft without changing the tone or meaning. Prioritize clarity and flow.
Here’s the keyword list: [keyword list]
Here’s the draft: [draft text]”
For more control, you can also ask it to suggest placements. And then manually insert the keywords yourself:
“Act as an SEO editor. I’m writing a list-style blog post that compares top CRM tools for small businesses.
Review the draft below and suggest where I could naturally insert the following secondary keywords to improve on-page SEO.
Here’s the keyword list: [keyword list]
Here’s the draft: [draft text]”
If you need a tool to help you find the right secondary keywords, you can use Semrush’s Content Optimizer. It will provide you with data-driven suggestions for relevant terms to include throughout your draft.
8. Generate Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Creating a descriptive and engaging title tag (the HTML headline that can be displayed in search results) and the meta description (the short HTML summary that can be displayed below the title shown in search results) can improve your click-through rates in search results.
You can use AI to generate multiple title tag and meta description alternatives to choose from. And even provide guidelines on lengths to reduce the chances of your titles and descriptions being truncated in search results.
Here’s an example prompt you can use to generate page titles:
“Act as an SEO copywriter. Write five SEO-friendly title tag options for a blog post that reviews the best CRM tools for small businesses.
The primary keyword is ‘best CRM for small business’—include it in each title.
Make sure each title is under 60 characters and designed to spark curiosity or highlight a benefit.”
And a similar one for generating meta descriptions:
“Act as an SEO copywriter. Generate five meta description options for a blog post targeting the keyword ‘sales management software.’
Each description should include the target keyword, be no longer than 105 characters, and clearly describe the content and entice users to click.”
Once you’ve picked a title tag and meta description for your page, use Semrush’s free Google SERP Simulator to preview how they could be displayed in search results.
9. Improve Internal Linking
Internal linking to other pages on your site is crucial for helping search engines understand your site structure, distributing link authority, and helping users navigate your website.
You can use large language model (LLM) tools like ChatGPT to uncover internal linking opportunities in your content.
For example, you can paste in a draft for a new article and provide the URL to your blog. And ask the tool to identify opportunities for internal linking.
Here’s an example:
“Act as an SEO editor. I’m drafting a blog post titled ‘10 Sales Prospecting Tips That Actually Work.’
The audience is B2B sales reps and SDRs.
Below is the draft. Suggest five internal linking opportunities to existing content from our blog ([your blog’s URL]). For each, provide the recommended anchor text and the target URL. Prioritize pages that offer related or deeper insights on sales, outreach, or lead generation.
[draft text]”
You can also ask it to find internal linking opportunitiesto your new post.
Like this:
“Act as an SEO strategist. We just published a new blog post titled ‘10 Sales Prospecting Tips That Actually Work’ (URL: [blog post URL]).
Review the content available at [your blog’s URL] and identify five relevant opportunities to link to this new post.
For each, provide the source URL, the recommended anchor text, and a sentence-level suggestion for where the link could be inserted.”
10. Refresh Existing Content
You need to periodically update content to prevent it from becoming outdated or losing rankings.
AI tools can analyze your existing content and suggest ways to improve or update it. Here’s a prompt you can use:
“Act as an SEO editor. Review the blog post at [URL].
The target keyword is , and the audience is [brief description].
Compare the content against the following top-ranking competitor pages:
[Competitor URL 1]
[Competitor URL 2]
[Competitor URL 3]
Identify any:
- Outdated or missing information
- New trends, tools, or data that should be added
- Content gaps compared to competitors
- Opportunities to differentiate this post from what’s already ranking (e.g., tone, examples, depth, unique POV)”
You’ll get detailed suggestions on how to update your post. You can then implement the suggestions.
When deciding which of your URLs to let the tool analyze, prioritize low-hanging fruit—pages that are already ranking on page 2 of search results. And any important pages that have dropped in rankings in the last 90 days.
You can identify both using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool:
In the “Overview” tab, use the “Top positions & changes” drop-down filter and select “#11-20” to see content ranking on the second page of search results.
Or hover over “Top 100” and select “Declined.” Then, set the date filter to “Past 90 days” to see pages that have dropped in rankings over the last 90 days.
Streamline Your SEO Work with AI
As you can see, AI and SEO go hand in hand.
AI can act as a starting point for keyword research and content ideation, help with SERP analysis and content optimization, and even generate first drafts for your SEO content.
If you’re looking for AI SEO tools that are tailor-made for content creation, check out Semrush’s Content Toolkit.