In 2022, ChatGPT took the world by storm with its generative AI capabilities. But that wasn’t the start of AI. AI has always been a part of search engine optimization (SEO). Google uses AI to inform its algorithms. Marketers use AI to analyze, optimize, and create their content. Today, as AI rapidly improves, it’s a bigger part of SEO than ever. Here’s what you need to know about using AI for your business’s SEO.
What is AI SEO?
AI SEO, or artificial intelligence search engine optimization, is the use of AI to improve web page ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). AI can support SEO strategies with technologies such as machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and large language models (LLMs). When SEO tools leverage AI to create new outputs such as text or images, the tools are referred to as generative AI—which can be a useful starting point for creating new SEO content.
AI has a variety of applications in SEO. For example, search engine algorithms use a version of AI to determine search engine rankings. Generative AI tools can help summarize research, suggest edits, and draft copy.
How is AI useful for SEO?
- Determining search rankings
- Identifying website optimization opportunities
- Researching keywords
- Summarizing research
- Helping write content
You can use AI for several SEO purposes:
Determining search rankings
Search engines such as Google and Bing use machine learning AI to determine page rankings. Every time someone performs a search, algorithms analyze a vast number of factors to determine which websites are shown and in what order. The ranking factors in Google’s algorithm include the relevance, quality, and usability of a page’s content.
Marketers can’t directly influence these algorithms, but by understanding how they work, they can create better-informed SEO strategies.
Identifying website optimization opportunities
AI tools can analyze a website’s content and compare it to top-ranked sites. They can then use this information to provide recommendations on how to improve your website’s performance.
Some tools, like Surfer SEO, focus on content opportunities, such as phrases to include in copy or content ideas to write about. Other tools, like Screpy, use AI to recommend technical upgrades to your site, such as improvements to help your website load faster.
Researching keywords
In SEO, keyword research is the practice of identifying search terms your website could rank for and then prioritizing them for your site based on their search volume, difficulty to rank, and fit for your business. Typically, this is a manual process that involves looking up keywords one by one (or in bulk searches) in a keyword tool like Ahrefs.
AI can simplify this task. For example, ask a generative AI tool like ChatGPT, “recommend the best SEO-relevant keywords for my website and tell me why you think they’re best.” Of course, an AI tool will never know your business as well as you do, so be sure to vet the AI’s recommendations to see if they make sense for your target audience and your brand.
Summarizing research
Part of SEO’s job is to write helpful, comprehensive content that answers your target audience’s questions. The best content for SEO is well-researched and written by a subject matter expert. But even a subject matter expert won’t know everything about a topic. Generative AI tools can help speed up an expert’s research by taking in prompts like “summarize the latest research on what caused the US financial crisis” and condensing many research papers down to a few bullet points or paragraphs.
However, when using AI for research, it’s important to understand its limitations. Most models are trained up to a certain cut-off date, meaning they won’t know about topics beyond that date. AI tools can also “hallucinate,” meaning they can misrepresent a fact or statement or make things up entirely. Just like if you were working with a real research assistant, you can ask AI tools to cite their sources and verify them.
Helping write content
Content generation has become one of the most popular use cases for generative AI tools like ChatGPT because they can write hundreds of words in a matter of seconds, drastically reducing the time writers need to create a first draft of an article, product description, meta title/meta description, or website copy.
That said, be aware of Google’s policy on AI-generated content. Google does not explicitly ban AI-generated or AI-assisted content, but it considers content created entirely by AI to be a violation of its spam policies, which can result in a loss of organic traffic for your site. Avoid writing SEO content entirely with AI, and instead use AI tools for research and first drafts.
Additionally, mass-market generative AI tools are trained on public internet content, so if you have a new or niche brand, the tool likely won’t have a strong understanding of your industry or product. New, more focused generative AI tools, such as Shopify Magic, can help remedy this shortcoming and create product descriptions, images, and emails that fit your store.
AI SEO tools
AI SEO tools are best understood by their overall use cases:
ChatGPT
ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, is one of the most accessible AI tools on the market. It positions itself as a place to find creative answers and inspiration. With its simple text entry interface, it works like a powerful virtual assistant.
- Pricing: Free with the GPT3.5 model and text outputs. Access image and voice features for $20 per month. Team plans available for enterprise.
- Best for: Generalist marketers looking for support in a wide range of marketing tasks.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is Microsoft’s latest iteration of its general-purpose AI assistant, originally branded Bing AI. It has similar functionality to ChatGPT, and in the future, Microsoft has said it will integrate directly into Microsoft tools like Word and Excel for advanced functionality.
- Pricing: Free to use the standard version, with a pro level available for $20 per month.
- Best for: Generalist marketers on a Microsoft-first stack such as Teams, Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Shopify Magic
Shopify Magic is the AI assistant for Shopify stores. It is built by Shopify and integrated directly into the Shopify interface. It provides support for product image background editing, product description drafting, FAQ generation, email planning, and live chat.
- Pricing: Free with all Shopify plans.
- Best for: Shopify merchants who want to optimize their product pages.
Jasper
Jasper, launched in 2021, was one of the first tools to offer AI-based copywriting. Today, Jasper offers a variety of marketing-specific AI generation tools, including blog writing, headline copy, SEO strategy, and more. Although it has affordable entry points, its focus is on large, enterprise businesses.
- Pricing: Starts at $39 per month per user.
- Best for: Enterprise marketing teams looking to deploy AI content at scale.
Ink
Ink is an AI-based content marketing tool. It offers AI-generated content with a focus on precise SEO optimization and guardrails against having content perceived as violating Google’s spam rules.
- Pricing: $39 per month for the Professional plan (including unlimited writing), $99 per month for the Enterprise plan.
- Best for: Technically savvy SEO professionals who just need writing support.
Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO uses natural language processing (NLP) to make content optimization recommendations. The company uses a proprietary Surfer Score to evaluate your content and provides a roadmap to improving your score. Recently, it has expanded its offering to include AI-supported writing and keyword research.
- Pricing: Core product pricing ranges from $89 per month (including up to 30 articles) to $399 per month (more than 100 articles).
- Best for: Content teams that want to write their own content but make SEO-informed decisions quickly.
Alli AI
Alli AI offers a suite of AI-based SEO features with a focus on bulk on-page optimization. It can write content and deploy technical edits, such as automatically implementing canonical tags across the site.
- Pricing: $299 per month for a single business, $599 per month for agencies, and $1,199 per month for enterprise features.
- Best for: Marketing and SEO teams with limited access to web development resources.
AI SEO FAQ
Is there AI for SEO?
Yes, there is a wide range of AI use cases in SEO, including content creation, research, and optimization.
Is Google blocking AI content?
Google does not explicitly block content generated with AI. However, it aims to block content that is entirely generated by AI with the express purpose of ranking in Google, a small but important distinction.
How can I write SEO content with AI?
There are a variety of tools for writing SEO content with AI, including ChatGPT, Jasper, and Shopify Magic.
