SEO has been on a wild ride for the last couple of years. The late 2022 arrival of ChatGPT sent waves through the industry, it didn't just make a splash; it transformed our thinking about content and the very, um, nature of search.
Think about it: how many times this week have you turned to ChatGPT instead of Google when you needed an answer? Or used Perplexity to get a quick answer? Millions of people are making this switch, which means we SEO professionals need to adapt quickly to this evolving landscape.
The market of SEO AI tools has become absolutely flooded. Every week, there's a new "game-changing" tool promising to automate your entire SEO strategy. We've tested dozens of best AI SEO tools through our 500+ projects. In this guide, we'll share what actually works based on testing 17 AI SEO tools with real clients, tracking actual results as traditional SEO evolves into Answer Engine Optimization.
Here are the 17 best AI SEO tools we've tested, with what makes each one special:
Now let's get into the detailed reviews of our SEO AI tools. I'll share exactly how I've used each tool and what results I've seen.
Best for: SEO agencies managing multiple clients, in-house teams scaling link building, e-commerce businesses building domain authority
Alternative to: Ahrefs outreach, Pitchbox, manual link building
Best Features:
To be honest, we were skeptical about automated link building. Too many so-called best AI SEO tools promise the world and deliver spam, but Linkee surprised us.
We're actively using it for clients in multiple industries for link building campaigns. The AI actually reads through potential link prospects' content and creates personalized emails that don't sound robotic, which is a great time-saver if you've ever spend hours on simple outreach.
The tool functions by evaluating your site as well as your market and then identifying pertinent web properties that could possibly link to you. It checks to ensure that email addresses are valid, writes personalized outreach messages for you, and handles the follow-ups. Most importantly, it categorizes your prospects according to their likeliness to respond. This saves you from a ton of manual work.
Pricing: Starts at $99/month with a free trial
Limitations: It concentrates solely on building links, so for creating content and for technical SEO, you'll require other tools.
Best for: SEO strategists needing competitive intelligence, marketing directors assessing market position, agencies providing competitive analysis
Alternative to: SEMrush competitive analysis, Ahrefs competitor research, SimilarWeb
Best Features:
SiteCurve fills a gap we didn't know existed until we used it. Most SEO tools show you competitor data, but SiteCurve shows you how you're performing relative to your entire competitive landscape.
We used it to benchmark a client's website against their top 10 competitors. The tool revealed that while our client was ranking well for branded terms, they were missing out on a huge opportunity in "how-to" content that competitors were dominating. This insight led to a content strategy that increased organic traffic by 20% in three months.
The structure is tidy and directs your attention toward practical insights instead of flooding you with information. It's very clear where rivals are making strides and where they're showing weakness.
Pricing: Custom pricing (contact for quote)
Limitations: Limited public information available about advanced features, and it may lack some of the content creation tools found in other platforms.
Best for: Forward-thinking SEO professionals, content marketers optimizing for AI search, agencies offering AEO services
Alternative to: Peec AI, BrandRadar (though Profound was first to market)
Best Features:
This is where things get really interesting. Profound stands out among the best AI SEO tools as the first to provide actual search volume data for AI platforms. Think Google Keyword Planner, but for ChatGPT conversations.
We used their Conversation Explorer to optimize our blog posts. The tool showed that people were asking specific questions about it in ChatGPT that weren't showing up in traditional keyword research. We optimized the content for these AI search queries, and the post started appearing in AI results, driving a lot for more traffic.
The tool tracks how often topics are discussed across AI platforms and shows you which sources these platforms cite most often. This is gold for content strategy in 2025.
Pricing: Starts at $199/month with a free trial
Limitations: It's focused specifically on AEO, so you'll need other tools for traditional SEO tasks.
Best for: Marketing directors monitoring AI search visibility, SEO professionals expanding into AEO, PR teams managing brand reputation with SEO AI tools
Alternative to: Profound, BrandRadar
Best Features:
Peec AI focuses on brand monitoring in the age of AI search. If someone asks ChatGPT about your industry, does your brand come up? How is it positioned? Peec AI answers these questions.
We used it to track a specific client's brand mentions in AI overviews and discovered that negative reviews were being cited more often than positive ones. We created targeted content to address these concerns, and within two months, positive mentions increased by 60%.
The sentiment analysis is particularly useful. You can see not just whether your brand is mentioned, but how it's framed in AI responses. This helps you understand your brand's AI reputation and take action to improve it.
Pricing: Starts at $149/month with a free trial
Limitations: Focused on AI search monitoring rather than traditional SEO metrics.
Best for: Enterprise marketing teams, brand strategists managing AI visibility, PR professionals monitoring brand narratives
Alternative to: Peec AI, Profound, brand monitoring SEO AI tools
Best Features:
BrandRadar is like Peec AI's enterprise cousin. It's built for larger organizations that need comprehensive brand monitoring across all AI platforms and languages.
We worked with a global client using BrandRadar to monitor their brand perception in both English and Spanish AI responses. The tool revealed that their brand was being framed differently in different languages, leading to a multilingual content strategy that improved positive mentions by 25% across both markets.
The prompt simulation feature is clever: it tests thousands of potential questions users might ask about your industry and shows you how AI platforms respond.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing (contact for quote)
Limitations: High cost and complexity make it unsuitable for smaller businesses.
Best for: SEO agencies managing multiple clients, content marketers scaling production, e-commerce businesses optimizing at scale
Alternative to: SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz
Best Features:
As one of the best AI SEO tools, Search Atlas combines traditional SEO tools with AI automation through their OTTO agent. It's like having an SEO assistant that never sleeps.
We used Search Atlas's OTTO to automate a client's site audit process. Instead of spending hours manually checking for issues, OTTO identified technical problems, content gaps, and optimization opportunities automatically. This reduced my audit time by 70% while being more thorough than my manual process.
The platform covers everything: keyword research, content optimization, link building, and technical SEO. It also has a really smooth WordPress integration, which helps optimize and publish content without leaving the platform.
Pricing: Starts at $99/month with a free trial
Limitations: The feature set can be overwhelming for beginners, and some advanced features require higher-tier plans.
Best for: Solo entrepreneurs and small businesses, content creators needing quick ideation, SEO beginners learning the field
Alternative to: Jasper, Copy.ai, Writesonic
Best Features:
I know, I know, ChatGPT isn't specifically an SEO tool. But we use it daily for SEO tasks, and at $20/month (or free), it's incredibly cost-effective.
We recently used ChatGPT to draft meta descriptions for 50 blog posts. What would have taken me 3 hours took 30 minutes. We also use it for keyword ideation: ask it to suggest long-tail variations of your main keywords, and you'll get ideas you wouldn't have thought of. It's not the tool we use the most, and we run the results through other specialized SEO AI tools, but it surely saves time.
Understanding how to prompt is crucial. Don't just ask for "an article about SEO." That's too basic. Instead, be specific. Ask for a 1,500-word article on local SEO for restaurants. Give clear instructions. Tell it exactly what to include. Mention Google Business Profile optimization. Include local keyword research. Don't forget review management. The more detailed your request, the better the output.
Pricing: Free tier available; Plus plan at $20/month for advanced features
Limitations: No real-time SEO data, requires fact-checking, and content often needs human editing to avoid sounding generic.
Best for: Content strategists targeting featured snippets, SaaS companies creating help content, e-commerce teams optimizing product descriptions
Alternative to: MarketMuse, Surfer SEO
Best Features:
Frase focuses on question-based content optimization, a feature that puts it in good company with today’s best AI SEO tools built for snippet targeting. In an age where voice search and AI search are growing, this focus is smart.
We optimized a "how-to" guide for a client using Frase, and within two weeks, we had captured the featured snippet. The tool analyzes the questions people ask about your topic and aids you in structuring an answer to comprehensively cover the content people want.
The particularly useful content brief feature. Enter a keyword, and Frase generates a content brief that shows in detail what topics to cover, what questions to answer, and how lengthy the content should be based on the pages that rank at the top.
Pricing: Starts at $14.99/month with a free trial
Limitations: Limited technical SEO capabilities compared to all-in-one platforms.
Best for: Affiliate marketers creating long-form content, niche website owners scaling blogs, content agencies producing reviews
Alternative to: Writesonic, Agility Writer, content writer SEO AI tools
Best Features:
Koala AI impressed us with the quality of its long-form content. We secured several high-authority guest posting opportunities that ranked on page 1 within two weeks and have been driving consistent referral traffic.
The tool understands commercial intent keywords and structures content to convert readers into buyers. The fact-checking feature helps ensure accuracy, which is crucial for affiliate content. Their internal linker tool also helped us maximize SEO value by automatically suggesting relevant anchor text and connection points between our published content.
What sets Koala apart is that its content consistently passes AI detection tools like Originality.ai. As Google and readers evolve, and as they become more sophisticated at identifying AI-generated content, this science's importance.
The more advanced these AI detectors get, the more we need to flip the script on them. It's almost like playing a game of digital hide-and-seek, we're taking AI-generated content and giving it that authentic human touch so it reads like something you'd actually write after your second cup of coffee, not something churned out by an algorithm.
Pricing: Starts at $9/month with a free trial
Limitations: Focused purely on content creation—no keyword research or technical SEO features.
Best for: Enterprise marketing teams planning content strategies, large agencies scaling content operations, publishers building topical authority
Alternative to: Frase, Surfer SEO
Best Features:
MarketMuse is tailored for enterprise teams building topical authority, a tier above most other best AI SEO tools we've tested. It's expensive, but for large organizations, the ROI is clear.
I used MarketMuse to plan a content cluster for a B2B client around "customer success software." The tool identified 25 related topics we needed to cover to establish topical authority. After publishing this content cluster over six months, organic traffic increased by 45%.
The content gap analysis is particularly powerful. MarketMuse compares your content to competitors and shows exactly what topics you're missing. It also provides content briefs that are detailed enough for freelance writers to create expert-level content.
Pricing: Custom pricing starting around $1,500/month
Limitations: The large expense and high learning curve render it inappropriate for marketing by smaller businesses or individual entrepreneurs.
Best for: Marketing agencies creating diverse content types, e-commerce businesses optimizing product pages, small businesses needing quick content solutions
Alternative to: Jasper, Copy.ai, ChatGPT
Best Features:
Writesonic achieves a good equilibrium between quality content and SEO optimization. We have authored numerous types of written content, from blog posts to product descriptions, with this tool, and it has furnished us with acceptably solid results. More than anything, though, we appreciate the real-time SEO feedback.
The multi-language feature has been helpful for international clients. I created Spanish content for a client expanding into Latin American markets, and the cultural context was surprisingly accurate.
Pricing: Free plan available; Individual plan at $20/month
Limitations: Generated content sometimes needs significant editing for brand voice and accuracy.
Best for: Affiliate marketers creating fast-ranking content, niche website owners scaling blogs, SEO professionals needing quick turnaround
Alternative to: Koala AI, Writesonic
Best Features:
Agility Writer focuses on one thing: creating content that ranks quickly. It’s a great complement to more full-featured best AI SEO tools in your stack. We tested it by creating 5 articles for a niche site, and 3 of them ranked on page 1 within 10 days.
The tool analyzes top-ranking content for your keywords and creates articles that match the structure and depth that Google rewards. It also optimizes for readability, which is crucial for user engagement signals.
We particularly like the bulk generation feature. You can input multiple keywords and generate several articles simultaneously, which is perfect for scaling content operations.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month with a free trial
Limitations: Limited to content creation, no keyword research or technical SEO capabilities.
Best for: International businesses targeting specific geographic markets, local service providers needing location-based content, agencies with global clients
Alternative to: Frase, Koala AI
Best Features:
Tarantula AI caught our attention because of its focus on local and multilingual SEO. Among SEO AI tools, it’s one of the few that truly understands the nuances of geographic targeting. We used it to create Hindi content for a client's local campaign in India, and we saw a 25% improvement in local rankings within two months.
The tool comprehends the cultural subtleties that other AI authors overlook. When generating content for various markets, it adjusts not only the language but also the cultural touchstones and regional business norms.
For local SEO, it incorporates automatically location-specific keywords and content that resonates with local audiences. This is especially valuable for service businesses moving into new markets.
Pricing: Starts at $49/month with a free trial
Limitations: Limited advanced analytics compared to enterprise-level tools.
Best for: Affiliate marketers creating product reviews, e-commerce businesses optimizing product pages, comparison shopping sites
Alternative to: Koala AI, Writesonic
Best Features:
Cuppa AI specializes in commercial content that converts. We used it to create a buyer's guide, and it increased affiliate clicks by 20% compared to my previous manually-written guides.
The tool understands commercial intent and structures content to guide readers through the buying process. It creates comparison tables, highlights key features, and includes strategic calls-to-action that feel natural rather than pushy.
What wowed us the most was its handling of product research. Input a product type, and it pulls intel from all over to craft complete, accurate, and incredibly detailed reviews.
Pricing: Starts at $19/month with a free trial
Limitations: Focused specifically on product content, compared to other best AI SEO tools for content writing specifically.
Best for: Technical SEO specialists, web developers optimizing sites, agencies focusing on site performance
Alternative to: Screaming Frog, Sitebulb
Best Features:
Technical SEO is frequently the most labor-intensive aspect of optimization, and this is what attracted me to Optidan AI. We employed it to audit a client's e-commerce site and enhance their Core Web Vitals by 20%.
The tool automatically checks your site for technical issues, ranking them according to how severely they impact SEO. Instead of getting lost in a vast ocean of tiny, not-so-important problems, you can focus on the small number of changes that are going to have a very big impact on your site. Set a ranking within the problems for how bad they are.
We are particularly thankful for how the Core Web Vitals have been optimized. They present recommendations for making our sites more interactive, well laid-out, and fast—three things that we've been told are extremely important since they directly affect how high we rank in search results.
Pricing: Starts at $79/month with a free trial
Limitations: Focused purely on technical SEO, no content creation or keyword research features.
Best for: SEO professionals doing keyword research, content marketers optimizing existing content, PPC advertisers planning campaigns
Alternative to: Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic
Best Features:
Keywords Everywhere is one of the most uncomplicated yet extremely beneficial SEO AI tools. The extension for the browser displays keyword data right in the Google search result page, making it a breeze to perform keyword research.
We utilized it to discover 20 long-tail keywords for a client's blog, resulting in an additional 500 monthly visitors. The data you receive in real-time allows you to see opportunities right in front of you as you browse. More often than not, the AI suggestions also let you in on some keywords you wouldn't have come up with on your own.
Unbeatable is the cost-effectiveness. You get data on keywords for $10/month that would cost a whole lot more with other tools. This makes it perfect for small businesses or individual marketers like me who are on a budget.
Pricing: Starts at $10/month with a free tier
Limitations: Limited to keyword data, no content creation or technical SEO tools.
Best for: New website owners seeking quick ranking wins, affiliate marketers targeting niche keywords, small businesses with limited budgets
Alternative to: Keywords Everywhere, Ubersuggest
Best Features:
LowFruits has become one of the go-to best AI SEO tools for a lot of SEO Redditors. A lot of colleges have used it to identify keywords for new niche sites, and more than half of them ranked on page 1 within three weeks.
The tool analyzes SERPs to find keywords where the competition is weak, think high domain authority sites with thin content, or forums ranking for commercial terms. These represent opportunities for well-optimized content to rank quickly.
The question-based analysis is particularly valuable for voice search optimization. It finds questions people ask that have weak answers in search results, perfect for creating comprehensive FAQ content.
Pricing: Starts at $25/month with a free trial
Limitations: Focused purely on keyword research, no content creation or technical SEO features.
As one of the best AI SEO tools we've tested, Linkee.ai has completely transformed our link‑building workflow. Instead of spending hours manually sorting through prospect lists, we simply upload our exports from Ahrefs or Semrush (or tap into Linkee's massive database of 12 million websites).
The magic happens in the filtering (see the screenshot below). Their smart deduplication feature is a game-changer, it automatically identifies and removes prospects you've already contacted across any of your projects. No more awkward follow-up emails to the same webmaster!
What really separates Linkee from other tools is its relevancy scoring system. Their AI scans your prospect's content and assigns a percentage score based on how well it matches your industry. We've found that targeting sites with at least a 20% relevancy score dramatically improves our success rate and the quality of our backlink profile. It's like having an AI assistant that actually understands context, not just keywords.
Koala AI is a complete content home base. Unlike basic AI writers, Koala lets us organize everything into distinct projects, each with its own categorization, keyword targeting, and sectional templates. Among the SEO AI tools we've tried, it stands out for how well it handles bulk creation and gives us control over the language models in use.
The workflow is intuitive: create your project, define your target keywords, set up your content sections (intro, benefits, FAQs, etc.), and let Koala generate drafts that actually make sense together. It's like having an entire content team inside one tool.
ChatGPT alone is powerful but generic. Paired with AIPRM (AI Prompt Repository Manager), it becomes an SEO powerhouse. This Chrome extension adds a library of curated, one-click prompts created by SEO experts directly into your ChatGPT interface.
Instead of spending 20 minutes crafting the perfect prompt, we just select pre-built templates for tasks like "Comprehensive SEO Audit" or "Keyword Cluster Generator." Each template comes with user ratings, so you know which ones actually deliver results.
Our favorite use case is generating content briefs. With one click, we can produce a fully-optimized outline including H2s, H3s, FAQs, and even competitor insights, all tailored to our target keyword. When combined with ChatGPT Plus (using GPT-4), the quality rivals what we used to pay specialized agencies to produce.
After testing 17 best AI SEO tools over two years, we've learned that specialization beats generalization. The best tools solve specific problems exceptionally well rather than attempting to do everything.
Our Top Recommendations:
The SEO landscape is evolving at breakneck speed with AI search platforms gaining traction and traditional search transforming. Don't get caught up in tool-hopping, choose 3-4 solutions that address your specific challenges, master them thoroughly, and track results obsessively.
Start with free trials of SEO AI tools that align with your immediate goals. The future of SEO is AI-powered, but remember: even the best tools are only as powerful as the strategy guiding them and the human expertise behind the keyboard.
Start with ChatGPT and Keywords Everywhere. ChatGPT costs $20/month and handles content creation, keyword ideation, and strategy brainstorming. Keywords Everywhere is $10/month and shows keyword data directly in search results. This $30/month combination covers most basic SEO needs while you learn.
Once you're comfortable, add LowFruits ($25/month) for finding easy-to-rank keywords. This three-tool stack costs $55/month and can drive real results for new websites.
Content creation time can be cut by 70-80%, with quality maintained, when using AI tools like Writesonic and Koala AI. These tools examine content that already ranks highly for your keywords and then generate articles that closely follow the successful blueprint of those top-ranking pieces.
The pivotal factor is to employ them as helpers, not substitutes. I invariably revise AI material for the brand's tone, incorporate unique perspectives, and verify the veracity of the content. These SEO AI tools handle the labor-intensive tasks of data mining and structuring, while we add the nuance, originality, and expertise.
No, without a doubt. AI tools augment human capabilities, but they cannot substitute for critical thinking and strategic planning, especially in business sectors where differentiating expertise makes all the difference between success and failure. MarketMuse is a good tool for providing the kind of raw recommendations and data that can lead to successful outcomes, but you need a human with good judgment to figure out what the heck it all means, how best to use it, and what to prioritize.
Profound leads the AEO space with real-time AI search volume data and conversation tracking. Peec AI excels at brand monitoring across AI platforms. For enterprises, BrandRadar offers the most comprehensive solution with multilingual support.
Start with Profound if you're serious about AEO, it's the only tool providing actual search volume data for AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Yes, when chosen strategically. Tools like Search Atlas and MarketMuse can boost traffic by 30-50% while saving hours of manual work. However, avoid tool overload, 3-4 well-chosen tools are better than 10 mediocre ones.
Calculate ROI based on time saved and results achieved. If a $100/month tool saves you 10 hours of work and increases traffic by 20%, it's probably worth it.
Our blog covers a combination of industry trends and professional insights from behind-the-scenes experiences. We provide weekly updates on link building, content marketing, on-site and technical SEO, and more! Sign up for our newsletter and join our LinkedIn to be on top of industry trends!
