Yes, AI can improve your website SEO, but only if it’s used correctly.
AI tools can help with keyword research, content planning and writing at scale, but AI-generated content that’s thin, generic or unedited will tank your rankings more than help them.
The results depend entirely on how you use it.
So, if you’ve Googled, “Can AI improve my website SEO?” hoping that it can meaningfully improve your SEO on its own, especially if you don’t know SEO yourself, then the answer is:
Nope.
Believe me, I’ve tested it with basic questions that somebody with very little SEO knowledge would ask it.
Why getting AI to fix your SEO sounds like a good idea
I get it, this sounds great:
- Instant keyword research
- Optimised blog posts in minutes
- Meta descriptions written for you
- “SEO-optimised” web copy at scale
It sounds efficient, easy and a dead quick way of solving a massive problem with your website.
If you’re a business owner juggling everything else, it feels like a shortcut.
But SEO isn’t just about producing optimised content super-fast at scale.
It’s about creating the right content.
Strategically.
And when you use AI and don’t fully understand SEO, that’s when the wheels come off.
What happened when I used AI for my own SEO?
I’m not against all AI use, but when I picked a few pages of my website for it to “fix“, here’s what happened:
One. It suggested weak keywords
Can you guess what one of the main keyword suggestions was?
Yep:
- Freelance copywriter
Well, duh.
Okay, on the surface, that sounds fine.
But it’s:
- Extremely competitive
- Vague in intent
- Doesn’t reflect my positioning or niche
- Attracts a wide, low-intent audience
Why did it do that?
Because AI sees volume, not intent and it doesn’t understand nuance.
It didn’t understand that ranking for a broad, saturated term doesn’t equal attracting the right clients.
And with only basic knowledge questions, it wasn’t great at understanding what I needed it to do.
Two. It duplicated keyphrases across pages
AI suggested similar or identical primary keyphrases for multiple service pages.
A big naughty no-no because this creates:
- Keyword cannibalisation
- Confused search signals
- Competing pages on your own site
- Diluted ranking power
SEO isn’t just about picking keywords. It’s about structuring your entire site so every page has a clear, distinct role.
AI doesn’t truly understand how your website is structured.
It predicts and forgets what you’ve asked it time and time again.
Three. It doesn’t understand search intent
It might create keywords, phrases and questions, but it’s absolutely appalling at:
- Knowing if a keyword converts
- The search volume of any given term
- Knowing if it aligns with your audience
- Attracting decision-makers
- Helping you position your brand
Rely on AI to do your SEO and you’re going to end up with content that’s a spaghetti-like mess to untangle.
Why AI is the worst thing for your SEO strategy
AI works on patterns and guesswork.
SEO works on:
- Intent
- Positioning
- Competitive gaps
- Internal linking structures
- Conversion pathways
- Long-term authority building
AI can analyse text.
That’s nice.
But it can’t understand your business, content or site structure.
It doesn’t know:
- Which of your services are most profitable
- The audience you want to attract
- Where you’re currently losing traffic
- What your competitors are doing well
It generates suggestions based on probability, with many being guesses or things unrelated to you.
You’ll also end up with:
- Overused keywords (it still does SEO like it was 10 years ago, stuffed with keywords)
- Internal competition between pages
- Misaligned search intent
- Missed content and SEO opportunities
Where AI has its uses
I said earlier that I’m not completely against AI.
It isn’t completely useless; it can help with:
- Generating topic ideas
- Summarising competitor content
- Drafting outlines
- Spotting obvious optimisation gaps
But it needs direction.
It needs someone who understands SEO strategy to refine searches. Without a human who knows SEO, AI will do whatever the hell it likes.
So, Matt, can AI improve my website SEO?
On its own?
No.
AI is a tool.
SEO growth requires:
- Analysis
- Prioritisation
- Structural thinking
- Competitive awareness
And above all:
- A human who knows what they’re doing
Without that, you’re just generating content not building search visibility.
But any SEO or writer who knows their onions won’t touch AI when it comes to fixing the SEO on a client’s website.
Could a website SEO audit fix your problems?
Absolutely!
My Website SEO Audit will tell you:
- What’s holding your site back
- How to improve your on-page SEO
- Where your meta titles, data and ALT text are letting you down (or missing!)
- Which pages are competing with each other
- Which keywords are worth targeting
- SEO opportunities you’re missing
- Where your competitors are outperforming you
- What to fix first
And loads more.
When it’s done, you’ll receive a 3-6-month priority roadmap that’ll walk you through quick fixes and long-haul content issues.
If you’ve used AI to fix your SEO, but it hasn’t worked. You’re considering using it. Or you just don’t know where to start? Check out my Website SEO Audit service and get a human pair of eyes on your content.
I did it for clients, like Anise Bullimore at Walk Coach Learn and Udari Wickremasinghe at Attain Accountancy (I increased Udari’s client update by 700 within a few months!). And by working on my own SEO, I managed to land work with clients including LEGO, Universal Pictures and Historic Royal Palaces.
Until next time,
Matt
PS. Stop asking questions like, “Can AI improve my website SEO” and start reading more great SEO posts, including, Should I hire an SEO copywriter?, 8 reasons your website needs B2B SEO Copywriting and How Liverpool businesses can improve SEO.
