If I had to compare AI in SEO to a fast food chain, I’d say it’s like McDonald’s: fast, accessible, scalable, but not always the healthiest option. You get content quickly, but sometimes you’re left with a bland, repetitive taste. Looks good at first glance, but dig deeper and it might not have the substance you’re hoping for.
That’s the problem with AI when it’s used the wrong way, it’s too easy to prioritize speed over quality.
"Use AI to get 80% of the way there — then apply your expertise to elevate the final 20%. That’s how you win the search game in 2025 and beyond.""
Peter Rota
Elite SEO Specialist
Will AI Really Take Your SEO Job? (Spoiler: No, But…)
Let’s get this out of the way: AI is transforming SEO, but it’s not replacing skilled professionals any time soon. Sure, automation is getting better. Tools can write meta descriptions, suggest keywords, even build content clusters. But SEO is about more than ticking boxes, it’s about thinking.
“AI is something I use every day now, but it’s not doing my thinking for me. It’s a tool, not a strategist.”
AI doesn’t understand business goals, human psychology, or brand nuance. It can’t look at your competitors’ blogs and say, “This is boring, let’s go in a different direction.” That kind of instinct still belongs to humans, and always will.
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So What Is AI Actually Good At in SEO?
When it comes to efficiency, AI can enhance on-page SEO by improving writing quality, assisting with content creation, and integrating keywords naturally. Think content briefs, schema generation, or generating robots.txt directives, repetitive, high-effort stuff that AI now makes easier.
AI SEO optimization also shines when you’re scaling. Generating outlines, analyzing SERPs, summarizing content gaps, these are tasks where AI gives you leverage without compromising too much on quality (if you’re careful).
Why Does AI Keep Getting SEO Stuff Wrong?
Let’s be honest: AI still makes mistakes, and when it does, it makes them confidently 😅. It’ll hallucinate sources, misinterpret queries, or spit out content that sounds fine but lacks direction.
We’ve all seen AI-generated content that looks polished on the surface but completely misses user intent. That’s because it can’t always understand what readers need, only simulate it based on data patterns.
That’s a big problem when your rankings, conversions, and brand reputation are on the line.
“If you’re like, ‘I’m just going to fire my SEO and have AI do everything for me,’ it’s kind of foolish… There’s a lot of hallucinations and it’s not always correct.”
Is AI Content a Gold Mine or a Glitter Bomb?
It’s a bit of both. AI-generated content can absolutely be a gold mine, when it’s used right. But it can also blow up in your face if you expect it to do all the thinking for you.
The best approach? Use AI as your content assistant, not your copywriter. Upload your brand guidelines, feed it structured prompts, and always review the final product for tone, fact-checking, and intent.
Done well, AI can help scale content marketing in smart ways, especially if you’re navigating SEO for AI Search, where AI-generated summaries and AI-driven snippets are starting to shape visibility.
Can You Really Trust AI with Technical SEO?
Short answer?
No.
Long answer?
It helps, a lot.
AI tools can identify broken links, crawl errors, slow-loading pages, and missing schema elements faster than most humans. But even the best platforms, Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, you name it, can surface false positives or miss critical context.
That’s why human SEO expertise still matters. Technical SEO isn’t just about what’s broken; it’s about why it matters, how it affects rankings, and what to prioritize based on ROI.
Are We Living in the AI SEO Future Already?
Let’s not kid ourselves. AI in SEO 2025 isn’t a future concept. It’s happening now.
Whether it’s surfacing AI Overviews in search, tweaking copy with NLP, or using LLMs to generate schema at scale, AI is everywhere in the workflow. Businesses that integrate it wisely are already seeing gains. Those that resist will fall behind.
But here’s the nuance: don’t ditch traditional SEO for shiny dashboards and hallucinated summaries. Blend the old and the new. Let AI handle the heavy lifting, and use your brain where it matters most.
“I think we’ll get to a point where Google’s AI mode is the default, and you won’t even need to visit websites anymore.”
How Do You Keep SEO Human When AI’s Doing the Work?
This is where things get interesting.
Let AI give you the data. Let it show you patterns. Let it speed up the research. But then lean into what only a human can do: storytelling, context, nuance, and empathy. That’s where the wins are.
A smart SEO strategy in 2025 will use AI to build momentum and human creativity to build trust.
What’s the #1 Rule of AI SEO?
Don’t outsource your thinking.
Always test. Always verify. Always ask yourself:
- Does this serve the user?
- Does this align with my brand?
- Did I check the math?
Use AI to get 80% of the way there, then apply your expertise to elevate the final 20%. That’s how you win the search game in 2025 and beyond.
