On-Page SEO
Using AI Tools in SEO Work: Technical Analysis, Brief Prompts and AI Images
AI tools are good at drafting and pattern-finding. They’re bad at facts they can’t see. Use them for the first, verify the second.
Google’s guidance on generative AI content is about how content is used, not how it’s made: using automation primarily to manipulate rankings is spam, while AI that helps create useful content is fine.
This guide covers practical uses in day-to-day SEO, plus prompt templates and image guidance.
Short answer: Use AI tools to summarize crawl exports, group URLs and errors, draft regex and formulas, write first drafts of briefs and meta descriptions, and generate image ideas. Always verify facts, numbers and code against the source data, keep a human editor responsible for published content, add accurate alt text and metadata to AI images, and never mass-produce pages mainly to rank.
Key Takeaways
- Good for: summarizing, grouping, drafting.
- Bad for: facts it can’t see, current data, guarantees.
- Verify every number and recommendation.
- AI images need honest alt text and context.
- Scaled AI pages made to rank break Google’s spam policy.
Technical SEO analysis
- Summarize a crawl export: group 4xx, redirects and missing titles by template.
- Draft regex for Search Console filters and spreadsheet formulas.
- Classify log file user agents and URL patterns (log file analysis).
- Explain unfamiliar errors, then confirm with Google’s documentation.
- Never paste credentials, private customer data or API keys into an AI tool.
Prompt template for a content brief
“You are helping write a brief for a page targeting [topic] for [audience] in [country]. From the search results summary below, list: the main intent, the questions the page must answer, the sections competitors cover, gaps we can fill with first-hand experience from [our expertise], and a suggested outline with H2s. Don’t invent statistics. Mark anything that needs a source.”
Then edit it against our content brief guide.
Prompt template for meta descriptions
“Write three meta descriptions under 155 characters for this page: [paste summary]. Use plain language, include [main term] naturally, reflect what the page actually offers, and don’t promise anything the page doesn’t deliver.”
AI images and image SEO
- Use AI images for illustrations, not to fake real projects, products, staff or results.
- Add descriptive alt text, sensible file names and surrounding text (image SEO).
- Google may label AI-generated images in some surfaces using metadata; don’t strip provenance metadata to hide it.
- Real photos of your work build more trust for service and product pages.
What to check by hand
- Every fact, date, number and quote.
- Recommendations against Google’s documentation.
- Brand voice and claims your business can back up.
- Disclosure where readers would expect to know how content was made (AI content guidance).
Frequently asked questions
Does Google penalize AI content?
Google targets content made primarily to manipulate rankings, however it’s produced. Helpful content made with AI assistance is allowed.
Can AI do my keyword research?
It can suggest ideas, but it can’t see real search volumes. See limits of ChatGPT for keyword research.
Should I label AI-assisted articles?
Consider it where readers would reasonably ask how the content was created.
Need content that’s genuinely useful?
We plan and improve content around real customer questions, with sources, clear authorship and no padding.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Guidance on using generative AI content
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search
- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search
Last reviewed October 19, 2026.
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