{"id":192183,"date":"2025-10-30T09:50:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=192183"},"modified":"2026-01-06T10:21:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T15:21:59","slug":"ai-cant-replace-seo-tools-but-it-can-use-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-cant-replace-seo-tools-but-it-can-use-them\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Can\u2019t Replace SEO Tools. But It Can Use&nbsp;Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\"><!-- notionvc: 4810dbae-0547-44b9-9419-6f3e9ab7808c -->Recently, a LinkedIn post claimed that you could replace paid SEO tools with just a handful of ChatGPT prompts and save $8,400 annually.<\/div><!-- notionvc: 4810dbae-0547-44b9-9419-6f3e9ab7808c -->\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1206\" height=\"1300\" class=\"wp-image-192184\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/linkedin-post-saying-you-can-replace-paid-seo-tool.jpg\" alt=\"LinkedIn post saying you can replace paid SEO tools with ChatGPT\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/linkedin-post-saying-you-can-replace-paid-seo-tool.jpg 1206w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/linkedin-post-saying-you-can-replace-paid-seo-tool-394x425.jpg 394w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/linkedin-post-saying-you-can-replace-paid-seo-tool-768x828.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The post exploded. 500+ likes, 400+ comments, and people are loving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But SEOs didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"294\" class=\"wp-image-192185\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit.png\" alt=\"SEOs replying that you can't replace SEO tools with AI\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit.png 1180w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-680x169.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-768x191.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1180px) 100vw, 1180px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1186\" height=\"424\" class=\"wp-image-192186\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-1.png\" alt=\"SEOs replying that you can't replace SEO tools with AI\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-1.png 1186w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-1-680x243.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/seos-replying-that-you-cant-replace-seo-tools-wit-1-768x275.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1186px) 100vw, 1186px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t believe we\u2019re still talking about this at the end of 2025. I want to believe it\u2019s ragebait. But whether he\u2019s antagonising on purpose, here\u2019s the truth: <strong>ChatGPT doesn\u2019t, and can\u2019t, do SEO.<\/strong> It can only talk about&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can sound like an expert, drop the right terms, and even generate a believable table of \u201clow-competition, high-intent\u201d keywords with CPC and search volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But these numbers are completely fictional. They can\u2019t see the data that powers SEO. They can only approximate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re okay with this, then that\u2019s perfectly fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s not okay is believing the numbers generated by ChatGPT to be true <strong>and <\/strong>other people telling you can simply trust what ChatGPT is generating.<\/p>\n<div class=\"intro-tok\" id=\"intro_tok\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"intro-title\">Contents<\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"expand-dots\"><span><\/span><span><\/span><span><\/span><\/a><\/div><!-- notionvc: b33e6007-9a8d-47dd-a475-8df1711f36db -->\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Why LLMs need SEO data\" data-section=\"llms-seo-data\"><!-- notionvc: 396e41d6-b312-4f8c-9aae-818c5b3ca6b7 -->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-192183-_mbnti0xxav7y\"><\/a>Why LLMs need SEO&nbsp;data<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><!-- notionvc: 7d917676-f095-4b26-9ad2-9bedc99d9045 -->\n\n\n\n<p>To understand why the poster is wrong, you have to look at how LLMs actually work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LLMs are trained on massive datasets of written language, learning patterns about how words typically follow each other. All they do is predict text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ChatGPT isn\u2019t pulling data from a live search index or a keyword database. In fact, there is a \u201chard stop\u201d when their training data ends. For example, GPT-5\u2019s cut-off was September 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LLMs can\u2019t track how rankings shift, how search volumes fluctuate, or how backlinks grow over time either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When they give you a keyword with \u201c1,200 monthly searches\u201d or a difficulty score of \u201c43,\u201d those aren\u2019t metrics. They\u2019re simply guesses. The model has no real visibility into Google\u2019s index or important SEO&nbsp;data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As my friend Matti Ljungberg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7385495468232847360\/\">says<\/a>, \u201cOf course it can \u201cestimate monthly search volume\u201d. Just like I can estimate there are 47 million penguins living in your fridge. Pure guesswork, but it sounds convincing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"906\" class=\"wp-image-192187\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/matti-ljungberg-saying-estimates-are-pure-guesswor.png\" alt=\"Matti Ljungberg saying estimates are pure guesswork\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/matti-ljungberg-saying-estimates-are-pure-guesswor.png 1200w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/matti-ljungberg-saying-estimates-are-pure-guesswor-563x425.png 563w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/matti-ljungberg-saying-estimates-are-pure-guesswor-768x580.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, at Ahrefs, we collect, process, and store large amounts of important search data. We have the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/big-data\">second most active web crawler in the world<\/a> and we crawl and re-crawl trillions of pages, constantly updating those pages and their backlinks in our&nbsp;index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1136\" class=\"wp-image-192188\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-the-most-active-web-crawler-in-the-seo.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs has the most active web crawler in the SEO industry\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-the-most-active-web-crawler-in-the-seo.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-the-most-active-web-crawler-in-the-seo-680x377.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-the-most-active-web-crawler-in-the-seo-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-the-most-active-web-crawler-in-the-seo-1536x852.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>We also have billions of keywords (28 billion, to be exact) in our keyword database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1221\" class=\"wp-image-192189\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-28-billion-keywords-in-its-index.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs has 28 billion keywords in its index\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-28-billion-keywords-in-its-index.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-28-billion-keywords-in-its-index-680x405.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-28-billion-keywords-in-its-index-768x458.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ahrefs-has-28-billion-keywords-in-its-index-1536x916.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>We use all of these data to calculate metrics that matter to SEOs: Domain Rating, search volume, organic search traffic, keyword difficulty, backlink profile, search trends, and&nbsp;more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So while ChatGPT can describe SEO perfectly, it can\u2019t perform it. You still need SEO data to do good analysis.<\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\"><!-- notionvc: f43e1a5b-4dcb-48b8-9543-628c10932840 -->\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writings.stephenwolfram.com\/2023\/02\/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work\/\">What Is ChatGPT Doing \u2026 and Why Does It&nbsp;Work?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><!-- notionvc: f43e1a5b-4dcb-48b8-9543-628c10932840 -->\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to ground ChatGPT and other LLMs in SEO reality\" data-section=\"ground-llms--seo-data\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-192183-_4r38ajsqwkj8\"><\/a>How to ground ChatGPT and other LLMs in SEO reality<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><!-- notionvc: abcb0af3-5e60-4d8b-b354-e7fdcb32dfc5 -->\n\n\n\n<p>The good news: the problem isn\u2019t with AI. It\u2019s the disconnect between LLMs and SEO&nbsp;data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you can connect ChatGPT and other LLMs to live SEO data, you could get actionable SEO insights as if you were talking to a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"938\" height=\"472\" class=\"wp-image-192190\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lily-ray-explaining-why-the-mcp-is-important.png\" alt=\"Lily Ray explaining why the MCP is important\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lily-ray-explaining-why-the-mcp-is-important.png 938w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lily-ray-explaining-why-the-mcp-is-important-680x342.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lily-ray-explaining-why-the-mcp-is-important-768x386.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lily-ray-explaining-why-the-mcp-is-important-400x200.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Guess what? You can. Because that\u2019s exactly what the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.ahrefs.com\/docs\/mcp\/reference\/introduction\">Ahrefs MCP (Model Context Protocol)<\/a> does.<\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/chatgpt-seo-tools\/\">10 ChatGPT SEO Tools That Help You Rank Higher<\/a><br><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"894\" height=\"1180\" class=\"wp-image-192191\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/what-is-ahrefs-mcp.jpg\" alt=\"What is Ahrefs MCP\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/what-is-ahrefs-mcp.jpg 894w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/what-is-ahrefs-mcp-322x425.jpg 322w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/what-is-ahrefs-mcp-768x1014.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 894px) 100vw, 894px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>In simple terms, the Ahrefs MCP is a bridge, a standard that allows AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude to connect directly to Ahrefs\u2019 data. Instead of relying on their training data, your favorite AI assistant can now make live API calls to Ahrefs and pull in <em>real <\/em>keyword metrics, backlinks, and site performance data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, instead of using a prompt like this and having ChatGPT hallucinate keyword data for&nbsp;you\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1192\" height=\"334\" class=\"wp-image-192192\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a-chatgpt-prompt.png\" alt=\"A ChatGPT prompt\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a-chatgpt-prompt.png 1192w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a-chatgpt-prompt-680x191.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a-chatgpt-prompt-768x215.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1192px) 100vw, 1192px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>You can connect your Ahrefs account with ChatGPT or Claude, then use this prompt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"small\"><div class=\"quote-content\"><!-- notionvc: 8f83f19f-8bb6-4b8d-a8b7-e2063a0f50a6 -->Tell me about the rankings [Competitor] has on the first page of Google that [My Site] doesn\u2019t have first-page rankings for.<\/div><\/blockquote><!-- notionvc: 8f83f19f-8bb6-4b8d-a8b7-e2063a0f50a6 -->\n\n\n\n<p>To discover content gaps between your website and your competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cool right? In fact, once you connect Ahrefs with the AI assistant of your choice, the poster\u2019s prompts now <strong>do <\/strong>make sense. Because you\u2019re no longer asking ChatGPT to hallucinate. You\u2019re asking it to call Ahrefs\u2019 database and return real metrics from our live database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want more use cases on how to use our MCP with AI assistants? Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/mcp-use-cases\/\">this post on the 15 best use cases<\/a> from SEO legend <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/viperchill\">Glen Allsopp<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-192183-_pejg228773jd\"><\/a>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To put simply: The prompts didn\u2019t fail because they were bad. They failed because they were blind. But with our MCP, they can now \u2018see\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, even with access to real data, AI isn\u2019t suddenly an SEO strategist. It still needs a human who knows what to do with&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MCP doesn\u2019t replace your judgment, your workflow, or your experience. It just removes the busywork between insight and action. Instead of switching between filters, exports, and dashboards, you can just ask your question and get the data you trust, faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AI doesn\u2019t replace SEO. On the contrary, it helps you&nbsp;scale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The post exploded. 500+ likes, 400+ comments, and people are loving it. But SEOs didn\u2019t. I can\u2019t believe we\u2019re still talking about this at the end of 2025. I want to believe it\u2019s ragebait. But whether he\u2019s antagonising on purpose,<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469,335],"tags":[],"coauthors":[339],"class_list":["post-192183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-search","category-general-seo","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AI Can\u2019t Replace SEO Tools. But It Can Use Them<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A viral LinkedIn post claimed you could replace paid SEO tools with ChatGPT prompts. But that\u2019s not how SEO works. Here\u2019s why LLMs can\u2019t \u201cdo\u201d SEO, why real data from tools like Ahrefs still matters, and how the Ahrefs MCP now lets ChatGPT access live SEO insights.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-cant-replace-seo-tools-but-it-can-use-them\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI Can\u2019t Replace SEO Tools. But It Can Use Them\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A viral LinkedIn post claimed you could replace paid SEO tools with ChatGPT prompts. But that\u2019s not how SEO works. 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