The Hottest AI SEO and Keyword Research Tools for 2025
January 6, 2025
I think it’s safe to say that, love it or hate it, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay.
The good news is that you don’t have to love AI to benefit from it!
In fact, if your life depends in any way on cracking search engine optimization (SEO), you’re in luck, because there are some fabulous options for you.
First, Some Background
For anyone out there who prefers their internet a little more 1998 than 2025 (no judgement here—I include myself in that!), here’s a crash course on SEO and keyword research.
SEO, according to Moz, is “the process of improving your website to increase visitors from search engines.” Say you’re a private chef who specializes in French cuisine. Your website needs to promote your niche, so that when Joe Schmo Googles “French food,” your name will come up. Get it? It’s like answering questions before they’re even asked.
Keyword research (again, from Moz) is “the practice of identifying the words and phrases people use to find things via search engines.” It’s like preliminary SEO. First, you need to know that Joe Schmo is going to search for French food; then, you need to make sure the content on your website is optimized to come up when he does.
In both cases, things can get a lot more complicated and granular, but now you have a basic understanding of the terms.
Why are SEO and keyword research important to get right?
Think of the competition on the internet—there must be millions of private chefs who cook French food around the world, right?
Proper SEO and keyword research will do wonders in terms of making your site stand out from the crowd. Translation = more business.
SEO Tools
Below, a handful of the best AI SEO tools out there:
Breeze, from HubSpot
HubSpot already has a reputation for excellent marketing tools and services, and Breeze is no exception.
This is an all-in-one system including Breeze Copilot (an in-app “companion” that assist with various tasks), Breeze Agents (AI experts to help with marketing, sales, and service tasks), and Breeze Intelligence (encompassing contact and data records, as well as buyer intent and targeting leads), with additional Breeze features scattered throughout.
HubSpot promises a “complete AI solution that delivers ease, speed, and unification across your business.”
Breeze Copilot and Breeze features are free in HubSpot; Breeze Agents and Breeze Intelligence are available with a premium subscription. (Specific pricing information can be found here.)
Paige by Merchynt
Meet Paige, “the best marketing assistant [you’ll] ever hire!”
Paige does it all: heatmap reporting, business review management (including requesting reviews from customers and flagging negative reviews), citation management, social media scheduling, and image optimization.
And that doesn’t even cover Paige’s statistics: 93% of Paige profiles rank in the top three within six months and Paige boasts a $38 return for every dollar invested. Merchynt offers a 3-day trial for just $1; monthly subscriptions are $99. (Note: while the trial period is short, Merchynt points out that “it only takes 10 minutes to get Paige fully configured and optimizing your Google Business Profile.” You’ll end up with plenty of time to get the most of it.)
AlliAI
AlliAI “will do everything we can to help SEO agencies and teams scale and automate their campaigns while saving time and money.”
Alli’s list of features is pretty impressive, including onpage SEO automation, live editor, and site speed optimizer, among many others. Alli specializes in SEO function for marketing, enterprise, commerce, real estate, and development agencies.
This system might not be ideal for individuals or those fronting a small business, but anyone involved with a large-scale business will appreciate AlliAI’s attention to detail and dedicated customer support.
The pricing for AlliAI is broken down by:
- Business (starting at $299/month)
- Agency (starting at $599/month), and
- Enterprise (starting at $1,199/month).
How About Keyword Research Tools?
Semrush
Semrush is used by 10 million marketing professionals (in fact, 30% of Fortune500 companies use Semrush!) and has won 21 international awards. The Semrush website is a fun one, with lots of bright colors, beating-heart emojis everywhere, and this:
(I give Semrush bonus points just for the fun I had perusing the website.)
Semrush is also unique in that, instead of providing a list of keyword ideas after being given a “seed” keyword, it provides you with the keywords that your competition is already ranked for.
In fact, you can even enter a competitor from a different country—beneficial if you’re looking to expand internationally.
Semrush offers various plans, ranging in price from $139.95/month to $499.95/month. There are many features you can use for free, without a subscription plan, but if you’re serious about this function, you’re going to want to purchase a plan.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs provides you with the baseline data for each keyword you enter. But! It also provides you with an in-depth breakdown of first page search results, including which results get clicked and how many times.
It also provides you with a much-more-than-normal level of detail on the difficulty (or necessary number of backlinks) of each keyword.
It’s a bit of a niche process, but you will develop such a thorough understanding of each and every keyword you’re using. There is no free trial for Ahrefs; its subscription plans range from $99/month to $999/month, depending on your needs.
Soovle
Soovle allows you to search keywords from across multiple search engines. For each keyword, you can receive in-depth data from up to six sources. (Choose from Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, Bing, YouTube, Etsy, Pinterest, and Wikipedia.)
It’s optimized for small businesses and specific industries, like healthcare, which makes it a win for various situations. Bonus! Soovle offers a free trial, giving you the opportunity to try before you buy.
So there you go. This is certainly not an exhaustive list (and many of the choices here perform both SEO and keyword research, though they lean in one direction or another). But, this encompasses some of the best options around for SEO and keyword research. Whether you’re an individual, small business owner, or marketing guru for a large corporation, you’ll be able to find something here to suit your situation.
Let’s raise a glass to 2025 and to all the possibilities!