AI Can Help, But It Can’t Think: The Role of Human Judgment in Keyword Research
Keyword research is, without doubt, the foundation of any successful SEO strategy, but in 2025 it is evolving from targeting the broad, high search volume keywords (which also usually come with a high keyword difficulty score), into a more sensible strategy of actually targeting the way your customers speak, and utilising AI to help you with that.
Depending on where they are in their purchasing journey, will depend on the search queries your customers are entering into Google or the Conversational Search Engines, and it’s your job to make sure they find what they are looking for at every stage before, ultimately, they are ready to buy.
It is hopeful that by this stage, if you have done your job right they are actually searching for you by brand, but it won’t always be the case.
You know your customer better than anyone else does, and you know the questions that they are asking before they buy, and when they are ready to buy. This is going to be fundamental when creating your content strategy in 2025.
Keyword Research does involve identifying and analysing the terms people use in search engines to find information, products, or services online, but with such a high % of searches each day being new ones, and the increase in people using voice search and AI tools as search engines, there isn’t one tool that you can pay for that is going to give you the level of data that as SEOs we previously would go by, and there is nothing better than the combination of your brain, the knowledge about your business, knowing the questions your customers ask + the best AI tools to help you do your keyword research in 2025.
When you understand what your target audience is searching for, which you already do, and if you don’t, you can learn how to develop your persona using AI tools and you can create content that effectively addresses their needs and ranks well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Having seed keywords (short, generic keywords) that you can scatter logically throughout your content but only if it makes sense to do so is a good idea; however, by answering questions, you are going to help increase your domain and topical authority, and inadvertently start to rank for those trickier keywords as you go. One page or article has the capacity to literally rank for thousands of keywords, it’s not just ‘the one’ that you are after in 2025; there is so much more opportunity for you to go after than that.
Answering these questions thoroughly and matching the user intent will not only help drive traffic to your website but can also increase backlinks, improve your SERP ranking, and enhance your overall content marketing strategy. The data you get from the pages that rank, will also provide valuable insights into how your audience perceives your products or services and what aspects are most important to them.
Challenges of Keyword Research for Business Owners
While keyword research is crucial for online success, many business owners hit a brick wall when trying to conduct it effectively. Primarily because a lot of business owners see SEO and keyword research as a dark art and will naturally shy away from it. The words ‘keyword research’ might as well be written in Japanese to some business owners who don’t know where to start or what it means and I totally get that, which is why I created the SEO School for Beginners.
If you only take two things away that you need to learn from reading this article, please let it be the ones below.
- Understanding User Intent: Identifying the underlying motivation behind a search query can initially seem confusing. Are users looking for information, to make a purchase, or to navigate to a specific website?
- Understanding User Needs: Keyword research provides valuable data about what information prospects are looking for regarding your industry, products, and services. This understanding is crucial for developing website content that effectively meets those needs.
AI-Powered Keyword Research Tools and Their Capabilities
Several AI-powered keyword research tools are available to businesses, each with its own unique capabilities. It’s important to remember that tools are tools. Yes, they are extremely clever and getting more so every day; however, they do get things wrong, and you’ll never beat the combination of an AI tool and a person who knows how to use them to get what they need.
In addition to these tools, it’s crucial to check the search results pages (SERPs) themselves to check for the right intent. You can pick up any nuances, get new ideas and also get a good idea of what your competition is doing by really pulling the SERPs to bits when you know what you’re looking for.
Analysing the SERPs from different locations can reveal variations in user intent and search results, providing valuable insights for your keyword strategy. It’s also important to remember that Google and other search engines have the ultimate goal of showing you content that is super relevant to you and for that reason, it will take into account where you are, what your interests are, what you read, who you email, what you find interesting etc etc.
Basically it is going to personalise your results. This is another good reason why not to go after just one specific keyword.
What I see when I search for something from where I am, will be different for what you see from where you search. My favourite tool for searching from a particular place and analysing the SERPs is Mangools because it’s easy to use and you can literally search as if you were anywhere.
Other favourites of mine that I genuinely use daily (I don’t just have affiliate links for some) are as follows. They all have different things that they are better at than the others so I definitely recommend having a play with them.
| Tool Name | Key Features | Pricing |
| Google Gemini | Multimodal AI model that can understand and generate text, images, audio, video, and code. Can be used for tasks such as generating keyword ideas, analyzing SERPs, and optimizing content. | Free trial available, with paid plans for individuals and businesses. |
| ChatGPT | Large language model that can be used for a variety of tasks, including generating keyword ideas, writing content, and translating languages. | Free access with limitations, paid plans for more features and usage. |
| Ahrefs | Comprehensive SEO tool that offers a wide range of features, including keyword research, backlink analysis, and rank tracking. | Paid plans are available. |
| Mangools | Affordable SEO toolset that includes tools for keyword research, SERP analysis, rank tracking, and backlink analysis. | Plans start at $29 per month. |
AI Uses for Keyword Research
AI can be used in various ways to enhance keyword research…. But can it really?
1. SERP Analysis
AI algorithms can apparently analyse SERPs to identify the top-ranking pages for a given keyword, the keywords they are targeting, and the types of content that are performing well. This information can be used to optimise your own content to rank higher.
I asked Google Gemini ‘How can you help me to do this; and I then copied in the paragraph above. To begin with, I was quite excited as I read through all the ways in which it was going to help me; you can read about this here, but when I got to the bottom, I read this and was a little less keen to get going.
I asked ChatGPT the same thing, using ChatGPT Search the output on how it can help me with this first section was good, and although it didn’t volunteer whether or not it had any limitations, when I asked, it came up with this.
And I’m actually ok with that, it’s qualifying what I believe to be true and the way in which you should use these tools. I’m going to go with it and ask it to help me analyse the top-ranking pages for the keyword Carpet Cleaning Glasgow as if the searcher was actually searching from Glasgow.
The results I got were ok, but I know for a fact that one of these carpet cleaning businesses is not yet ranking on page one of Google for these search term,s so I’m interested to see why and where it’s pulling that information from and compare it to Mangools and also Gemini.
Carpet Cleaning Glasgow
| ChatGPT | Mangools (shows map pack) | Google Gemini |
| Perfect Clean | McMillans | I Care Cleaning |
| Xtreme Cleaning | Glasgow Carpet Cleaner | Perfect Clean |
| ALS | Glasgow Carpet Cleaner | Urban Cleaning |
| I Care Cleaning | Xtreme Cleaning | Cleaning Doctor |
| McMillans | Master of Cleaning | Xtreme Cleaning |
| Urban Cleaning | I Care Cleaning | DSA Carpet Cleaning |
| Acorn Carpet Cleaning | Cleaning Doctor | McMillans |
| Aqua Sweep | Kleendri | Go for Cleaning |
If you’re interested in seeing my conversational threads with ChatGPT or Gemini I have linked to them for you, but from getting an insight point of view on analysing the actual SERPs I would have to say that Gemini did a much better job of giving the person looking to optimise the site a place to start.
It also gave me insight into how even the slightest change of location within Glasgow can result in a different local result. Unless all of these tools use exactly the same location, we are unable to get correct information.
I am interested as to why both ChatGPT and Gemini failed to mention local map packs and Google Business Profiles when analysing these results. Both of them told me I was right and went on to explain the importance in local SEO but also mentioned they were asked to focus on organic keyword analysis.
Still, why did ChatGPT pull in ALS, Acorn Carpet Cleaning and Aqua Sweep? Let’s ask… The answer was…. that it had pulled in results that we had expected to see rather than what actually was. I asked it to run the results again in real time, but it failed to come up with the goods and just gave me the exact same results.
2. Using Competitive Analysis for Keyword Opportunities
AI tools can be used to analyse the keyword strategies of your competitors, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and find new keyword opportunities.
Prompt (carrying on from the same conversational thread)
Can you please analyse the keyword strategies of all sites you have identified as competition, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and then compare them to my site [site] so you can help me identify opportunities. Don’t group the information together, be explicit for each site, please.
This is hugely useful when you use Google Gemini; putting the same prompt into Google Gemini will give you a slightly different perspective and more ideas, so I advise doing both.
This was my favourite… try it!
3. Predictive Analysis:
AI can be used to predict future search trends, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the curve and create content that will be relevant in the future.
Prompt (following on from the same conversation)
Are you able to predict future search trends, allowing me to stay ahead of the curve and create content that will be relevant in the future.
4. Using AI to find the questions your customers are looking for:
There are different ways of doing this, but remember you already have alot of them in your head, it doesn’t hurt to refine them, though.
From the conversations you’ve been having with your AI tool of choice, they have now built up quite alot of information about the services you offer and those that you now want to include on your site.
The not-very strategic way would be to simply ask your tool of choice for a list of questions that it believes your customer would be looking for, primarily before they actually start to look for you. If you have been using a local modifier for your keyword research here, I would actually remove it so instead of having Antiviral Carpet Cleaning Glasgow, you would be just using Antiviral Carpet Cleaning.
Ask the tool what questions your target customer is likely to be using for this.
Prompt
I am now wanting to create my content strategy around a few of these keywords. can you give me 10 questions that my potential customers would be asking before they search for Antiviral carpet cleaning please? Make sure that there is no overlap in intent, however, if you do identify any potential internal linking opportunities please highlight them to me. Thanks
Really helpful information from Gemini e.g
You can see that the level of detail is much better with Gemini
Limitations of Using AI in Keyword Research
While AI offers significant benefits for keyword research, it also has some limitations:
- Over-reliance on Automation: It’s important to remember that AI is a tool, not a replacement for human expertise. Businesses should not rely solely on AI for keyword research but should also use their own knowledge and judgment.
- Data Quality Issues: AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on. If the data is outdated or biased, the results may be inaccurate.
- Lack of Context: AI may not always be able to understand the nuances of language or industry-specific jargon, which can lead to irrelevant keyword suggestions.
Ethical Considerations
When using AI for keyword research, it’s important to consider the ethical implications:
- Bias: AI algorithms can be biased, which can lead to unfair or discriminatory results. It’s important to be aware of potential biases and take steps to mitigate them.
- Privacy: AI tools may collect and use personal data, so it’s important to ensure that this data is handled responsibly and ethically. Businesses should be transparent about their data collection practices and comply with relevant privacy regulations.
- Transparency: Businesses should be transparent about how they are using AI in their keyword research and ensure that their practices are ethical and responsible. This includes being open about the limitations of AI and the potential for bias.
The Future of AI in Keyword Research
AI is constantly evolving, and its role in keyword research is likely to grow in the future. We can expect to see more sophisticated AI-powered tools that can provide even more accurate and relevant keyword suggestions.
This may include advancements in natural language processing, allowing AI to better understand the nuances of human language and search intent. AI is also likely to play a greater role in content optimisation and other aspects of SEO, such as link-building and technical SEO. We may also see increased integration of AI with other marketing tools, such as CRM and email marketing platforms, to provide a more holistic approach to digital marketing.
Conclusion
AI is transforming the way businesses conduct keyword research. By automating tedious tasks, (keyword research can actually be quite exciting IFKYK) providing data-driven insights, and improving accuracy and relevance, AI is helping businesses create more effective SEO strategies.
This is particularly valuable for business owners who face challenges in understanding user intent, keeping up with trends, and balancing keyword difficulty with competition. AI tools provide solutions to these challenges by automating data analysis, identifying relevant keywords, and predicting future search trends.
While AI has some limitations, its benefits are clear, and its role in keyword research is only going to grow in the future. By understanding how to effectively incorporate AI into their keyword research efforts, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and achieve greater success in the competitive online landscape.
