Pinpointing what your audience types into search engines and AI platforms shapes content that gets noticed. Semrush brings together tools that help you spot keyword opportunities, check out competitors, and sort your findings into topic clusters you can act on. This guide walks through using Semrush for hands-on keyword research, whether you want to boost classic SEO or show up in AI results on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode rely on the same systems as standard Google Search. Google Search Central states there are no extra requirements or special tweaks needed to appear in these AI features. Sites must be indexed and eligible for regular search snippets before showing up in AI-generated results. The official guidance points to crawlability, people-first content, a strong page experience, accurate structured data, and supporting media like images or video. Google’s statement is clear: “There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.”
Start with Your Current Rankings
Before hunting for new keywords, check which terms your site already ranks for. The Organic Rankings tool lets you enter your domain and see an overview of your ranking keywords and estimated traffic. The "Positions" tab shows which keywords your site appears for, pointing out areas where you already have authority and can make quick gains.
To zero in on the best opportunities, use filters like position range (7–20), search volume above 100, and keyword difficulty below 50%. This helps you target keywords that are within reach and have real demand. Save the keywords you select to a list for deeper analysis as you move forward.
Generate New Keyword Ideas
To grow your keyword list, turn to the Keyword Magic Tool. Enter a relevant term and your domain to get keyword suggestions with metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty (KD %), and personal keyword difficulty (PKD %). If your PKD % matches or is lower than the general KD %, your site stands a good chance to compete. When PKD % is much higher, focus on related, less competitive terms to build authority before going after tougher keywords.
Using the "Questions" filter brings up long-tail keywords phrased as questions. These match how users interact with search engines and AI tools, making them valuable for answer-focused content that can show up in AI citations. Data from a March 2025 Pew Research Center study found that AI-generated summaries appeared on 18% of Google searches among 900 U.S. adults, but the rate shifted by query type. Only 8% of one- or two-word searches triggered an AI summary, while 53% of searches with ten or more words did. Interrogative queries starting with "who," "what," "when," or "why" produced summaries 60% of the time. This shows the value of targeting question-based and longer-tail queries for AI visibility.
Explore AI-Driven Prompts and Topics
Standard keyword tools reveal what people type into search engines, but AI platforms often use different language. The Prompt Research tool in the AI Visibility Toolkit helps you see how users phrase questions for AI and which prompts lead to AI-generated answers. Enter a topic to view related subtopics, prompts, and the brands or sources AI platforms mention. Reviewing these prompts can shape your content strategy to target topics gaining ground in AI search results.
Google’s AI-search guidance backs up the need for solid technical SEO. Recommended steps include creating original content for people, making sure Googlebot can access key pages, keeping page experiences fast and uncluttered, and aligning structured data with visible content. Adding relevant images and video, and keeping a current Google Business Profile where it fits, are also suggested. Google clarifies, “You don’t need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features.”
Identify Competitor Gaps
Checking out competitors uncovers keyword opportunities you might have missed. The Keyword Gap tool compares your site to competitors, showing keywords they rank for that you don’t. Focus on non-branded keywords tied to your main topics, since these are areas where you can grow your content and attract new visitors.
For AI-specific visibility, the Competitor Research report in the AI Visibility Toolkit shows which topics and prompts mention your competitors but not your site. Use the "Prompts" and "Missing" toggles to spot these gaps. Prioritize topics that fit your business and content plans, rather than chasing every single keyword.
Organize Keywords into Clusters
Once you’ve built a solid keyword list, group related terms with the Keyword Strategy Builder. Clustering keywords lets you target several related queries with one page, boosting your chances of ranking for a wider set of searches. The tool groups keywords automatically and shows the search volume for each cluster, helping you decide how many pages to create and which topics draw the most demand.
Look over each cluster to see the specific keywords, their difficulty, and the types of pages now ranking. This step turns your keyword research into a structured content plan, guiding your publishing for maximum visibility.
Track Performance and Adjust
After rolling out your keyword strategy, keep tabs on your progress with Semrush’s Position Tracking tool. Set up your project with target keywords and preferred platforms to track daily visibility changes, compare rankings with competitors, and see which pages perform for each keyword. The tool also flags SERP features, such as AI Overviews, that show up in results for your tracked terms.
Pew Research Center’s behavioral data shows that when an AI summary appears in Google Search, traditional-result clicks happen on 8% of visits, compared to 15% when no summary appears. Links inside an AI summary get clicks on only 1% of visits where a summary appeared. In those sessions, browsing ended without a traditional-result click 26% of the time, compared with 16% of sessions without an AI summary. This means that being cited in AI-generated answers doesn’t always lead to a website visit, so brand recognition and answer completeness matter alongside ranking position.
Classic search metrics don’t give the full picture for publishers aiming at AI-mediated discovery. A thorough keyword strategy should track rankings and search volume, but also whether queries trigger AI summaries, whether a brand is cited or named, and whether users then visit, search for, or engage with the brand. No evidence shows that any specific Semrush metric, including keyword difficulty or personal keyword difficulty, predicts inclusion in an AI-generated answer. Google’s guidance and the Pew study both support treating AI visibility and organic traffic as related but separate outcomes.
No government enforcement action, court ruling, or statutory requirement forces the use of special AI markup or proprietary machine-readable files for Google AI-search optimization. Google’s technical guidance is voluntary and not a binding regulatory rule. For more details, see the guidance summarized by Raw Digital Group (AEO vs SEO).
