What Semrush Content Creation Tools Actually Do
Semrush offers two main tools that touch content creation: the SEO Writing Assistant and ContentShake AI. They are different tools with different purposes, and most people mix them up.
SEO Writing Assistant
This tool does not write content for you. It grades content you have already written. You paste in your draft and it gives you a real-time SEO score based on your target keyword, readability, originality, and tone of voice. It also suggests related keywords to include and flags issues like keyword stuffing or missing terms.
It is genuinely useful as a checklist tool. Think of it as a spell-checker for SEO, not a ghostwriter.
ContentShake AI
This is the tool that actually generates content. You enter a target keyword, choose your tone and target audience, and ContentShake produces a full draft article with suggested headings, a recommended structure, and a list of semantically related keywords to include. It pulls from Semrush's keyword data to inform the output.
It is faster than starting from a blank page. But fast and good are not the same thing.
Quick Clarification
The Keyword Magic Tool, Domain Overview, and Keyword Gap tools in Semrush do not create content. They give you the data to inform what content you should create. ContentShake AI is the only tool that generates actual written copy.
How to Use ContentShake AI to Generate a Blog Post (Step by Step)
If you want to try Semrush's content generation, here is the exact process:
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1
Open ContentShake AI in Semrush
From your Semrush dashboard, go to Content Marketing in the left sidebar, then click ContentShake AI. If you do not see it, check your subscription tier. ContentShake is available on Guru and Business plans, and as a standalone add-on.
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2
Enter your target keyword
Type in the primary keyword you want to rank for. Be specific. "SEO blog writing services for small businesses" will produce a more focused brief than just "SEO." The tool will pull keyword volume, competition data, and related terms automatically.
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3
Set your tone and audience
ContentShake lets you choose the tone of voice (informative, persuasive, conversational) and describe your target audience. The more specific you are here, the more useful the output will be. "U.S. small business owners unfamiliar with SEO" is better than leaving this blank.
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4
Review the generated outline and headings
Before generating the full draft, ContentShake shows you a suggested H1, H2 structure, and a list of keywords to include. This is the most valuable part of the tool. The outline is often solid even when the final prose is not. Adjust the headings before generating if anything looks off.
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5
Generate the draft
Click generate. ContentShake will produce a full article, typically 800 to 1,500 words. It also shows you an SEO score for the draft based on keyword usage, readability, and structure. Higher scores suggest better on-page optimization, not necessarily better writing.
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Edit heavily before publishing
This step is not optional. The draft will be generic. It will use passive voice in places where active voice converts better. It will miss nuance specific to your business and audience. It will not include your case studies, your client results, or your actual point of view. Treat the output as a research-informed skeleton, not a finished post.
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Run the final version through SEO Writing Assistant
Once you have edited the draft, paste it into the SEO Writing Assistant and check the score against your target keyword. Address any flagged issues, ensure readability is at the right level for your audience, and confirm the keyword appears naturally in the H1, first paragraph, and at least one H2.
What Semrush AI Content Does Well
There are real use cases where the tool earns its place in the workflow.
- Keyword-informed outlines. The heading structure and related keyword suggestions are based on actual Semrush data. This is more reliable than guessing what to cover.
- Overcoming blank page paralysis. If you have a content calendar and no time to start from scratch, a generated draft gives your editor or writer a starting framework.
- Low-competition informational posts. For simple, low-KD keywords with informational intent, a lightly edited AI draft can rank. The bar is lower and the content requirements are simpler.
- First-draft speed. For teams producing high content volume, ContentShake can reduce time spent on structure and initial research.
Where Semrush AI Content Falls Short
Here is where most small businesses run into problems when they rely on ContentShake drafts without editing them properly.
- Generic voice. AI content sounds like AI content. It uses the same sentence patterns, transitions, and paragraph structures across every post. Google does not penalize AI content directly, but readers recognize it and bounce faster, which hurts your rankings indirectly.
- No original perspective. The tool cannot include your experience, your clients' results, your case studies, or any insight that does not already exist on the internet. That original material is exactly what Google's Helpful Content guidelines reward.
- Weak conversion copy. ContentShake is optimized for SEO scores, not for getting readers to take action. CTAs in generated drafts are typically boilerplate and easy to ignore.
- Not competitive on high-KD keywords. If you are targeting keywords with difficulty scores above 40, the top-ranking pages are long, detailed, and authoritative. A 1,200-word AI draft is not going to displace them.
- Requires editing time you may not have. The promise of AI content is speed. But if you spend 90 minutes editing a 1,000-word draft to make it accurate, useful, and on-brand, you have not actually saved much time versus assigning it to a writer who understands the brief.
One thing to watch
ContentShake AI sometimes pulls phrasing from top-ranking competitor pages to inform its output. This creates a risk of producing content that closely mirrors existing published material. Always run AI-generated drafts through a plagiarism checker before publishing, and ensure you are adding something genuinely new to the topic.
Should You Use Semrush to Create All Your Content? The Honest Verdict
The right answer depends on what you are trying to rank for and what resources you have to edit and improve the output. Here is a practical guide:
| Situation | Use ContentShake AI? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Low-KD informational posts (KD under 25) | Yes, with editing | Lower competition means lighter content can rank. Still needs a human edit. |
| Building keyword outlines and content briefs | Yes | The outline and keyword suggestions are the strongest part of the tool. |
| High-KD competitive keywords (KD 40+) | No | You need depth, authority, and originality. AI drafts will not be competitive. |
| Service pages and landing pages | No | Conversion copy needs a human voice and specific understanding of your offer. |
| High-volume, low-stakes content | Maybe | Works if you have a strong editor to review every post before it goes live. |
| Law firm, medical, or financial content | No | YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) content requires demonstrated expertise and accuracy. AI errors in these niches carry real risk. |
How to Use Semrush Data Without Relying on AI Writing
The smartest approach is to use Semrush for what it does best, which is data, and bring in professional writing for what AI does worst, which is voice, nuance, and conversion.
Here is how that workflow looks in practice:
- Use Keyword Magic Tool to identify your target keyword and related terms with real volume and manageable KD.
- Use ContentShake AI or the SEO Writing Assistant to build your H1, H2 structure and identify the keywords to include.
- Use Keyword Gap to find topics your competitors rank for that you have not covered yet.
- Hand the brief, the keyword list, and the outline to a professional writer who can produce content that sounds like a real expert, not a tool.
- Run the finished piece through SEO Writing Assistant before publishing to confirm the on-page signals are in order.
This hybrid approach gives you the data advantage of Semrush without the content quality risk of publishing unedited AI output. It is also how professional SEO blog writing services typically operate when they have access to good keyword tools.
The bottom line
Semrush's data is excellent. Its AI writing output is a starting point, not a finished product. If you are publishing AI drafts straight from ContentShake without significant editing, you are producing content that sounds generic, lacks original perspective, and will struggle to rank for anything competitive. Use the data. Invest in the writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Semrush create content for me?
Yes, through ContentShake AI. It generates draft articles based on your target keyword using Semrush's keyword data. The output is a useful starting point but needs meaningful editing before it is ready to publish.
How do I use Semrush to generate content?
Go to Content Marketing in your Semrush dashboard, then open ContentShake AI. Enter your target keyword, set your tone and audience, review the suggested outline, then generate the full draft. Edit the output thoroughly before publishing.
Is Semrush AI content good enough to publish without editing?
For low-competition informational keywords, sometimes. For any keyword with real competition or in YMYL niches like legal, medical, or financial services, no. Unedited AI drafts lack the originality and depth that Google rewards and that readers respond to.
Does Semrush have all keywords I need?
Semrush has one of the largest keyword databases available, covering over 25 billion keywords. It is not exhaustive, but for most small business niches it will surface more opportunities than you can realistically publish to in a year. The more useful question is whether your content is actually ranking for the keywords Semrush finds. That depends on the quality of the writing, not the size of the database. See our SEO blog writing guide for how to build a content strategy around your keyword data.
What is the difference between Semrush and hiring an SEO blog writing service?
Semrush is a tool. It gives you data about what to write and grades content after you write it. An SEO blog writing service uses that data to produce content that is researched, structured, and written by someone who understands both search intent and your audience. The two are not alternatives. The best results come from combining strong keyword data with professional writing.