We’ve all been reading about how AI is going to replace many tech jobs, including, potentially, Search Engine Optimization. Of course, doing this test in 2025 doesn’t mean it won’t work in 2027. In this test, the SEO that AI conjured up was so far off base that it was unusable.
A peek into the specifics of using AI for SEO.
Here’s how we did our test.
Using a recent website we’ve built, we wanted to see how AI-generated Page Titles and Meta Descriptions compared to how it’s done by humans. (We were the humans in this scenario. Claude by Anthropic – our preferred AI – was the AI interface.)
The website we tested it on is The Cottages of Burnett Trail outside of Dallas, Texas. This is the homepage:
Using Claude by Anthropic (supposidly the AI company with ethics) we tested what it’s recommendations were for the Page Titles and Meta Descriptions for the website. We tested it before we placed our own SEO in the finished website to make sure the AI wasn’t copying our SEO to determine it’s recommendations.
Here’s a brief overview of what we found from Anthropic’s SEO suggestions:
- The AI wasn’t able to decipher what the keywords were in the text of each page.
- It’s suggestions for Page Titles and Meta Descriptions weren’t able to pick out, or incorporate, the key differentiators in the content for The Cottages of Burnett Trail.
- It missed several pages on the website, including the most important pages under the “Benefits” section,
- It came up with pages that weren’t even on the website, however…
- It was able to determine the max character count required for Page Titles and Meta Descriptions.
The most important pages on the website are the ones in the green dropdown menu, below…
… which the AI completely missed. One would think the AI would have combed those pages and provided the SEO for them. But it didn’t.
Oddly, the AI results magically added pages, which were:
- An accommodations page
- A Locations page, and
- A Booking page
… none of which were relevant to the website.
A look into the details of using AI for SEO.
Once the AI returned its Page Titles and Meta Descriptions, we compared them to what we wrote, and the differences were significant. And the AI options were so far off base as to be unusable.
Yes, the AI-generated SEO did use words from the pages, but didn’t include any of the keywords that were relevant to what The Cottages wanted to be found for on a Google Search. And those keywords were used often in the copy on every page.
Here are the keywords we used throughout the website, and none of them appeared in the AI results:
- 55+ Communities (the main keyword, which wasn’t used in any of the AI-generated SEO terms)
- 55+ Senior Community
- 55+ living
- 55+ living in Canton TX
- Senior living
- Senior Apartments
- Senior Community Living
- Independent Living
- Independent Living Communities
- Retirement Community
- Canton TX
- Active Adults, and
- Downsizing
Here’s the results.
To make it easier to see what happened, we annotated a couple of the AI’s results:
- The name of the community is “The Cottages of Burnett Trail,” not “Burnett Trail Retreat”
- They’re not “luxury cottages,” they’re apartment rentals
- They’re not in the heart of Burnett Trail, they’re close by
- Nowhere does it say the community is a 55+ apartment rental. Plus, “nature lovers” and “relaxation seekers” are irrelevant for this website,
- There is no “Accommodations” page
- It doesn’t say it’s a 55+ apartment rental community in Canton Texas, which is east of Dallas
- The community is not for families and small groups, but for 55+ adults (single or couples).
Other observations.
We didn’t want to bore you (see how bored you’d be in the images below) by comparing the differences of every page between our SEO and the AI-generated SEO.
With that in mind, we’re focusing on just a couple pages, because we basically found the same weirdness on every Page Title and Meta Description the AI generated for SEO.
Following are the Page Title and Meta Descriptions we wrote based on our keyword research, and immediately following, the same SEO items generated by AI.
Our SEO for the homepage:
- Page Title: Senior Living Canton Texas, Retirement Community Canton TX
- Meta Description: The Best in 55+ Community and Senior Living in Canton Texas, Retirement Community in Canton TX, Senior Apartments in Canton Texas
AI’s SEO for the homepage:
- Page Title: Luxury Cottages in Nature | Burnett Trail Retreat
- Meta Description: Escape to serene luxury cottages nestled in the heart of Burnett Trail. Experience comfortable accommodations, breathtaking landscapes, and tranquil getaways for nature lovers and relaxation seekers.
There was no use of the location (Canton TX), the phrase 55+ Communities, or anything with Senior Living.
Our SEO for “The Next Phase in Active, 55+ Living” page:
- Page Title: Active Adult, 55+ Living Canton TX, Senior Community Canton
- Meta Description: 55+ Living for Active Adults in Canton Texas. Our Senior Apartments in are ideal for the 55+ Active Adult who is downsizing their home.
AI’s SEO for “The Next Phase in Active, 55+ Living” page:
- It didn’t even recognize that page.
The AI for SEO results also added it’s own pages, one being a “Booking page.”
Even though a “Booking” page doesn’t exist in the website, this is what they came up with:
- Page Title: Book Your Cottage Retreat | Burnett Trail Reservations
- Meta Description: Easy online booking for your dream cottage getaway. Check availability, select your perfect accommodation, and secure your relaxing vacation at Burnett Trail.
The AI’s results assumed the website was for some kind of retreat, when it’s actually for a 55+ senior apartment rental community.
So AI for SEO isn’t ready for prime time just yet. If you want real humans working on your website’s SEO, we’d love to talk with you. Can AI “love” to talk with you? We don’t think so. 🙂