I tested dozens of options to find the 5 best free SEO AI tools in 2026

New AI tools for SEO are released frequently, each promising significant ranking improvements. Many offer limited features in their free versions, making it challenging to find tools that provide substantial value without a paid subscription.

This article highlights five free SEO AI tools that can assist with research, content creation, and tracking visibility in AI-powered search. One of the tools included is the eesel AI blog writer, which is available to try for free.

What are SEO AI tools?

At their core, they use artificial intelligence to help with all the little jobs involved in search engine optimization. Traditional SEO software required users to perform tasks manually with static data. AI tools are different; they use machine learning to spot trends, understand user intent, and automate some of the more tedious work.

It's not just about producing articles faster. A good AI tool can help you group keywords, analyze competitors, build topical authority with your content, and even track your performance in new formats like Google's AI Overviews. It's less of a content machine and more of an assistant that helps you make better decisions to improve visibility in search results.

How we selected the tools for this list

The tools on this list were selected based on specific criteria to ensure they provide practical value.

Here’s our checklist:

• Actually free to use: The tool needed to offer something substantial for free, not just a limited trial. We looked for forever-free plans or generous trials that let you see what the tool can really do.

• Helps your SEO in a real way: We picked tools that solve a specific SEO challenge, like creating optimized content, getting pages indexed faster, or tracking how you show up in new AI search results.

• Simple to get started: We chose tools with straightforward designs that you can start using right away to make your SEO work easier.

• Does something unique: Each tool on this list offers a distinct feature or approach to AI for SEO.

Quick comparison of free SEO AI tools

A closer look at five free SEO AI tools

Here's a deeper dive into what makes each of these tools stand out.

1. eesel AI blog writer

Many AI writers generate a first draft, leaving the user to handle research, image sourcing, and SEO optimization. The eesel AI blog writer is designed to manage the entire workflow. You provide a keyword, and it returns a complete, media-rich, and SEO-optimized blog post. It also optimizes for AI Answer Engines (AEO), helping you appear in places like Google AI Overviews and Perplexity.

What makes it different is that it's context-aware. If you ask for a comparison post, it knows to pull pricing and feature data. If you want a review, it looks for technical specs. It automatically embeds relevant YouTube videos and finds real Reddit quotes to make the content feel authentic. You can try the tool for free.

AI works best when used for research, outlining, and speeding up drafts while the real ranking power still comes from expertise, strategy, and links.

Reddit

• Pros: It creates content that sounds human and includes assets like images, charts, and embeds, which saves manual work. It also weaves in your product and internal links naturally based on your website's content.

• Cons: The free trial is meant to demonstrate its capabilities by generating one full blog post. For ongoing, large-scale content creation, a paid plan is required.

Pricing: You can generate your first blog post for free. After that, the Early Bird plan starts at $99/mo for 50 blog generations.

2. Ahrefs AI Content Helper

For those already using Ahrefs, the AI Content Helper is a useful addition. It focuses on topical coverage rather than keyword density. The tool analyzes the top-ranking pages for your keyword and shows you the key topics they cover, helping you spot content gaps in your article.

Instead of suggesting more keywords, it helps you build a comprehensive article that answers user questions. You can use its AI chat to get feedback on your draft, asking it to point out weak spots or suggest improvements. It also has handy meta title and description generators to handle important on-page SEO tasks.

Ahrefs - the best for backlinks and deep competitive research. Super helpful when you want to scale your SEO efforts and understand what drives your competitors’ visibility.

Reddit

• Pros: Its integration with Ahrefs' SERP and keyword data means its suggestions are based on what's already ranking. It’s effective for refining human-written content to make it more competitive and works in over 173 languages.

• Cons: This is not a standalone free tool. It’s part of the Content Kit, a paid add-on that requires an active Ahrefs subscription. It helps with content optimization but doesn't create a full, publish-ready post with all assets.

Pricing: Included in the Content Kit add-on (from $99/mo), which is available for all new Ahrefs paid plans (starting at $129/mo).

3. SE Ranking

As AI-generated answers appear in search results, tracking traditional organic rankings alone may not be sufficient. SE Ranking's AI Search Visibility tools are designed for this new environment. It helps you see which of your keywords trigger an AI Overview and whether your site gets cited as a source on platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. This can help clarify a site's visibility in current search results.

The tool lets you compare your organic rankings side-by-side with your presence in AI results, giving you a clear view of where you're succeeding and where AI-generated results are impacting your visibility. You can also see which competitors are featured by the AI, which provides intel on their content strategies.

SE Ranking - solid mix of technical audit and AI tracking at a much friendlier price

Reddit

• Pros: Its specific focus on AI search visibility is important as the SEO landscape changes. The 14-day free trial does not require a credit card, so you have time to gather useful data.

• Cons: The AI tracking features are part of a larger SEO platform. Once the trial is over, they're only available in the Pro and Business plans. It’s a tool for monitoring, not for creating or optimizing content.

Pricing: Available in the Pro plan (starting at $95.20/month with annual billing) and up. A 14-day free trial is available.

4. Indexly

An article cannot generate traffic if it is not indexed by Google. For new sites or pages that Google is slow to crawl, Indexly offers a solution. It’s an indexing tool that connects to your Google Search Console account, finds unindexed pages in your sitemap, and automatically submits them to search engines.

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