Semrush AI vs Ahrefs AI Features: What's Real vs Marketing

Both Semrush and Ahrefs have been racing to add AI features. But which tool actually delivers, and which is mostly marketing?

After using both tools extensively for AI visibility tracking and content optimization, here's what we've found.

Bottom Line: Semrush for Daily Tracking, Ahrefs for Brand Monitoring

The honest answer: it depends on what you need.

Choose Semrush if you want prompt-level daily tracking with actionable insights. Their AI SEO Toolkit treats LLM visibility like something you can actually track day-to-day—similar to traditional rank tracking but for AI answers.

Choose Ahrefs if you need brand-level monitoring at scale. Brand Radar tracks how often AI systems mention your brand across 150M+ prompts, giving you directional trends rather than granular data.

According to Backlinko's comprehensive analysis, "Semrush wins overall for 2025. It outperforms Ahrefs in keyword research, LLM visibility, technical SEO, PPC, and pricing."

That said, "winning" is context-dependent. If you're already deep in the Ahrefs ecosystem, their AI features integrate smoothly with your existing workflow.

Why This Comparison Matters Now

Traditional SEO traffic is declining. AI Overviews are eating clicks. The practitioners we talk to are feeling it:

"A year ago, GEO wasn't even remotely on our minds and now it seems there's a lot of my business friends in the same boat as me where organic traffic has just practically stopped." — SEO practitioner on Reddit

Both Semrush and Ahrefs have responded by building AI visibility features into their platforms. But their approaches differ significantly—and understanding those differences matters more than ever.

For context on what these tools are tracking, see our guide on AEO vs GEO: The Differences Explained.

How to Choose: The Real Decision Framework

Rather than declaring a universal "winner," here's how to decide based on your situation:

Choose Semrush If:

• You want daily prompt-level tracking (like rank tracking, but for AI)
• You need an integrated workflow where SEO + AI visibility live in one dashboard
• You're starting fresh and want one platform to handle everything
• You prioritize actionable insights over comprehensive brand data

Choose Ahrefs If:

• You're already using Ahrefs for backlink analysis and keyword research
• You need brand-level monitoring across multiple AI platforms
• You track multiple brands and want share-of-voice comparisons
• You prefer directional trends over daily fluctuations
• You value their backlink data (still industry-leading)

Consider Budget:

Ahrefs AI features require add-on purchases. Semrush integrates AI more natively into existing plans.

Feature Comparison Table

AI Visibility Tracking: Semrush vs Ahrefs

This is where the tools diverge most clearly.

Semrush AI SEO Toolkit

Semrush treats LLM visibility like traditional rank tracking—but for AI answers. Their AI SEO Toolkit includes:

• Visibility Overview: See where your brand appears across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews/AI Mode, and Perplexity
• Competitor Comparisons: Benchmark your AI visibility against competitors
• Prompt Tracking: Follow custom prompt sets with daily visibility updates

The key advantage: Semrush treats LLM visibility like something you can actually track day-to-day. If you want to monitor specific queries and see daily changes, this is the stronger option.

Ahrefs Brand Radar

Ahrefs approaches AI visibility from the brand/entity angle:

• Brand Mentions: Track how often AI systems mention or cite your brand
• Share of Voice: Compare your brand against competitors across AI platforms
• Topic Clustering: See which topics trigger AI mentions of your brand
• Scale: Built on 150M+ prompts across six AI indexes

Brand Radar works well for directional insights—understanding whether your brand is becoming more or less visible to AI over time—but it's less actionable for daily optimization.

Which Is Better?

For most SEO practitioners who want actionable daily insights, Semrush wins. For agencies tracking multiple brands or teams focused on brand-level trends, Ahrefs has merits.

The tools we compare here focus on tracking visibility. For context on the broader landscape, see our GEO Tools Compared guide.

AI Content Tools: ContentShake vs AI Content Helper

Both tools offer AI-powered content features, but the implementations differ.

Semrush ContentShake AI

ContentShake AI is Semrush's integrated content creation tool. It's built into the platform and designed for:

• Generating content ideas from keyword data
• Creating drafts optimized for target keywords
• Integrating with Semrush's SEO recommendations

The advantage: everything lives in one place. No add-on purchases, no context switching.

Ahrefs AI Content Helper

Ahrefs' approach is different. AI Content Helper is a paid add-on—part of the Content Kit that starts at $99/month.

What it offers:

• Topic and coverage analysis: AI grades your content against top-ranking pages
• Color-coded highlighting: See which topics are covered well vs. thin
• Content score: Measure how comprehensively you cover important ideas
• Refresh workflows: Identify and update underperforming content

The tool is positioned as a writing assistant, not a content generator. According to the Rankability review: "The workflow works best when you bring your own expertise and use AI to refine and expand, not to replace, your perspective."

Which Is Better?

If you want integrated content tools with no extra cost, Semrush. If you're already in Ahrefs and want sophisticated content analysis, AI Content Helper is solid—just factor in the $99/month add-on cost.

Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

Here's where Ahrefs' add-on model gets complex.

Ahrefs Pricing

Base plans:

• Lite: $129/month
• Standard: $249/month
• Advanced: $449/month
• Enterprise: $1,499/month

AI features require add-ons:

• Content Kit (includes AI Content Helper): $99/month
• Note: Content Kit can be purchased standalone, but most AI features require a base plan

Total for AI features: $228+/month (Lite + Content Kit)

Semrush Pricing

Semrush integrates AI features more natively. Their AI SEO Toolkit and ContentShake are included in higher-tier plans without separate add-on purchases.

The Semrush One bundle offers integrated SEO + AI search optimization—generally better value for teams wanting everything in one place.

The Real Comparison

If you primarily want AI visibility tracking and content tools:

• Semrush offers better value with integrated features
• Ahrefs costs more when you add up base plan + add-ons, but may be worthwhile if you rely heavily on their backlink data

The Honest Take: Limitations of Both

Neither tool is perfect. Here's what they don't do well:

Tools Track, They Don't Improve

Both Semrush and Ahrefs help you monitor AI visibility. Neither automatically improves it. Seeing that competitors get more AI citations than you doesn't tell you how to fix it.

AI Content Features Are Assistants, Not Replacements

As one practitioner noted on Twitter:

"Most AI SEO tools fail because they generate text. SEO isn't text. It's structure. My working framework: 1. Search intent first 2. Page architecture 3. Internal links 4. Then content"

Both tools' content features help with the "content" step. Neither replaces strategic thinking about intent, architecture, and links.

The Sameness Problem

The more everyone uses the same AI tools, the more similar the output becomes. Tools are helpful for efficiency, but differentiation comes from expertise and original perspective—not from using the same optimization features as competitors.

Want to see where you actually stand? Get an AI visibility audit to identify specific gaps.

FAQ

Which tool is better for AI visibility tracking?

Semrush is better for daily, actionable tracking of specific prompts. Ahrefs is better for brand-level trends and share-of-voice analysis across AI platforms. Most SEO practitioners prefer Semrush's approach; brand-focused teams may prefer Ahrefs.

Can I use Ahrefs AI features without the full subscription?

Yes—Content Kit can be purchased as a standalone add-on. However, most AI features work best when combined with Ahrefs' keyword and backlink data, which requires a base subscription.

Is Semrush or Ahrefs better value for AI features?

Semrush generally offers better value for AI features because they're integrated into base plans rather than requiring add-on purchases. Ahrefs' add-on model means paying $99+/month on top of your base subscription.

Do I need both tools?

Most teams don't need both. If you're choosing one:

• Pick Semrush for integrated AI + SEO workflow
• Pick Ahrefs if backlink analysis is critical and you're already invested in their ecosystem

How do these compare to standalone AI SEO tools?

Semrush and Ahrefs have the advantage of integrated data—their AI features pull from their keyword datasets, backlink indexes, and SERP data. Standalone AI SEO tools may be simpler but often lack this integration depth.

For a broader view of the AI visibility landscape, read our Definitive Guide to GEO.

What to Do Next

Three paths forward:

1. Get your AI visibility audit — See exactly where you're invisible to AI. Request your free audit →

2. Learn the methodology — Understand GEO fundamentals before choosing tools. Read the Definitive Guide to GEO →

3. Compare more tools — See how these fit into the broader landscape. GEO Tools Compared →