We sat down with Brick Digital’s Head of SEO, Adam Smith, to explore how artificial intelligence is changing the way online retailers approach search.
From category page ideation to content optimisation, Adam shares practical insights into where AI delivers the most value – and where traditional tools still hold the edge. In this Q&A, he explains how Brick Digital validates AI-driven keyword opportunities, closes content gaps, and keeps client strategies brand-aligned.
He also looks ahead at new, developing tools, and what generative AI means for the future balance between technical SEO, content and user experience.
From what you’ve seen over the lifespan of AI, where does it deliver the greatest value for ecommerce SEO, and why?
For us, the “magic” happens in two main areas.
Firstly, there’s category page ideation. Floating ideas around with AI has sparked fresh page concepts we might never have stumbled on ourselves. Often, we’ve discovered new “zero search volume” keywords through this approach. They might look like dead ends at first, but over time they can grow into high-traffic gems as both trends and search habits shift. Being there early means we can secure a position ahead of the curve in a developing market and user search behaviour.
Then there’s content optimisation, which has helped us improve on what’s already been written. AI has helped us identify exactly what audiences want to read. Through this, we’ve been able to strip away fluff, sharpen the message and make every heading, meta description and TL;DR work smarter (rather than harder) to achieve results. That’s translated into better click-through rates, more engagement and stronger rankings.
When it comes to the technical improvements, however, we stick with the tried and tested tools like Screaming Frog and SEMrush. They’re reliable, precise, and won’t hallucinate answers. When used carefully and in the correct way, AI can make for an invaluable creative partner, but it’s not the one you want running a site crawl.
How do you decide if AI-generated keyword suggestions are worth targeting?
We validate every AI-generated list by comparing the keyword structure of primary, secondary, and tertiary terms against search terms we know already perform well in terms of volume and commercial value. This, combined with our industry knowledge, tells us whether a keyword is worth pursuing.
Can you give an example of AI helping you spot and close a content gap, and the results that followed?
A client’s category page was ranked at #3 for its top keywords. Using AI alongside our own analysis, we compared the page with higher-ranking competitors in a kind of “spot the difference” exercise. AI flagged opportunities to align with audience expectations, including tone, sentiment, and key USPs.
We first implemented technical edits, which bumped the page to #2. Then, after refining the copy in line with AI’s suggestions (while ensuring technical accuracy), the page climbed to #1. The reward amounted to a 50%+ increase in organic traffic. That’s a solid win for both us and the client.
Do you see AI making a real difference in technical SEO tasks like audits or Core Web Vitals optimisation?
We’re starting to use AI to pull and organise reports from other tools, which has proven to remain an effective approach whilst saving on time. For actual technical tasks, such as audits, crawl budget analysis, schema fixes and the like, we still value the accuracy of specialist platforms and human expertise. Some opportunities are just too nuanced for an AI working from preset instructions to reliably catch, and for these, a human eye is still needed to spot opportunities which may be otherwise overlooked.
Which AI tools do you rely on most for ecommerce SEO, and what do they help you achieve?
As you might expect, ChatGPT is our daily go-to for research, ideation and content refinement. We’ve also found that Manus has proven great for repetitive manual tasks, like setting up and downloading reports. This combination of tools has streamlined our workflow while directly improving on-site SEO performance.
Are all-in-one SEO suites or specialised tools more effective for your work?
There’s no single tool that solves every SEO challenge. They each do a handful of things well and another handful of things not so well. Because of this, we use a range of platforms to cover technical analysis, rank tracking, and competitor research, choosing the most accurate for each function. If I had to name one all-rounder, however, I’d say that SEMrush is the closest, handling the essentials fairly effectively across the board.
How do you make sure AI-generated content stays high-quality, brand-aligned, and SEO-friendly?
We create Custom GPTs in ChatGPTfor each unique client, making sure they’re appropriately trained in areas like tone of voice and USPs. This way, any product information shared with us can be rewritten to be clear, concise and hit all the right points for the brand and audience. The rest is programmatic based on best practice SEO for rapidly scaling ecommerce sites, which we can revisit, research and refine based on results.
At the start of a campaign, we have clients review the first batch for feedback. From there, we follow programmatic SEO best practices and refine continuously based on results.
Is there an upcoming AI tool or feature you think could change the game for ecommerce SEO?
At the time of writing this, I’ve been keeping a close eye on Gemini AI. If it can create product page content at ChatGPT quality level directly within Google Sheets for bulk upload, it could dramatically improve programmatic content creation and CTR optimisation for large-scale ecommerce sites.
Looking ahead, how do you think generative AI will shape the balance between technical SEO, content, and UX for online retailers?
Right now, generative AI is starting to recommend results to users by filtering organic listings through trust signals. Over the next few years, I expect UX, content quality, reviews, and authoritative backlinks will weigh even more heavily in rankings.
That said, AI still needs a point of validation. So appearing on page one in SERPs will remain essential for discovery. I highly doubt that the fundamentals of SEO will disappear and I think they’ll still serve as the foundation of future SEO practices. They’ll just be approached through a more AI-conscious lens.
