Marketing & Social Media
Marketing & Social Media
Free Semrush AI Prompts for Content Gap Analysis: Ideas That Actually Work
Prompts for turning exported keyword and competitor data into a clear content gap analysis using an AI assistant, with a workflow and honest limits.
At a glance
- 12 prompts
- 7 min read
Works best in
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini
Google AI Mode
Perplexity
Jump to a prompt 12
- Clean and cluster keywords
- Define relevance filters
- Missing topics versus weak coverage
- Basic versus improved
- Basic versus improved
- Search intent mapping
- Competitor angle comparison
- Simple prioritisation matrix
- Quick wins versus long-term plays
- Content brief
- Topic cluster map
- Review and reality check
Semrush AI prompts for content gap analysis are most useful when you pair real exported data with a clear question. This guide shows how to take keyword and competitor data from an SEO platform such as Semrush, feed it into an AI assistant (or the tool's own AI features, if your plan includes them), and get prioritised content ideas rather than generic lists. It includes a prompt formula, eleven prompts and a full workflow, plus honest limits on what AI can and cannot infer.
What a content gap analysis is, and where AI helps
A content gap analysis compares what your site covers with what competitors or searchers cover, to find topics you are missing or covering weakly. SEO platforms like Semrush generally let you compare domains and export keyword and competitor data. Exact tool names, metrics and plan limits change, so check the tool's current features and licence terms.
AI helps with the thinking steps after the data export:
- Grouping hundreds of keywords into topics
- Spotting search intent patterns
- Prioritising with a scoring method you define
- Drafting briefs and outlines
AI does not have your data unless you paste it in. It cannot see live rankings, and it can invent numbers if you let it. Always tell it to use only the data provided, and verify important figures in the original tool.
A prompt formula for content gap work
| Part | What to include | |—|—| | Role | "Act as an SEO content strategist" | | Data | Pasted rows or a summary of an export, with column names | | Business context | Audience, offer, goals, site strengths | | Task | Group, score, compare, brief | | Method | Your scoring rules and thresholds | | Output | Table, ranked list, brief | | Guardrails | "Use only the data provided; say when data is missing" |
Replace [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details. Paste data as plain text or CSV rows, and keep it small enough to fit in the assistant's context.
Prompts to prepare and organise the data
Prompt 1: Clean and cluster keywords
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Act as an SEO analyst. Below is an export of keywords where competitors rank and my site does not. Columns: [LIST COLUMN NAMES, e.g. keyword, volume, difficulty, competitor URL]. Group the keywords into topic clusters of related search intent, name each cluster in under five words, list the keywords in it and note the dominant intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational). Use only the data provided and flag any rows that look like duplicates or irrelevant terms. Data: [PASTE DATA]Prompt 2: Define relevance filters
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
My business is [BUSINESS DESCRIPTION] serving [AUDIENCE]. My main offer is [OFFER]. Based on that, write a short relevance checklist of five yes/no questions I can use to decide whether a keyword topic is worth covering. Then apply it to these clusters and mark each as keep, maybe or drop, with a one-line reason. Clusters: [PASTE CLUSTERS]Prompts to analyse the gap
Prompt 3: Missing topics versus weak coverage
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Compare my existing content list with the competitor topics. My pages: [PASTE LIST OF TITLES AND URLS]. Competitor topics: [PASTE CLUSTERS]. Identify three groups: topics I have no page for, topics where I have a page but it seems narrower than the cluster suggests, and topics where I probably already cover the need. Explain each judgement in one sentence and say what extra information I would need to confirm it.AI can only guess from titles, so use this as a prompt for manual review.
Prompt 4: Basic versus improved
Basic:
What content gaps do I have compared with my competitors?Improved:
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Act as an SEO content strategist for [SITE TYPE] targeting [AUDIENCE]. I will paste keyword gap data exported from an SEO tool: [PASTE ROWS WITH COLUMNS]. Find the top 10 topic opportunities. Score each from 1 to 5 on relevance to [OFFER], estimated difficulty using the difficulty column only, and intent match. Output a table with: topic, example keywords, intent, score breakdown, total and a one-line recommendation. Use only the data provided. If something cannot be judged from the data, write "unknown".The improved prompt supplies the data, the scoring and the output format, and forbids invention.
Prompt 5: Search intent mapping
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
For each of these keyword clusters, describe what a searcher most likely wants, what format of content would satisfy them (guide, comparison, template, tool page, checklist), and the minimum sections a page needs to compete. Clearly mark these as hypotheses I should check by reviewing the actual search results. Clusters: [PASTE CLUSTERS]Prompt 6: Competitor angle comparison
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Here are summaries of three competitor pages ranking for [KEYWORD]: [PASTE SUMMARIES OR HEADINGS YOU COPIED]. Compare their angles, depth, formats and audiences. List what all three cover, what only one covers, and what none cover. Suggest two angles my page could take that add something useful rather than repeating them. Do not claim anything about their rankings or traffic.Prompts to prioritise
Prompt 7: Simple prioritisation matrix
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Create a prioritisation table for these topic opportunities using a transparent method: impact (1 to 5, based on relevance and volume in the data), effort (1 to 5, based on the content depth needed) and fit with my expertise (1 to 5). Calculate (impact + fit) minus effort. Show the formula, show each score and sort descending. State that scores are my estimates to adjust. Opportunities: [PASTE LIST]Prompt 8: Quick wins versus long-term plays
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
From this list of topics, label each as a quick win (low difficulty and clear intent), a mid-term build (needs a strong guide or cluster) or a long-term play (competitive, needs authority). Explain the logic in one sentence for each, and suggest a 90 day publishing order that mixes all three. Topics: [PASTE TOPICS WITH DIFFICULTY FIGURES FROM DATA]Prompts to plan the content
Prompt 9: Content brief
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Write a content brief for a page targeting [PRIMARY KEYWORD] and related terms [LIST]. Include: working title options, search intent, target reader, a suggested outline with H2 and H3 headings, questions to answer, ideas for original value (examples, templates, data I can add), internal link opportunities from this list [PASTE MY URLS], and facts that must be verified. Avoid making ranking promises.Prompt 10: Topic cluster map
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Build a topic cluster plan around the pillar topic [PILLAR]. Using these keyword groups [PASTE GROUPS], propose one pillar page and up to [NUMBER] supporting pages, show how they link to each other, and give each a working title and primary keyword. Keep each page's purpose distinct to avoid cannibalising my own pages.For more ideas to feed your plan, see our AI prompts for competitor analysis and SEO audit prompts.
Prompt 11: Review and reality check
Fill in the blanks below, or click a highlighted word in the prompt.
Act as a sceptical reviewer. Check my content gap plan: [PASTE PLAN]. List assumptions that are not supported by the data, numbers that appear to come from nowhere, topics that may overlap with existing pages, and anything I should confirm in the original SEO tool or in the live search results. Do not add new data.A multi-step workflow
- Export keyword gap and competitor data from your SEO tool.
- Run Prompt 1 to cluster, then Prompt 2 to filter.
- Run Prompt 3 against your real page list, then Prompts 4 to 6 for analysis.
- Prioritise with Prompts 7 and 8.
- Produce briefs (Prompt 9) and a cluster map (Prompt 10).
- Run Prompt 11 and verify figures in the original tool before committing resources.
Tips and common mistakes
- Paste real data, and say "use only the data provided".
- Do not ask an AI for search volumes or rankings it cannot see.
- Work in batches if the export is large.
- Check intent by looking at actual search results.
- Do not copy competitor content; use gaps to add genuine value.
- Keep your scoring rules consistent so results can be compared over time.
Frequently asked questions
Does Semrush have built-in AI for content gaps?
Features change, and they differ by plan. Check the tool's current features. The prompts here work with any AI assistant using exported data.
Can AI find content gaps without any data?
It can suggest common subtopics, but it cannot know what competitors rank for or what your audience searches. Use data for decisions.
How often should I run a content gap analysis?
Many teams revisit it quarterly or when entering a new topic area. Choose a rhythm you can maintain.
How much data can I paste?
Limits vary by assistant. Start with a few hundred rows, summarise or batch when needed.
Conclusion
AI turns exported SEO data into usable structure, but the data, the strategy and the final checks stay with you. Use clustering, scoring and briefs to move from raw keywords to a content plan, and keep verifying numbers at the source.