Semrush SEO Writing Assistant alternatives are worth a look if you want AI search tracking, writing or publishing in the same tool, or don't want a Semrush plan just to score drafts. The Semrush SEO Writing Assistant grades drafts in Google Docs, WordPress and Word against the top 10 Google results. It allows 2 documents per account on the free plan and Semrush One Starter, unlimited documents from Pro+ at $299 a month, and it shows no AI answer data.
These 10 SEO Writing Assistant alternatives include live editors, graders, brief tools, budget writing platforms and an agentic AI search platform. Prices checked in November 2026.
How we judged these Writing Assistant alternatives
The Writing Assistant grades a draft against Google's top 10 inside Google Docs, WordPress or Word, so we compared each alternative on:
- What it scores against, and where your writers can use it
- Which AI engines it tracks, how often, and on which plan
- Whether it writes or publishes, and the real monthly cost next to a Semrush plan
The only Semrush product we've tested ourselves is the AI Visibility Toolkit. We haven't tested the Writing Assistant or any of the other tools here, so we describe them from pricing pages, help docs, changelogs, archived pricing pages and user reviews. Quotes are condensed from Trustpilot, TrustRadius, Capterra and WordPress.org and link to the original.
Orchly is our product. We held it to the same checks and say where it falls short. Checked November 2026.
Semrush SEO Writing Assistant alternatives compared
| Tool | Starting price | Optimizes against | Works in | AI engines on entry plan | Writes and publishes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Semrush SEO Writing Assistant | $139/month (SEO plan) | Top 10 Google results | Semrush, Google Docs, WordPress, Word | None in the editor; AI Visibility Toolkit from $99 | No; Content Toolkit is $60 extra | Semrush users |
 Orchly | $49/month | AI citations, Search Console and GA4 data | Orchly, publishes to your CMS | ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews included; Gemini, AI Mode, Claude, Grok and Copilot as add-ons; also tracks Meta AI and DeepSeek   +5 add-ons | Agents write, refresh and publish, approval optional | Agents that run the work |
 Surfer | $49/month billed yearly | Top pages, Content Score for Google and AI | Surfer, Google Docs, WordPress | None on Discovery; ChatGPT weekly from Standard ($99); Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini daily from ProFrom $99 | AI writer, exports | Live editing |
 Clearscope | $129/month | Term coverage, F to A++ grade | Google Docs, WordPress | ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude  | 20 AI drafts/month | Clean grading |
 Frase | $39/month billed yearly | SEO and GEO scores | Frase, publishes to your CMS | ChatGPT and Google AI daily on Starter; Perplexity from Professional; Claude and Gemini on Scale+3 on higher plans | Agent writes and publishes | Writing and publishing |
 NEURONwriter | $23/month | NLP terms from pages you pick | NEURONwriter; WordPress, Shopify from Gold | AI Overviews and AI Mode; ChatGPT and Perplexity with an add-on from $9+2 with add-on | AI drafts on credits | Cheap editor |
 PageOptimizer Pro | $40/month | Ranking-factor tests | Chrome extension in Google Docs, WordPress | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity; paid in creditsOn credits | AI Writer; no auto-publishing | Technical scoring |
 Content Harmony | $50/month | Search intent, SERP features | Content Harmony, Google Docs export | No AI tracking | Briefs only | Briefs |
 MarketMuse | Free; paid plans by demo | Topic model, site inventory | MarketMuse | No AI tracking | Briefs | Topic strategy |
 Dashword | $99/month | Term coverage | Dashword, API, MCP | No AI tracking | AI Writer words; no publishing | Scoring for your AI agent |
 Scalenut | $59/month | NLP and GEO scores | Scalenut; WordPress, Shopify from Plus | ChatGPT and AI Overviews, weekly; Perplexity on Professional ($199)+1 on Professional | Writes; publishes from Plus | Budget bundle |
1. Orchly: best Semrush Writing Assistant alternative for content AI engines cite
Orchly is an agentic AI search optimization platform. It tracks your brand every day in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, with Gemini, Google AI Mode, Claude, Grok and Microsoft Copilot as paid add-ons, and also tracks Meta AI and DeepSeek. It reads answers from each engine's real interface rather than an API, and its agents run on their own, on a schedule.
They analyze your AI visibility, your competitors, your SEO and your Search Console and GA4 data, decide what to write and which pages to refresh, and write and refresh them in your brand voice. They keep Brand Brain up to date, find the sites, people and Reddit threads worth reaching, run the outreach and draft the replies, and audit your site for technical SEO and AI search issues with the fixes ranked. You decide how each agent works, fully on its own or waiting for your approval.
The Writing Assistant scores the draft you wrote against Google's top 10. Orchly's agents decide what to write from what AI engines cite, then run the writing, outreach and site fixes end to end, from $49 a month.
Optimizing for AI citations
- Citations and Mention Gap. Which pages AI cites for your topics, and which cited sources mention competitors but not you.
- Query fan-outs. The searches AI runs before answering, so content covers what AI looks up.
Writing and publishing
- Content Agent. Runs on a schedule, picks what to write and refresh from Search Console decay and AI citation gaps, drafts in your brand voice, and publishes to WordPress, Webflow, Framer, Wix, Sanity or Ghost, directly or after your approval.
- Brand Brain. Your products, audience, voice and positioning, kept up to date automatically and used in every draft.
Results
- AI visibility and Search Console. Daily share of voice, sentiment and position in ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews, with Gemini, AI Mode, Claude, Grok and Copilot as add-ons (Orchly also tracks Meta AI and DeepSeek), next to clicks, conversions and revenue from Search Console and GA4.
- Site Health Agent. Audits your site for technical SEO and AI search issues and ranks the fixes by impact.
- Activation Agent. Finds the publishers, people and Reddit threads AI cites, runs the outreach from your own inbox and drafts the replies.
Where Orchly falls short
- No Google Docs or Word add-on. The Writing Assistant scores drafts inside your writers' editor. Orchly's agents write and refresh pages for you instead.
- No keyword database. Semrush's keyword and backlink data is far larger.
- Fewer engines in the base price. Gemini, AI Mode, Claude, Grok and Copilot are paid add-ons on every Orchly plan.
Orchly pricing
- Essential: $49/month for 25 prompts, 20 articles, 1 site and 1 user
- Pro: $125/month for 100 prompts, 50 articles, 3 sites and 5 users, with AI traffic analytics, custom agents and white-label reports
- Enterprise: custom, with a customer success manager
- There's a 7-day free trial, and yearly billing saves 25%.
See Orchly pricing or start a free trial.
2. Surfer: best live editor
Surfer is a content optimization platform built around a live Content Editor that scores drafts for Google and AI search as you type, with AI visibility tracking from its $99 Standard plan, which suits writers who want a fuller editor than the Writing Assistant without a Semrush subscription. We haven't used Surfer ourselves, so this section draws on its pricing page, changelog and Trustpilot reviews.
The editor covers what the Writing Assistant does and adds more around it. You get terms, headings, questions and one Content Score, which since May 2026 rates a draft for both Google and AI search. Auto-Optimize fills the gaps, inside Surfer, Google Docs or WordPress.
Surfer also tracks AI answers, which the Writing Assistant doesn't do. Standard checks 25 ChatGPT prompts once a week, and Pro checks 50 prompts a day on ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini.
The $49 Discovery plan has the editor but no AI tracking.
Key features
- Content Editor and Content Score. One score for Google and AI search since May 2026.
- AI Tracker. 25 weekly ChatGPT prompts on Standard, 50 daily prompts on five engines on Pro.
- AI Search Analytics. Tracking only, 50 daily prompts, for $82 a month billed yearly.
- Integrations. Google Docs, WordPress and Contentful.
- MCP server on Pro and higher since October 2026.
Where it falls short
- No Claude, Grok or Copilot tracking.
- No keyword database as deep as Semrush's.
- The 7-day Pro trial needs a card and turns into a paid plan unless you cancel.
User reviews
“I've used it for three years to build articles around new semantic keywords. Every article I publish goes through it first.” (Source)
“I bought AI credits I couldn't use within a month, and then I had to pay for a monthly plan to use them.” (Source)
“Searches don't load, and it writes unrelated content just to fit keywords in.” (Source)
Pricing
- Discovery: $49/month billed yearly ($59 monthly) for 1 seat, with no AI tracking
- Standard: $99/month billed yearly ($119 monthly) for 3 seats and 25 ChatGPT prompts checked weekly
- Pro: $182/month billed yearly ($219 monthly) for 5 seats and 50 daily prompts on five engines
- New accounts get a 7-day Pro trial with a card. AI Search Analytics alone is $82/month billed yearly ($95 monthly).
3. Clearscope: best clean grader
Clearscope is a content grading tool that scores drafts from F to A++ in Google Docs and WordPress, with unlimited users and tracked queries in AI answers, which suits editorial teams that like the Writing Assistant's Google Docs workflow but want clearer grades. We haven't used Clearscope ourselves, so this section draws on its pricing page, product pages and TrustRadius reviews.
The workflow is close to the Writing Assistant's. Writers see a list of terms and a letter grade in the Google Docs sidebar, and editors can grade live pages from Search Console.
Two things set it apart. Every plan includes unlimited users, where each extra Semrush user costs at least $45 a month, and Essentials tracks 50 queries in AI answers. Its product pages list ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, though the pricing page still names only the first two.
It has no readability, tone or plagiarism checks like the Writing Assistant's, and drafts are capped at 20 a month on Essentials.
Key features
- Content grades. F to A++ against the terms the top results cover.
- Google Docs add-on and WordPress plugin.
- Tracked queries. Brand mentions in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude over time.
- Content Inventory. Grades and Search Console clicks for your live pages.
- Unlimited users and projects on every plan.
Where it falls short
- 20 drafts a month on Essentials, with extra drafts sold in packs of 10.
- No Perplexity, AI Overviews or AI Mode tracking.
- No plagiarism or tone of voice checks.
User reviews
Clearscope has few public reviews, and all but one we could find already appear in our other comparisons.
“The WordPress plugin is easy to use, and the grade shows how a page is doing for its keywords. The keyword search tool has very limited data, though.” (Source)
Pricing
- Essentials: $129/month for 50 tracked queries, 50 pages, 20 Discoveries and 20 Drafts
- Business: $399/month for 300 tracked queries, 300 pages and 50 Discoveries
- Enterprise: custom, with SSO and custom credits
- There's a 14-day free trial and no contract.
4. Frase: best budget content loop
Frase is an agentic SEO and GEO content platform that researches, writes, scores, publishes and refreshes pages, with daily AI visibility tracking from $39 a month billed yearly, which suits small teams that want the writing and publishing the Writing Assistant leaves to you. We haven't used Frase ourselves, so this section draws on its pricing page, changelog and reviews.
Frase rebuilt its platform in early 2026. One agent now runs research, drafting, SEO and GEO scoring and publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Sanity or its own FraseCMS.
The Writing Assistant scores a draft you write. Frase scores it for Google and for AI search, and it can write the draft too, 10 articles a month on Starter.
Starter tracks 20 prompts a day on ChatGPT and Google AI. Perplexity needs Professional, and Claude and Gemini need the $239 Scale plan. Starter has 1 seat.
Key features
- Frase agent. Research, briefs, drafts and optimization from plain-language requests.
- SEO and GEO scores. Every draft is scored for Google and for AI search.
- Content Guard. Watches 10 to 300 live pages for decay and drafts fixes.
- AI Visibility. 20, 50 or 75 prompts tracked daily, rebuilt in October 2026.
- Site audit. 50 pages on Starter, 1,000 on Scale.
Where it falls short
- 1 seat on Starter and 3 on Professional.
- Claude and Gemini tracking only on Scale.
- No Google Docs or Word add-on like the Writing Assistant's.
User reviews
Every 2026 Frase review we could find on Trustpilot already appears in our other comparisons, so these two are from 2021 and describe the app long before the rebuild.
“A great app, but my emails about a billing issue got no response.” (Source)
“Frase lost documents I had paid to create. Support said they could be recovered, and they never were.” (Source)
Pricing
- Starter: $39/month billed yearly ($49 monthly) for 1 seat, 10 articles and 20 prompts on ChatGPT and Google AI
- Professional: $103/month billed yearly ($129 monthly) for 3 seats, 40 articles and 50 prompts, adding Perplexity
- Scale: $239/month billed yearly ($299 monthly) for 5 seats, 100 articles and 75 prompts, adding Claude and Gemini
- Every plan has a 7-day free trial with no card. Enterprise is custom.
5. NEURONwriter: best cheap editor
NEURONwriter is a low-cost NLP content editor that scores drafts against the competitor pages you pick, from $23 a month, with a small AI visibility tracker on every plan, which suits freelancers and bloggers who don't want to pay for Semrush just to score drafts. We haven't used NEURONwriter ourselves, so this section is based on its pricing page, update board and Trustpilot reviews.
It works a lot like the Writing Assistant. You enter a keyword, and the editor suggests terms, headings and questions with a target score. The difference is that you choose which top pages it learns from.
Bronze covers 25 documents a month for $23. Semrush One Starter, at $199, allows 2 Writing Assistant documents per account.
Every plan monitors 5 to 20 questions in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. ChatGPT and Perplexity cost extra, from $9 a month.
Key features
- NLP content editor. Terms, headings and questions from the competitor pages you choose.
- AI Visibility Standard. 5 to 20 questions a month in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- AI Monitoring add-on. Adds ChatGPT and Perplexity, from $9 a month.
- Content Designer and AI writing. Drafts and rewrites on AI credits.
- Integrations, API and MCP from Gold, with unlimited team members.
Where it falls short
- No Claude or Gemini tracking, and ChatGPT is a paid add-on.
- Search Console, WordPress and the MCP server only from Gold ($69).
- No agent that writes, publishes or refreshes pages for you.
User reviews
Every negative NEURONwriter review we found on Trustpilot already appears in our other comparisons.
“A client switched to it from a pricier tool, and the articles we optimized with it reached Google's first page. So when I shopped for an optimizer in 2024, I picked it.” (Source)
“I wanted semantic keywords and Search Console integration. The editing suggestions are very good.” (Source)
“A valuable addition to an SEO toolkit, but how much it helps depends on your wider strategy.” (Source)
Pricing
- Bronze: $23/month for 2 projects, 25 documents and 5 AI-monitored questions
- Silver: $45/month for 5 projects, 50 documents and 7 questions
- Gold: $69/month for 10 projects, 75 documents, 10 questions, unlimited team members and integrations
- Yearly billing gives 2 months free. The 7-day trial runs on Gold, and first plans can be refunded within 30 days.
6. PageOptimizer Pro: best technical scoring
PageOptimizer Pro (POP) is an on-page SEO tool built on ranking-factor tests that tells you where to place keywords, variations and entities, with an AI Visibility Tracker and the POP Pilot agent on every plan, which suits technical SEOs who find the Writing Assistant's recommendations too broad. We haven't used POP ourselves, so this section draws on its pricing page, product pages and archived pricing pages.
POP's reports go well past a single score. You get keyword counts by page section, word count targets, E-E-A-T signals, Google NLP entities and schema suggestions. POP says these come from its own ranking tests, not correlation analysis.
The AI Visibility Tracker covers ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity. Each run costs 3 credits plus 1 per question, refreshed once, weekly or monthly.
Basic includes 20 credits a month, so tracking eats into them quickly. Unlimited, at $72 a month, is where reports stop counting against you.
Key features
- POP Rank Engine reports. Exact keyword, variation and entity placement for each page.
- AI Visibility Tracker. Six AI surfaces, paid in credits.
- POP Pilot. An AI agent, launched August 2026, that runs reports, schema and AI Writer drafts inside POP, with you approving each credit spend.
- Watchdog. Monitors 10, 200 or 500 pages for changes and drops.
- Chrome extension for editing in Google Docs, WordPress and other editors.
Where it falls short
- Credits run out fast on Basic.
- Nothing publishes to your site automatically.
- A denser interface than the Writing Assistant's sidebar.
User reviews
We've already quoted every PageOptimizer Pro review we could find on Capterra and Trustpilot in other comparisons, so we're not repeating them here.
Pricing
- Basic: $40/month for 20 credits and 10 Watchdog pages
- Unlimited: $72/month, or $62 billed yearly, for unlimited POP reports and 50 credits
- Teams: $143/month, or $119 billed yearly, for 120 credits, 5 sub-accounts and white-label PDFs
- Every plan has a 7-day refund guarantee, and extra credits start at $15 for 10.
7. Content Harmony: best for briefs
Content Harmony is a content brief tool priced by the number of pages you plan, from $50 a month for 5 content workflows with unlimited users, which suits agencies that brief outside writers before anything gets scored. We haven't used Content Harmony ourselves, so this section is based on its pricing page and product updates.
Each workflow bundles a keyword report, a content brief and a content grader for one page. The Writing Assistant starts when the draft exists. Content Harmony does most of its work before that, on search intent, SERP features and what the brief should cover.
Briefs export to Google Docs, credits stay valid for 90 days, and every plan has unlimited users. Its keyword reports have shown the AI Overviews for each search since March 2025.
It does one job. There's no AI visibility tracking, no AI writer and no publishing, and its updates page hasn't had a new post since December 2025.
Key features
- Content workflows. Keyword report, brief and grader for each page.
- Search intent analysis. SERP features and AI Overviews in each keyword report.
- AI Suggested Headings. Outline ideas you can accept into the brief.
- Unlimited users and projects on every plan.
- Rollover credits. Monthly credits stay valid for 90 days.
Where it falls short
- No AI visibility tracking.
- No AI writer, Google Docs add-on or CMS publishing.
- Keyword data covers 9 countries, with non-English markets listed as coming soon.
User reviews
Content Harmony has few public reviews, and we've already quoted all of them in other comparisons, so there are none here.
Pricing
- Standard 5: $50/month (about $42 billed yearly) for 5 content workflows
- Standard 12: $99/month for 12 workflows
- Standard 25: $199/month for 25 workflows, with larger plans up to 150 and Enterprise from $1,000
- The trial is $10 for 10 workflows, with no time limit and no automatic billing.
8. MarketMuse: best for topic strategy
MarketMuse is a content strategy platform that inventories your whole site and scores how hard each topic is for you in particular, which suits strategists who want to plan topics across a site rather than score one draft at a time. We haven't used MarketMuse ourselves, so this section is based on its pricing page and TrustRadius reviews.
The Writing Assistant works one document at a time. MarketMuse starts from your site inventory and shows Personalized Difficulty and Topic Authority, so you can see which topics you can realistically win before you brief anything.
It doesn't track AI answers, and its plans list briefs, inventory and strategy documents only.
Paid plans need a demo, with no prices on the page. The free plan gives 1 user 10 queries a month.
Key features
- Site inventory. Pages, topics and page and topic pairs, updated automatically.
- Personalized Difficulty and Topic Authority. How hard each topic is for your site.
- Content Briefs. Up to nine brief types on Strategy.
- Content Score. A target score from MarketMuse's topic model.
- Strategy documents. 1, 3 or 5 a month, depending on plan.
Where it falls short
- No AI visibility tracking.
- No published prices for paid plans.
- 1 to 5 users by plan.
User reviews
“It shows which important words and phrases a draft is missing compared with similar content. The interface could surface features more easily.” (Source)
“It handles large amounts of data well, but customer service and the search filters fall short.” (Source)
“A lifesaver for planning and scoring my articles, though the price should be more reasonable.” (Source)
Pricing
- Free: 1 user and 10 queries a month
- Optimize: demo only, 1 user, 100 tracked topics and 5 briefs a month
- Research: demo only, 3 users, 1,000 tracked topics and 10 briefs a month
- Strategy: demo only, 5 users, 10,000 tracked topics and 20 briefs a month
9. Dashword: best lightweight editor
Dashword is a content brief and scoring tool that now runs mostly through its API and a remote MCP server, with free, unlimited draft scoring, which suits teams that want the Writing Assistant's kind of score inside their own AI agent. We haven't used Dashword ourselves, so this section is based on its pricing page, MCP docs and archived pricing pages.
Between July and October 2026, Dashword opened its API to every plan, including free accounts, launched an MCP server for Claude, Cursor and other AI clients, and made scoring free. Only new content reports use credits.
Startup costs $99 a month for 30 reports and 5 seats, which is less than Semrush's $139 SEO plan. It has no keyword database, no AI search tracking, no publishing and no site audit.
Key features
- Content reports and briefs. Research from the top Google results for each keyword.
- Free, unlimited scoring in the app, API and MCP server.
- Remote MCP server. Four tools, 300 requests an hour per API key.
- AI Writer. 100,000 words a month on Startup.
- API on every plan, including free accounts.
Where it falls short
- No AI visibility tracking.
- No publishing, site audit or Google Docs add-on.
- Nothing between $99 Startup and $349 Business.
User reviews
We couldn't find Dashword reviews on Trustpilot, Product Hunt or Capterra. The only one we found is a one-line review of its Google Docs add-on from 2022, already quoted in another comparison.
Pricing
- Free: your first content report, plus free, unlimited scoring through the app, API and MCP
- Startup: $99/month for 30 content reports, 5 seats and 100,000 AI Writer words
- Business: from $349/month for 100 reports, 10 seats, bulk reports and SSO
- Yearly billing saves 20% if you ask Dashword to set it up. Prices haven't changed since at least October 2025.
10. Scalenut: best budget bundle
Scalenut is a budget content platform that bundles GEO article writing, an optimizer, Reddit monitoring and weekly AI visibility tracking from $59 a month, which suits small teams that want articles written and published, not just scored. We haven't used Scalenut ourselves, so this section is based on its pricing page, archived pricing pages, terms and reviews.
Starter costs $80 less than Semrush's SEO plan and includes 5 GEO articles, 5 optimizations and 10 tracked prompts on ChatGPT and AI Overviews. Plus, at $89, adds 30 articles, 4 team members and auto-publishing to WordPress and Shopify.
The tracking refreshes weekly on every plan, and Perplexity needs the $199 Professional plan.
The yearly Black Friday early access deal brings Starter down to $21 a month, but it's annual only and non-refundable. Scalenut has a 3.2 TrustScore on Trustpilot, and its one-star reviews are mostly about billing, cancelling and support.
Key features
- GEO articles. 5, 30 or 75 a month, with auto-publishing from Plus.
- AI visibility tracking. 10, 25 or 100 prompts, refreshed weekly.
- Content optimizer. NLP and GEO scoring for new and existing pages.
- GEO content audit. 200 pages on Plus, 1,000 on Professional.
- Social Upreach. Reddit keywords, subreddits and competitors to watch, from Plus.
Where it falls short
- AI tracking refreshes weekly on every plan.
- No Claude or Gemini, and Perplexity only on Professional.
- No refunds after the 7-day trial, and the yearly deal is non-refundable.
User reviews
Every negative Scalenut review we could find is already quoted in our other comparisons, so these two are positive, and both date from 2022, when Scalenut was mainly an AI writer.
“I moved over from Jasper. Scalenut was cheaper, its SEO feature checks drafts against real search results, and the interface only felt daunting at first.” (Source)
“Compared with many similar tools, its content made more sense most of the time.” (Source)
Pricing
- Starter: $59/month for 10 weekly prompts on ChatGPT and AI Overviews, 5 GEO articles and 1 workspace
- Plus: $89/month for 25 weekly prompts, 30 articles, 4 team members and auto-publishing
- Professional: $199/month for 100 weekly prompts, adding Perplexity, with 75 articles
- The yearly deal takes 65% off ($21, $31 or $70 a month) and is non-refundable. There's a 7-day free trial with no card.
What changed with the Semrush SEO Writing Assistant in 2026
The Writing Assistant itself has barely changed. We found no new features announced for it in 2026, and its Google Docs listing was last updated in November 2023. What changed is the Semrush around it.
- April 28, 2026: Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush, which now calls itself "an Adobe company".
- Plans: Semrush's pricing page now lists a $139 SEO plan and the Semrush One plans (Starter $199, Pro+ $299 and Advanced). The old Pro, Guru and Business names are gone from the pricing page but still used in the help center.
- Which plan gets what: Semrush's help center says Semrush One Starter carries the old Pro limits, Pro+ the Guru limits and Advanced the Business limits. For the Writing Assistant that means 2 documents per account on Starter and unlimited documents from Pro+.
- Content Toolkit: the separate $60-a-month toolkit, formerly ContentShake, now includes an AI search optimization check for drafts, which the Writing Assistant doesn't have.
- AI tracking: still a separate purchase. The AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 a month per domain, or comes with Semrush One from $199.
- Plugins: the WordPress plugin (version 1.2.1) was last updated about 10 months ago and has 9,000+ active installs and a 2.8 out of 5 rating. The Google Docs add-on has 352,000+ installs and 4.2 stars from 501 ratings.
What Writing Assistant users say
Every positive WordPress.org review of the plugin already appears in our other comparisons. These are the last two we hadn't quoted, both older and both negative, so read them next to the Google Docs add-on's 4.2-star average.
“It connected to my content template, but after adding a few thousand words I saw no change at all, and it didn't sit in the sidebar like the demo.” (Source)
“After I started using this plugin, my site stopped showing up in Google search.” (Source)
Where the Writing Assistant fits in Semrush today
Semrush now sells the Writing Assistant as part of its SEO toolkit, not as its own product. Here's where it sits, from the pricing page and help center in November 2026.
- Free plan: up to 2 Writing Assistant documents per account, with limited data elsewhere.
- SEO plan: $139/month, or $117.33 billed yearly, for 5 websites and 500 tracked keywords. Semrush doesn't spell out the Writing Assistant limit for this plan; its report limits match the old Pro tier, which gets 2 documents.
- Semrush One Starter: $199/month, or $165.17 billed yearly, with 50 daily AI prompts and Pro-level SEO limits, so 2 documents, 3 plagiarism checks in total and 500 Smart Writer Words for life.
- Semrush One Pro+: $299/month, or $248.17 billed yearly, with 100 daily AI prompts and Guru-level limits: unlimited documents, 5 plagiarism checks and 1,000 Smart Writer Words a month.
- Semrush One Advanced: custom pricing with Business-level limits: unlimited documents, 10 plagiarism checks and 2,000 Smart Writer Words a month.
- Extras: on Guru and Business levels, 10 more plagiarism checks cost $5/month and 10,000 Smart Writer Words cost $20/month. Each extra user starts at $45/month.
- Content Toolkit: $60/month billed yearly for AI articles, 5 SEO content boosts a month and AI and SEO content optimization, sold separately.
- AI Visibility Toolkit: $99/month per domain, billed yearly, for 25 prompts.
We've used the AI Visibility Toolkit, though not the Writing Assistant. Prompt Research was the part we kept going back to, but 25 prompts per domain for $99 a month felt tight, and none of that data shows up inside the Writing Assistant.
When to stay with the Writing Assistant
- You already pay for Semrush One Pro+ or higher, so documents are unlimited at no extra cost.
- Your writers work in Google Docs or Word and want readability, tone and plagiarism checks in the sidebar.
- You want Semrush's keyword data behind every draft.
- You don't need AI search tracking, writing or publishing from the same tool.
Which Writing Assistant alternative should you choose?
- You want agents that track AI answers and run the content, outreach and site fixes end to end: Orchly.
- You want a live editor with AI tracking: Surfer.
- You want clean grading with unlimited users: Clearscope.
- You want writing, publishing and daily tracking in one plan: Frase.
- You want the cheapest NLP editor: NEURONwriter.
- You want page-level technical detail: PageOptimizer Pro.
- You brief outside writers: Content Harmony.
- You want site-wide topic strategy: MarketMuse.
- You want scoring inside your own AI agent: Dashword.
- You want articles written and published on a small budget: Scalenut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Growth and marketing professional with experience in SEO, content strategy, and organic growth. Started my career as a freelance marketer helping businesses improve their online presence through SEO and content marketing. Currently Head of Growth at Orchly.ai, focusing on helping brands improve their visibility across search engines and AI-driven discovery platforms.
Shivam Kumar is the founder of Orchly.ai, a platform that helps brands understand and improve their visibility across search engines and AI-powered discovery platforms. He has over a decade of experience in SEO, product marketing, and growth, and writes about AI search, generative engine optimization (GEO), and organic growth strategies.
