AI in Digital Marketing: How We Combine AI with SEO Expertise
The Early Days: Testing and Sampling
When artificial intelligence tools first began gaining attention in the marketing industry, Lykke Digital approached them with a mix of curiosity and caution. The rise of ChatGPT and similar platforms promised faster drafting and new ways to explore ideas, but the question was whether these tools could really support the quality standards expected from an SEO agency.
Our first experiments were small-scale and deliberate. Rather than applying AI across client work straight away, we tested it on background tasks such as headline brainstorming, phrasing variations, and simple rewrites. These early trials helped us see where AI could provide value without putting live client projects at risk.
There were immediate benefits. AI delivered fresh perspectives on language and gave us multiple angles in seconds, which sped up ideation. It also made repetitive tasks like reformatting or summarising quicker, allowing our SEO specialists to focus more time on strategy and research.
But the limitations were clear too. AI often struggled with nuance, context, and accuracy. Drafts could sound polished but miss the target on brand tone or misrepresent technical details. For an agency that places E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) at the heart of all content, this confirmed that human oversight was essential.
These early days laid the groundwork for how we would later structure our workflow. By testing cautiously, we found the balance between efficiency and responsibility, ensuring that any role AI played would always support – rather than replace – human SEO expertise.
Developing a Workflow
After our initial trials, the next step was to create a structured process for using AI within client projects. The goal was not to hand over creative responsibility, but to define clear roles where AI could speed things up without compromising quality.
We started by setting boundaries. AI was useful for rough drafts, headline options, outlines and quick reframes. The critical work of keyword research, search intent alignment, and E-E-A-T compliance stayed with our SEO specialists. That division meant gains never came at the cost of trust or accuracy.
Natural language was another focus area. Tools are trained to sound more conversational, a trend highlighted in BBC reporting on the people making AI sound more human. Yet even when AI gets close to the right tone, it takes an experienced writer to adapt phrasing for a brand and audience, and ensure the copy reflects sector nuances and compliance needs.
To make this repeatable at scale, we built guardrails. Every assignment begins with a brief capturing objectives, audience, and keywords. We maintain a prompt library, a red flag checklist for facts and claims, and a review pass for internal links and on-page optimisation. By letting AI handle repetitive drafting, our team can invest more time in competitor analysis, advanced keyword mapping, and link strategy.
A simple example shows the split. For a blog outline, AI proposes a structure and three alternative H2 sets. Our specialist selects the best fit, adds target queries, sets internal link targets, and rewrites any generic phrasing. The draft then passes through fact checks, tone alignment, and an on-page optimisation pass that includes meta, headings, and schema. If evidence or sources are needed, they are added here.
When clients ask how this looks in practice, we point them to our SEO services, which set out how technical expertise and strategic thinking guide every project. AI is simply one more tool in the kit – useful, but never the whole solution.
Full Integration with Manual Oversight
As confidence grew, AI moved from side experiment to everyday tool, always under human direction. This stage marked true integration – AI supports delivery while specialists remain accountable.
Every project still begins with a tight brief. Our SEO team defines goals, maps keywords and search intent, and sets precise prompts. Once AI produces an initial draft, we run checks for accuracy, brand tone, and alignment with user needs. The final pass is optimisation – effective keyword placement, natural linking, and an authoritative read.
Paul Hargest, Director at Lykke Digital, puts it plainly: “AI is a powerful accelerator, but it needs direction. Without strategy, it produces copy that looks good but doesn’t achieve anything.”
Tom Wills, Director, adds: “We use AI to handle volume while keeping creativity and SEO expertise human-led. That balance is what drives results for our clients.”
Portfolio experience shows the value of this oversight. For a content programme with high article volume, AI generated quick first drafts. Our team then tightened structure, added evidence, aligned language to brand voice, and built in internal links that supported topical authority. The result was consistent quality and better rankings – outcomes that an automated pipeline would not achieve reliably.
Another part of this integration is training our AI tools to recognise the nuances of each client’s voice and strategy. We build prompt libraries and tone guides based on client feedback, ensuring that every draft starts closer to the desired outcome. Over time, these tools ‘learn’ to mirror style preferences more effectively, while our team fine-tunes the results to guarantee accuracy and alignment.
We also set non-negotiables for risk control. Facts are verified, claims are sourced, and compliance is reviewed for sensitive sectors. If a draft lacks nuance or misses the searcher’s problem, it is re-briefed or rewritten. On-page details are checked too – meta data, headings, image alt text, schema where appropriate.
Operationally, a simple QA loop supports this. Specialists sign off briefs, editors check accuracy and tone, and a final owner confirms optimisation. Quality control remains central and consistent throughout the workflow. Performance data informs prompts and briefs so the system keeps improving.
By this point, AI was no longer about experimentation, but about disciplined integration across our wider digital marketing services. The process frees time for strategy, stakeholder collaboration, and testing – the human work that lifts performance. With manual oversight at every step, AI becomes a dependable support act rather than the headline act.
Benefits for Clients
The biggest test of any new process is whether it makes life better for clients. By combining AI with human expertise, we have been able to deliver faster, more consistent content without losing the strategy and quality that underpin strong SEO performance.
The first benefit is speed. AI accelerates the drafting stage, which shortens turnaround times. This is especially valuable in large-scale content programmes where businesses need a high volume of blogs, landing pages, or product descriptions to compete effectively. For example, working with one of our portfolio clients in the retail sector, we used AI-assisted outlines to move quickly from concept to first draft, giving us more time to refine keywords and optimise for user intent.
The second benefit is consistency. Our integrated workflow means tone, messaging, and optimisation remain aligned across dozens of pieces of content. By training AI tools with client-specific tone of voice, sector context, and campaign goals, we create a system where drafts already reflect brand personality – and our SEO specialists refine them further to ensure accuracy and depth
Another advantage is strategic focus. By letting AI handle the repetitive parts of content generation, our specialists can invest more energy in competitor research, technical optimisation, and advanced link strategies. That shift in focus leads to stronger rankings and more measurable business outcomes.
Importantly, the benefits are not just internal. Clients notice the difference. Whether we are supporting a high-growth e-commerce business or producing thought-leadership blogs for B2B companies, feedback has highlighted the value of faster delivery without compromising depth. As one long-term client described in a recent review, working with Lykke is about results built on expertise, not shortcuts.
We also believe in transparency. Our process and outcomes are shared through our news and portfolio updates section, where clients can explore recent projects, industry insights, and examples of measurable results. By opening up this side of our work, we show how AI and SEO expertise combine in practice, and why careful integration produces stronger outcomes.
Ultimately, the benefit of this hybrid model is simple: clients get the best of both worlds – faster production supported by AI, and the reassurance that every final word has been refined, checked, and approved by human SEO experts.
Increase in Conversions
Increase in from submissions
Reduced Bounce Rate
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Why AI Alone Isn’t Enough
The promise of AI in marketing is tempting: instant drafts, endless variations, and rapid scaling. Yet relying on automation alone creates more problems than it solves. Without human oversight, AI-generated content often misses the mark in ways that can harm both rankings and reputation.
One risk is factual accuracy. AI tools can present confident but incorrect statements, which can undermine trust if published unchecked. In specialist industries, this issue becomes more pronounced, as sector-specific knowledge cannot be reliably replicated by an algorithm. For one of our portfolio clients, an AI draft made oversimplified claims about a technical process. Our SEO specialists intervened to correct the content, add sourced references, and ensure compliance before it went live. The human role turned a potentially misleading draft into an authoritative resource.
Tone and nuance are equally important. AI can approximate a conversational style, but it often struggles with context. It may default to generic phrasing or overlook subtle differences in audience needs. In contrast, human writers understand how to adapt messaging for different sectors, from e-commerce product detail to B2B thought leadership. That ability to flex voice is what ensures copy resonates with the right audience.
Another challenge is alignment with search intent. Even when AI generates clean, readable copy, it rarely understands the underlying purpose of a search query. Optimisation requires careful keyword research, competitor analysis, and a clear view of the customer journey. These are areas where human expertise ensures content not only ranks, but also converts.
This is why our process keeps AI firmly in a supporting role. It accelerates output, but our specialists remain responsible for strategy, optimisation, and quality control. The difference is clear: automated copy may fill a page, but only human SEO insight creates content that meets Google’s expectations for E-E-A-T.
For clients, this means every project benefits from both speed and reliability. Our approach is laid out clearly in our SEO services, which highlight the human expertise that underpins every campaign. AI assists in production, but it is people who ensure content truly serves intent and drives measurable results.
Striking the Right Balance Between AI and SEO Expertise
Our journey with AI has followed a careful path: cautious testing, structured workflows, full integration with oversight, and now a dependable role in daily delivery. At every stage, the guiding principle has been clear – AI is a tool to support our work, not a replacement for the expertise that drives results.
For clients, that means speed and consistency without sacrificing quality. Faster drafts give us more time to focus on strategy, and automation of repetitive tasks allows our team to concentrate on what matters most: creating content that meets user intent, supports wider campaigns, and builds measurable impact.
The directors at Lykke Digital have been transparent from the start. Paul Hargest highlights how direction and strategy keep AI productive, while Tom Wills stresses the balance between efficiency and creativity. Those principles underpin every project we deliver, ensuring clients benefit from innovation without risk.
As AI continues to evolve, our approach will adapt – but one thing remains constant: human SEO expertise is the foundation of everything we do. By training AI tools to understand client tone and strategy, and combining that with our own optimisation process, we make sure every piece of content reflects brand identity while benefiting from the efficiency of AI. To see how this balance works in practice, explore our full range of digital marketing services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is AI used in digital marketing?
AI supports tasks like generating first-draft content, analysing large datasets, and identifying patterns in search behaviour. At Lykke Digital, we use it to speed up the drafting process while keeping human specialists in charge of strategy and optimisation.
What are the benefits of AI in digital marketing?
The main benefits are speed and scale. AI can produce outlines, phrasing options, and draft structures in seconds, giving our team more time to focus on high-value work such as keyword research, competitor analysis, and campaign strategy.
Is AI replacing SEO specialists?
No. AI alone cannot deliver the accuracy, nuance, and search intent alignment that high-quality SEO requires. Human expertise is essential for fact-checking, brand tone alignment, and ensuring content meets Google’s E-E-A-T standards.
What’s the difference between AI copywriting and human SEO copywriting?
AI copywriting produces fast drafts, but it often lacks the depth and context needed for effective digital marketing. Human SEO copywriting ensures that content reflects brand identity, uses keywords strategically, and resonates with the target audience.
How does Lykke Digital use AI responsibly?
We treat AI as a support tool, not a replacement. Our team trains AI systems with client-specific tone of voice, style preferences, and campaign objectives, so drafts start closer to the right result. Every piece of content is then reviewed, fact-checked, and optimised by our SEO specialists before publication. This ensures efficiency without compromising quality.
How do you tailor AI content to each client’s style?
We train AI tools with client-specific tone of voice, style guides, and campaign goals. This ensures every draft reflects brand personality from the outset. Our SEO specialists then refine the copy for accuracy, optimisation, and audience intent, creating content that feels authentic while benefiting from the speed of AI support.
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