Semrush, the Powerful Tool for Search Engine Visibility, Now Shows Whether ChatGPT Recommends Your Brand

Semrush is the one marketing platform I would keep if I had to close every other tab. Its price has climbed, and its plan names keep changing, yet I stand by that pick.

I have been running WE AND THE COLOR for quite some time now—since May 2010, to be exact. What many people don’t know, however, is that in 2018 and 2019, I also worked as a digital marketing manager for the German luxury watch brand NOMOS Glashütte alongside my work at WE AND THE COLOR. Yes, those were two pretty busy years. But of course, I always had a few good marketing and analytics tools at hand that made my work a lot easier. One of those tools was—and still is—Semrush. It shows me exactly which pages broke and which competitor had just moved up. Yes, I do like to spy on competitor websites from time to time.

Now the ground is shifting. Adobe closed its purchase of Semrush on April 28, 2026, for about $1.9 billion in cash. Semrush One, which launched on October 29, 2025, bundles classic SEO with tracking for AI answers. So a new question sits on every marketer’s desk. Would ChatGPT or Gemini name your brand if a buyer asked for a recommendation?

I wrote this guide to explain what Semrush does and what it costs. It also shows how I work with the platform, from my NOMOS days to today. Along the way, you will meet a few terms I coined, starting with the Two-Ledger Rule.

What Is Semrush, and Why Do Marketers Keep It Open All Day?

Semrush is a subscription platform that measures how visible a website or brand is in Google and in AI answers, then shows what to change. That is my working definition.

Oleg Shchegolev and Dmitry Melnikov founded the company in 2008 as a keyword research tool. Today the platform also covers paid search, content, social media, local listings, and AI search. Semrush says it has reached more than 28 million users.

The data matters more than the interface. The Keyword Magic Tool searches more than 27 billion keywords across 142 geo databases. The backlink index holds roughly 43 trillion links. That scale explains why competitor research in Semrush feels so complete.

I sort everything the platform does into two ledgers. The Two-Ledger Rule says that every brand now keeps one ledger for clicks and one ledger for mentions. Classic SEO fills the first ledger. AI search fills the second. Semrush now shows both inside one account.

How I Use Semrush Almost Every Day

My routine had a name in my head. I call it the 20-Minute Morning. It’s a fixed sequence of checks before the first meeting.

The 20-Minute Morning

Position tracking came first. I opened the project and scanned the keyword set for the brand, the product lines, and the main rivals. A fall of several places on a core term meant I investigated at once.

Next came the site audit. A sudden batch of new broken links or redirect chains pointed to a fresh release. I wanted to hear that from the crawler and not from a customer.

Last, I checked Backlink Analytics. Press coverage for a watch brand arrives in bursts. So I looked at which publications linked and which anchor text they chose.

The Friday Competitor Read

Fridays belonged to the competition. In Organic Research, I compared our domain with other watchmakers. Then Keyword Gap showed me terms where rivals ranked, and we did not.

That list became the next week’s content brief. German and English searches needed different pages, so I kept one list per geo database.

What I Never Trusted in Semrush

I never treated competitor traffic numbers as facts. Semrush models them from its own data, so they show direction and not truth. Your own Search Console and analytics data always win that argument.

Today the same routine runs for WE AND THE COLOR. It has one new step at the end, and that step is the most interesting part of this article.

The Semrush Features I Love the Most

Semrush has dozens of tools. Five of them do most of the work, so I start with those.

Semrush Keyword Research With the Keyword Magic Tool

A single seed keyword can return up to 20 million ideas. That sounds absurd until you apply filters. Intent labels, keyword difficulty, and the question filter cut the pile down fast.

Start with the question filter. It hands you the skeleton of an FAQ section in minutes. Then sort by difficulty and pick the long-tail terms your site can win this quarter.

Semrush Position Tracking

Position Tracking records rankings every day for the keywords you choose. It separates devices and locations. It also shows which SERP features your pages win.

Daily data matters because ranking drops cost money on every day you miss them.

Semrush Site Audit

Site Audit crawls your site and runs more than 130 checks. It sorts problems into errors, warnings, and notices, then scores the site’s health from 0 to 100.

Crawl limits depend on the plan. Starter covers 100,000 pages a month, Pro+ covers 300,000, and Advanced covers 1 million. JavaScript rendering starts at Pro+. If your shop renders content with JavaScript, that detail decides your tier.

Semrush Backlink Analytics and Backlink Audit

Backlink Analytics shows who links to you and to your rivals. Backlink Audit adds a toxicity score for each link.

I treat that score as a to-do list for a human. I never paste it blindly into a disavow file.

Semrush Content Tools

The SEO Writing Assistant scores a draft against pages that already rank. ContentShake AI drafts articles from Semrush keyword data. I use both for briefs and outlines. I would not publish an unedited draft from either, because a design publication needs one voice.

Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit: Track Your Brand Inside ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode

A ranking used to be a position. In AI search, a ranking is a mention or a citation, and often neither.

Prompt Share turns that outcome into one number. Prompt Share is the percentage of your tracked prompts in which an AI answer mentions your brand. Imagine an answer engine names your shop in 12 of 50 tracked prompts. Your Prompt Share is 24 percent.

Prompt Tracking and the Prompt Database

Prompt Tracking checks the prompts you choose every day. It covers ChatGPT Search, Google AI Mode, and Gemini. Semrush runs each prompt for your chosen location, the same way Position Tracking handles Google keywords.

The Prompt Database helps you choose. It holds more than 317 million prompts and responses, with volume and difficulty scores that update monthly. Your plan sets the quota, from 50 daily prompts on Starter to 200 on Advanced.

Brand Performance and Share of Voice

Brand Performance reads how AI answers talk about you. It reports share of voice and sentiment across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and Gemini. The data refreshes weekly.

Prompt gaps matter most here. They list topics where competitors appear in answers, and you do not. Each gap often points to a page you have not written yet.

What the Semrush AI Visibility Index Shows

Semrush analyzed 126 million U.S. prompts from January through April 2026. Only 36 brands held top-100 visibility on all four platforms in every month.

The same study found a split between mentions and sources. The overlap between mentioned brands and cited sources ran at 64 percent on Google AI Overviews and 30 percent on Gemini.

I call that spread the Mention-Citation Gap. A mention builds your brand, but only a citation sends a visitor. So you should measure both, platform by platform.

AI Search Site Health, Copilot, and MCP Access

The AI-ready Site Audit flags problems that block AI crawlers from reading or citing your pages. Semrush Copilot watches your projects and sends alerts about traffic drops and new keyword opportunities.

Starter and higher plans also list MCP access. That lets an AI assistant query Semrush data in plain language, which suits quick competitor questions.

Semrush Enterprise AI Optimization and Query Fan-Out

Semrush Enterprise added query fan-out analysis on January 15, 2026. AI models fire background searches to build a single answer, and this report shows those searches. In February 2026, Enterprise also added log file analysis for bot and agent traffic. Pricing is custom.

Here is my prediction. By the end of 2027, agencies will report Prompt Share beside organic sessions in every monthly report.

Semrush Pricing in October 2026: Every Plan and Add-On

Semrush sells four self-serve plans and one custom plan. The older Pro, Guru, and Business Ladder no longer appear for new buyers, so many guides quote prices you cannot pay. Check the pricing page before you budget.

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	Websites	Daily keywords	AI prompts tracked daily	What the tier adds
SEO	$139	$117.33	5	500	No number published	Position Tracking, Site Audit, AI visibility reports
Starter	$199	$165.17	5	500	50	MCP access, AI-ready Site Audit, one domain for AI brand performance
Pro+	$299	$248.17	15	1,500	100	Historical data, content optimization, keyword cannibalization analysis, multi-location tracking
Advanced	$549	$455.67	40	5,000	200	SEO share of voice, API data integration, 1 million audit pages
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Unlimited projects	Custom	Custom	Query fan-out analysis, log file analysis, forecasting

Annual billing saves up to 17 percent. Semrush changes plans often, so confirm every figure on the pricing page.

Add-Ons and the Seat Tax

Every plan includes one user. Each extra login starts at $45 a month. I call that surcharge the Seat Tax.

The Seat Tax decides the real price for teams. Starter on annual billing plus two extra seats costs $255.17 a month.

Reporting costs extra as well. Base Report adds $10 a month, and Pro Report adds $20 for white-label branding and AI summaries. Semrush also lists Local from $30 per location and Social from $20 a month.

The Semrush Bundle Math

Buying the SEO plan and the standalone AI Visibility Toolkit costs $216.33 a month on annual billing. That buys 25 tracked prompts. Starter costs $165.17 and tracks 50. So the bundle wins by $51.16 a month.

Which Semrush Plan Should You Pick?

Most online shops belong on Starter. Pro+ pays off once you manage more than five sites or need historical data. Skip Advanced unless you run forty sites or need API access.

Pick the SEO plan if you only care about classic rankings. You can still step up later, because Semrush lets you upgrade or downgrade at any time.

The free plan gives you one demo project and 10 reports a day. It teaches the interface and nothing more.

Who Should Skip Semrush

A single hobby blog does not need Semrush. Neither does a site that nobody updates.

The learning curve is real, and I would plan a full weekend for it. The bill also grows with every colleague you add.

Prompt Tracking has a limit too. It measures the prompts you pick, and it cannot see every question people type. So treat Prompt Share as a trend line and not as a census.

Finally, Semrush finds problems and does not fix them. Someone still has to write the page, repair the redirect, and answer the journalist.

What Adobe’s Purchase Means for Semrush Users

Semrush has been an Adobe company since April 28, 2026. The plan structure predates the deal, so there is no separate Adobe price to look for.

Expect tighter links to Adobe’s marketing products. By late 2027, Semrush data will sit inside Adobe’s enterprise tools. Small teams will keep buying Semrush on its own, and the price ladder will stay familiar.

Semrush at a Glance

Topic	Detail
Category	Online visibility platform for SEO, content, ads, social media and AI search
Founded	2008
Owner	Adobe, since April 28, 2026
Keyword database	More than 27 billion keywords across 142 geo databases
Backlink index	About 43 trillion links
Site Audit	More than 130 checks
AI features	Prompt Tracking, Brand Performance, AI-ready Site Audit, Copilot, MCP access
Entry price	$139 a month, or $117.33 a month on annual billing
Best AI value	Starter at $199 a month with 50 prompts tracked daily
Free options	Free plan with one demo project, plus a seven-day trial
Main weaknesses	The Seat Tax, a steep learning curve and sampled prompt data
Best for	Online shops, content teams and agencies

Common Questions About Semrush

What is Semrush used for?

Marketers use Semrush for keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, backlink analysis and competitor research. It also tracks brand mentions in AI answers.

How much does Semrush cost?

The SEO plan costs $139 a month. Starter costs $199, Pro+ costs $299, and Advanced costs $549 on monthly billing. Annual billing saves up to 17 percent. Enterprise pricing is custom.

What is Semrush One?

Semrush One is the name for the Starter, Pro+, and Advanced plans. They combine the SEO toolkit with daily AI prompt tracking. The bundle launched on October 29, 2025.

Can Semrush track ChatGPT and Google AI Mode?

Yes. Prompt Tracking covers ChatGPT Search, Google AI Mode, and Gemini. Brand Performance adds Perplexity.

What is Prompt Share?

Prompt Share is the percentage of tracked prompts in which an AI answer mentions your brand. Divide the prompts with a mention by all tracked prompts, then multiply by 100.

Is Semrush worth it for small online shops?

Yes, if you check it weekly. Starter covers five websites, 500 keywords, and 50 daily prompts. A shop that logs in twice a year should stay on the free plan.

Who owns Semrush?

Adobe owns Semrush. It completed the acquisition on April 28, 2026, for about $1.9 billion in cash.

Does Semrush have a free trial?

Semrush offers a seven-day trial on its paid plans. Each toolkit trial activates once per account, and it asks for a card.

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