16 ways to use AI-agents for your content marketing business
I’m a huge fan of using humans to do creative work. You know: thinking, writing, editing, illustrating, designing, acting, video creation, etc.
I’m NOT a huge fan of using humans to do boring stuff that a robot can do. For that, we have…well…robots.
Here are 16 ideas for what you can use an AI-agent for and how to make it happen:
Strategy & Research
1. Build client briefs faster
Use agents connected to tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Similarweb via API or CSV exports. Set up an automation flow that pulls keyword rankings, top content, backlink data, and traffic insights. Then prompt your AI agent to extract key insights and drop them into a pre-formatted Google Doc brief template for internal or client use.
How to do it:
Step 1: Export relevant data (top keywords, backlinks, competitor URLs) from Semrush or Ahrefs.
Step 2: Use Make or Zapier to send the CSV data into a Google Sheet.
Step 3: Trigger OpenAI via API to:
Summarize the top SEO opportunities
List high-performing competitor content
Suggest potential blog or landing page topics
Step 4: Populate a Google Doc with a brief-style outline using Google Docs API or Apps Script.
Optional: Include metrics like search volume, difficulty, referring domains, or traffic sources to help guide strategy.
This lets you spin up a strategic brief in under 10 minutes—with better data, clearer direction, and less manual effort.
2. Monitor industry trends
Set up an AI agent to track emerging trends using RSS feeds from Google News, Reddit, Substack newsletters, and niche blogs. The agent pulls updates daily and compiles a summary of the top 5 most relevant stories every Monday—delivered straight to Slack, Notion, or email.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use a tool like Feedly, Inoreader, or a custom RSS aggregator to track key sources.
Step 2: Set up an automation in Make, Zapier, or Feedly Pro to send new items to a Google Sheet or Notion database.
Step 3: Every Friday or weekend, use OpenAI via API to:
Summarize the most frequently mentioned or upvoted topics
Highlight new tools, insights, or regulatory shifts
Generate a quick-read “What to Watch” summary
Step 4: Deliver the final summary to Slack or Notion every Monday morning using a webhook or integration.
You’ll walk into the week knowing exactly what’s trending—without scrolling.
3. Track competitor activity
Use a scraping agent to monitor competitor blogs, pricing pages, feature announcements, and LinkedIn posts. The agent runs on a weekly schedule and logs any changes—like new blog titles, pricing updates, or social post topics—into a Google Sheet with timestamps, change summaries, and flagged items for review.
NOTE: Public data scraping is possible via search URLs or tools like PhantomBuster or Browse AI, but it can get rate-limited or blocked. Best when used conservatively.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use tools like Browse AI, Scrapy, or Hexomatic to scrape:
RSS feeds or blog pages (to catch new content)
Pricing/feature pages (to spot changes or tests)
Public LinkedIn posts via search URLs or profile monitoring
Step 2: Automate scraping to run weekly or bi-weekly.
Step 3: Use a script or OpenAI function to:
Compare scraped content with the previous week's version
Flag additions, removals, or text changes
Write short summaries (e.g., "New pricing tier added: Growth+")
Step 4: Output the results into a Google Sheet, Notion table, or Slack report using webhooks or Google Apps Script.
This helps you stay a step ahead of the competition—without manually checking a single page.
4. Audit SERP intent
Prompt an AI agent to analyze the top 5–10 URLs ranking for a target keyword. The agent should extract key page elements—like H1s/H2s, page tone (e.g., casual, authoritative), content format (listicle, how-to, case study), and type of CTA (demo, newsletter, contact form). The result is a short doc summarizing SERP intent and giving recs for how your content should match or stand out.
NOTE: This works but scraping the full top 5–10 SERPs is against Google’s ToS. Use responsibly or work with cached pages/APIs from tools like SerpApi.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use a keyword tool (e.g., Semrush, Ahrefs, or Google) to identify your target keyword and its top-ranking URLs.
Step 2: Use a browser automation tool like Browse AI, Puppeteer, or Apify to fetch the content of those pages.
Step 3: Use an AI agent (via GPT-4 API, Claude, or Perplexity AI) to:
Extract and list the H1s/H2s from each page
Identify the content format (e.g., listicle, opinion, tutorial)
Determine tone of voice and how expert or casual it sounds
Note the CTA type and placement
Step 4: Have the agent compile a Google Doc or Notion summary showing:
Common patterns in top content
Gaps or opportunities (e.g., “No one is using video,” or “All CTAs push to free trial”)
Simple suggestions like “Match tone but add expert quotes” or “Test a calculator CTA”
This lets your team align content with what Google’s rewarding.
Content Ops & Admin
5. Track deadlines
Use a scheduling agent to automatically remind your team and clients about upcoming content deadlines—before they slip through the cracks.
How to do it:
Step 1: Sync your content calendar in Notion, ClickUp, or Airtable with Google Calendar using tools like Zapier, Make.com, or Relay.app.
Step 2: Set up triggers that fire 2 days before each deadline. These can send:
A Slack or email reminder to the assigned writer or editor
A client update (e.g., “Final draft due Friday—anything you’d like us to include?”)
Step 3: Use conditional logic to adjust reminders by project type (e.g., send more frequent nudges for launch campaigns).
This keeps everyone on track without manual follow-ups—so your content flows smoothly, and your team isn’t scrambling at the last minute.
6. Organize content calendars
Connect your project tracker (like Airtable, Trello, or ClickUp) to an AI agent that updates task statuses and flags delays or blockers—daily.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use Zapier, Make.com, or Relay.app to integrate your task tracker with an AI agent.
Step 2: Set the agent to review task progress each morning:
Check for past-due or inactive tasks
Identify missing assignments or overdue approvals
Step 3: Have the agent auto-update task statuses (e.g., “Waiting on feedback”) and send a daily summary to Slack or Notion highlighting bottlenecks or delays.
This helps you stay on top of the content pipeline—without manually chasing updates.
7. Handle file management
Use an AI agent to auto-organize files in Google Drive based on naming conventions or metadata—so your folder system stays clean without manual sorting.
Note: Works great for standardized workflows. But edge cases (weird file names, uploads from third parties) can throw things off—some human cleanup may still be needed.
How to do it:
Step 1: Connect Google Drive to an automation tool like Zapier or Make.com.
Step 2: Set up triggers to watch for new file uploads.
Step 3: Add filters or conditions (e.g., if filename contains “Q3”) and define folder paths for where those files should go (e.g.,
/Clients/Reports/Q3).Step 4: Optionally tag files with colors or custom properties to make them easier to find later.
8. Standardize briefs and outlines
Collect consistent input from clients or team members and auto-fill your content brief template—so no one starts from scratch.
Note: Autofilling briefs is definitely doable, but needs solid prompt engineering to maintain consistency and quality. Some human QA is often required.
How to do it:
Step 1: Create a standardized intake form using a tool like Typeform or Tally.
Step 2: Connect your form to Notion using Zapier, Make.com, or a native integration.
Step 3: Use an AI agent (like one built in Relay.app or via OpenAI API) to map the form responses into your brief or outline template.
Step 4: Auto-publish the filled brief in a shared Notion workspace so the team can start working immediately.
Distribution & Engagement
9. Repurpose links
Automatically prep your latest content for distribution by creating trackable links and organizing them for easy reuse.
How to do it:
Step 1: Connect your CMS (like WordPress or Webflow) to a script using Zapier, Make.com, or a simple Python script scheduled with Google Apps Script.
Step 2: When new content is published, trigger the agent to extract the URL and content title.
Step 3: Auto-generate UTM links using your preferred structure (e.g., source = newsletter, medium = email, campaign = Q3promo).
Step 4: Store the original and UTM links in a shared Google Sheet for easy access by your social and email team.
10. Keep reporting organized
Pull analytics from multiple sources and consolidate them into one report—so you’re not manually copy-pasting every week.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use tools like Supermetrics, Fivetran, or Zapier to connect Google Analytics, Search Console, LinkedIn, and email platforms to a central spreadsheet or dashboard (like Google Sheets or Looker Studio).
Step 2: Set up a scheduled AI agent (via Relay.app, Make.com, or custom script) to summarize key metrics and flag any major spikes or drops.
Step 3: Auto-send a cleaned-up version of the report to your team or clients every week via email or Slack.
Step 4: Store reports in a shared folder organized by client and date for easy historical reference.
11. Queue post reminders
Make sure your best evergreen posts keep working for you by setting reminders to reshare them.
How to do it:
Step 1: Connect your content calendar (Notion, Airtable, or Google Sheet) to a scheduling tool like Buffer.
Step 2: Use an agent or automation (e.g., Zapier or Make) to scan for posts older than 90 days.
Step 3: Filter for posts tagged “evergreen” or meeting engagement thresholds.
Step 4: Auto-flag those posts in your calendar or queue them back into Buffer for resharing.
12. Detect brand mentions
Stay on top of brand buzz and jump into the conversation when it matters.
How to do it:
Step 1: Set up brand monitoring with a tool like Brand24, Mention, or Google Alerts.
Step 2: Feed the mention data into an AI agent using RSS or webhook integration.
Step 3: Have the agent summarize new mentions weekly (or daily) and flag those with high engagement or influencer reach.
Step 4: Drop summaries into Slack, Notion, or email for quick action.
Client Communication
13. Pre-fill monthly reports
Automate the grunt work of reporting so your team can focus on insights.
How to do it:
Step 1: Connect GA4, Search Console, and social platforms (like LinkedIn, X, Instagram) via API, or export key metrics as CSVs.
Step 2: Feed the data into an AI agent set to populate a templated Notion doc or Google Slides deck.
Step 3: Add placeholder sections for human-written commentary or recommendations.
Step 4: Schedule this agent to run on the 1st of every month and notify your team when it’s ready for review.
14. Highlight content gaps
Spot missing themes and formats before they cost you traffic or conversions.
How to do it:
Step 1: Export a list of live content (URLs, tags, formats) from your CMS.
Step 2: Feed that into an AI agent alongside your content strategy doc or target keyword list.
Step 3: Set the agent to identify missing or underrepresented themes, formats, or funnel stages.
Step 4: Output a flagged list in Notion or Google Sheets for your strategist or editor to review.
15. Manage intake forms
Route responses from Typeform or Google Forms into a Notion database. Tag by request type and assign to the correct project automatically.
How to do it:
Step 1: Connect Typeform or Google Forms to a Notion database using Zapier or Make.
Step 2: Set up rules to tag each submission by request type (e.g., blog, SEO update, social).
Step 3: Use conditional logic to assign the task to the correct project or team member automatically.
Step 4: Optionally trigger Slack or email notifications to confirm receipt.
16. Churn check
Catch quiet clients before they disappear for good.
How to do it:
Step 1: Use tools like Zapier or Make to monitor client activity across Slack, email (Gmail/Outlook), and meeting tools (e.g., Google Calendar, Zoom).
Step 2: Log touchpoints by client into a spreadsheet or Notion database.
Step 3: Set an agent to check for inactivity (no messages, meetings, or emails) over the last 30 days.
Step 4: If inactivity is detected, send a custom check-in reminder to your inbox with the client name and last activity date.
