Top 10 SEO Writing Tools for Content Optimization

Sydney Go

Sep 25, 202418 min read
Contributor: Bartłomiej Barcik
SEO Writing Tools
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEO writing tools help you follow SEO best practices so the content appeals to readers and search engines alike. 

It sounds simple, but it can quickly become complicated when you’re trying to choose the best tool.

To help, we've made a list of top SEO writing tools to consider for your tech stack. These tools can help you optimize your content for better performance in search results. 

The 10 Best SEO Writing Tools in 2024

SEO writing tools can help with content creation, editing, topic research, and other processes. 

Some analyze your content’s readability, originality, and tone of voice to ensure your copy resonates with the target audience. 

Others track keyword usage as you write and make SEO recommendations. Or generate text to fill the gaps in your content. 

Our top picks for 2024 are: 

Further reading: The Art of Content Optimization: The Complete 2024 Guide

1. SEO Writing Assistant

Use Semrush's SEO Writing Assistant (SWA) to create search-optimized content. And make your content more engaging and relatable to your audience. 

The SWA analyzes your content in real-time, offering recommendations in four main areas:

  • Readability: Make sure your content is easy to read and understand. Use the SWA to detect hard-to-read sentences, complex words, and title issues. 
  • Originality: Check your articles for plagiarism to avoid copyright issues and duplicate content. Rephrase or rewrite plagiarized text with Semrush’s Smart Writer or the AI Composer, two SWA features. 
  • Tone of voice: Analyze a document’s tone to ensure it resonates with the reader. And make changes as needed to convey your message more effectively. 
  • SEO: Track keyword usage and get keyword ideas in the text editor. Also, check your content for broken links and other SEO issues. 

Key Features and Benefits

The SWA features a user-friendly text editor and built-in tools for content optimization. 

For instance, it can split long paragraphs into shorter sentences. To make your content easier to digest. 

In the tool, hover your mouse over the text highlighted in purple. Then, click "Split" to break it into multiple sentences and paragraphs.

SEO Writing Assistant with a paragraph selected showing a suggestion on readability with "Split" highlighted.

Here is the result: 

New paragraph after clicking "Split" on SEO Writing Assistant with options to "Accept" or "Reject" the suggestion.

If you’re happy with it, click “Accept.” If not, click “Reject” to return to the previous version.

You can also rephrase, expand, simplify, or summarize your content with just one click. 

Say you want to reword a hard-to-read sentence. Select it with your mouse and click "Simplify."

A sentence selected on SEO Writing Assistant with "Simplify" highlighted from the options that appear.

The tool will use AI to rewrite your sentence.

Check your content for readability, originality, tone of voice, and SEO as you write. So you can optimize it for readers and search engines. 

Content score showing readability, originality, tone of voice, and SEO on the top-right corner of SEO Writing Assistant.

For example, you can see which sentences are hard to read or too formal. And which words are too complex. Revise them to make your content more digestible and user-friendly. 

Or set a tone of voice to ensure the content reflects your brand’s personality. 

First, click the pencil icon next to “Tone of voice.”

The pencil icon on the top-right corner of SEO Writing Assistant to change target tone of voice highlighted.

Then, select the desired tone of voice, such as casual, neutral, or formal. 

Tone of voice adjusted and "Change target tone of voice" clicked on the top-right corner of SEO Writing Assistant.

But that's not all. The SWA can also: 

  • Check your content for plagiarism
  • Suggest relevant keywords 
  • Recommend a target word count
  • Generate text to enrich your content

This writing tool integrates with Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and WordPress. Meaning you can use it with your favorite text editor to create better content. 

Pricing 

Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant has a free version with limited features. Sign up for a Guru or Business plan to unlock its AI capabilities. 

  • Guru: $249.95 per month
  • Business: $499.95 per month 

2. AI Writing Assistant 

The AI Writing Assistant app features 74 content creation tools. These can generate images, blog posts, and other types of content, such as:

  • Blog titles
  • Product descriptions
  • Call-to-action lines
  • Marketing emails
  • Article outlines
  • Press releases 
  • Video scripts
  • Ad copy
  • Social media posts

With this app, you have a full suite of SEO tools for content writing at your fingertips. And you can generate copy in 28 languages, including English, German, Italian, Greek, Polish, and others. 

AI Writing Assistant app showing different content creation tools like Article Generator, Image Generator, Blog Outlines, etc.

Semrush's AI Writing Assistant also doubles as a text summarizer, paraphraser, and topic research tool. You can use it to rewrite content, too. 

Further reading: 11 AI Content Generators to Make Great Content in Minutes

Key Features and Benefits 

This app can generate just about any content type based on your instructions. Or optimize existing content. 

Say you have an article needing improvement because it's not engaging enough or doesn't reflect your brand's voice.

Click the "Content Rewriter" tool. 

"Content Rewriter" highlighted on the AI Writing Assistant app.

Select your preferred language and paste the article in the designated field. Click “Start rewriting.”

"Language" selected, text entered and "Start rewriting" clicked on Content Rewriter.

The tool will rewrite your article without changing its meaning. This feature makes it easy to repurpose your content for different platforms. 

For instance, you can publish one version on your blog and another on Facebook or LinkedIn. 

Content Rewriter showing the original version of text and the AI-enhanced version with "Check Plagiarism" highlighted.

Check this new version for plagiarism directly from the text editor. Simply click “Check Plagiarism.” 

Plus, you can select a preferred tone of voice, creativity level, and other parameters. To ensure the content speaks to your audience and sounds like you. 

"Language", "Creativity", "Tone of voice," and "Point of View" input boxes highlighted on the AI Writing Assistant.

Other key features of Semrush's AI Writing Assistant include: 

  • User-friendly interface
  • Built-in plagiarism checker
  • Advanced customization options
  • Ability to save your content for later
  • Option to choose a target audience

What's more, some tools can rewrite existing content based on a given keyword. Others will generate text that contains your target search terms.

Thanks to these features, anyone can create SEO-friendly content in a flash. And you won't have to research, translate the text, or hire writers. 

Pricing 

Semrush's AI Writing Assistant comes with a seven-day free trial. After that, it costs $25 per month. 

The subscription allows for unlimited content creation with cutting-edge AI tools. 

3. ContentShake AI

Create articles and social media posts from scratch with ContentShake AI. This AI article-writing tool uses Semrush's SEO data to generate content, topic ideas, and keyword suggestions. 

ContentShake AI home showing different options including "Optimize your content", "Write from scratch", "Generate article using ideas", etc.

ContentShake AI assists you every step of the way. From brainstorming topics to posting on your blog or social media content. 

The content created with this tool is SEO-friendly and ready to publish. All you need to do is review the content and adjust basic settings, such as selecting the desired word count and your audience’s location. 

Key Features and Benefits 

This AI-powered content creator is intuitive and easy to use, saving you hours of research. It also doubles as a content optimization tool, making it easier to produce copy that converts. 

You can use ContentShake AI to:

  • Create short- and long-form content
  • Generate attention-grabbing headlines 
  • Get content ideas for your blog posts
  • Enhance your content with AI-generated images 
  • Gain insights into your competitors' content

Say you want to write a blog post about the benefits of dark chocolate. 

First, go to "Generate article using ideas" > "My own idea." Enter your topic and click "Generate article." 

"My own idea" on ContentShake AI with a topic entered and "Generate article" clicked.

ContentShake AI will take you to a new page where you’ll select your target market, language, keywords, word count, and other parameters. 

You can also enter a title or check Semrush's recommendations for inspiration. The tool will generate keyword ideas, or you can use your own. 

When finished, click "Create article." 

"TitleI input box highlighted and "Create article" clicked.on ContentShake AI.

The app will generate an SEO-friendly article based on your requirements. 

The post looks good, but you can edit it for a more personal touch. Simply click “Go to editor” on the right side of the page.

"Customize article" box highlighted and "Go to editor" on ContentShake AI.

From here, you can use the AI chat feature to generate a new title, intro, or image. Or ask AI to generate further insights into the topic. 

ContentShake AI chat window showing different options like "Generate titles for this content," Generate introductions for this content," "Generate AI image for this content," and Generate structure for this content." "Ask AI to write" input box highlighted.

Now, click "Improvements" to check your content score (0-100%) for readability, tone of voice, and SEO. The higher this percentage, the better your content is. 

"Improvements" to the right of the ContentShake AI chat window highlighted.

This section also features recommendations for improving your copy. You can see which sentences are too formal or hard to read, detect keyword stuffing, and more. 

The articles and social media posts created with ContentShake AI include relevant images. Like this:

Image generated with credits in the caption on ContentShake AI.

You can also generate new images from the text editor by clicking the “Image” button. Semrush's AI writer provides two options:

  • AI-generated images 
  • Stock photos from Unsplash

If you choose the first option, describe the image you have in mind. For example, "dark chocolate cookies." 

Then, click "Create." 

"Images" option selected on ContentShake AI with the term "dark chocolate chip cookies"entered and "Create" clicked.

Click the image, and ContentShake AI will add it wherever your cursor is on your blog post. If you feel the image doesn’t fit, you can delete it and request a new image. 

Pricing 

ContentShake AI has a free and paid version

The free version covers all the basic features. It includes three articles, 12 social media posts, and 12 AI-generated images per month. 

The paid version offers unlimited content and image generation. This plan also supports one-click WordPress publishing and unlimited access to premium features like "Ask AI." For $60 per month.

4. Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is an AI-powered tool that streamlines the content creation process. It can generate copy and optimize your articles. 

Surfer SEO’s Content Editor uses AI to analyze your content based on ranking factors. Then, it generates a list of keywords to incorporate into your post. 

Surfer SEO with the list of generated keywords to incorporate into the post on the right highlighted.

You can also customize your content guidelines. 

For instance, you can choose a target word count or specific terms to include in the post before you start writing. So the content aligns with your branding or marketing goals. 

Key Features and Benefits 

Surfer provides several content writing tools for SEO, including:

  • An AI detector
  • An SEO content generator
  • Keyword research tools
  • Paraphrasing tools
  • Article templates

It can also generate article outlines based on a given keyword. 

Free AI Article Outline Generator on Surfer SEO with the term "dark chocolate benefits" entered. Below, the tool displays an outline for the blog.

Once you have an outline, Surfer AI can generate content. Then, follow the Content Editor's guidelines to optimize it for search engines. 

Another notable feature is its ability to add internal links and images to your copy. 

The tool also offers recommendations for each piece of content. For example, it may tell you to add more headings and paragraphs for better readability. 

Content recommendation to use more headings on Surfer SEO.

The “Auto-Optimize” feature can improve your content. SurferSEO will enrich your post by adding further information on the topic.

You can see these changes in real time and approve or decline them. 

Pricing 

This SEO content writing tool comes with a seven-day free trial. However, the free version has limited features. 

After the trial expires, you can subscribe to a paid plan: 

  • Essential: $89 per month
  • Scale: $129 per month
  • Scale AI: $219 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing 

After subscribing, you can customize your plan with AI packages or add-ons for an extra fee. 

5. Grammarly 

Check your content for hard-to-read sentences, grammatical errors, and typos with Grammarly. This writing assistant will analyze your copy and make recommendations to improve:

  • Clarity
  • Engagement
  • Correctness
  • Delivery 
Content recommendation categories on Grammarly, including "Correctness," "Clarity," "Engagement," and "Delivery" highlighted.

And if you have a paid membership, you can use the plagiarism checker and other premium features. 

At its core, Grammarly is a content editor. It highlights misspellings and grammar issues and shows you how to fix them. The tool also detects unnecessary words, passive voice, and punctuation mistakes. 

Key Features and Benefits

Grammarly's suggestions ensure your copy is clear, engaging, and error-free. This can help improve the reader's experience and indirectly boost your SEO since Google favors quality content

Grammarly highlighting a grammatical error in the text on the left and how it should be re-worded on the right.

For further insights, click on the "Learn more" icon next to an issue. 

"Learn more" next to "Remove the phrase" suggestion on Grammarly highlighted.

Grammarly will explain what's wrong with your word choice. And why you should follow its suggestions. 

Plus, you can select a tone of voice and set writing goals to get custom recommendations. 

Set goals on Grammarly with the "Formality" and "Intent" sections highlighted.

These features can make it easier to convey your message to the target audience. And produce polished copy that reflects positively on your brand. 

The tool also uses generative AI to create and optimize content. 

Select any sentence or paragraph and click "Generative AI" from the right-side menu. 

"Generative AI" on the right-hand side of Grammarly highlighted.

Then, tell Grammarly to improve your content or generate an outline. Or click "More ideas" to access the paraphrasing tool and other features.

Suggestions section on the right-hand side of Grammarly, including "Improve it," "Create an outline," and "More ideas," highlighted.

For example, you can ask the AI assistant to make your content sound more confident or empathetic. To help you appeal to your target audience.

Further reading: How to Establish Tone in Writing (Guide + Examples)

Pricing

Grammarly's free version is limited to 100 AI prompts and doesn't grant you access to the plagiarism checker or other premium features. However, you can still use the tool to catch typos and improve your writing.

Upgrade to a paid plan for additional features and more AI prompts. Here are your options: 

  • Premium: $30 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

6. Notion 

Notion is a project management platform and productivity app. It also offers various tools for writing, editing, and managing your content. 

For example, you can use Notion as a text editor, as with Google Docs or Microsoft Word. And leverage its AI capabilities to optimize your content for search engines and human readers. 

Key Features and Benefits

Content creators can use Notion to improve their writing and stay organized. This productivity app doubles as a word processor, spreadsheet, and grammar checker. It offers the tools you need to refine your copy. 

Notion also features thousands of templates for Wiki pages, content calendars, campaign briefs, and other documents. 

For instance, it offers a fully customizable editorial calendar for managing your blog content. All you need to do is fill it with your post titles and other details, such as the target audience and type of content. 

Blog Editorial Calendar on Notion with the table headers including "Name," "Status," "Type of content," "Audience," etc. highlighted.

And if you want to create a social media calendar, select “Social Media Calendar” from the left-side menu. Then, click "Get template."

"Social Media Calendar" selected from the left-side menu on Notion and "Get template" clicked.

You can also share your content with others, including your email contacts and Slack team members. 

"Share" clicked on the top-right of Notion with the input box to enter an email and "Add contacts from Slack" highlighted.

Then, suggest edits, leave comments, and organize any document directly from the text editor. This makes it easy to collaborate with your team to improve your content.

Want to create content or enrich an existing post? Select a word, sentence, or paragraph. Then click "Ask AI." 

A paragraph selected and "Ask AI" highlighted on Notion.

The tool will generate text that fits the context and provides added value to your readers. 

Notion will also fix grammar or spelling mistakes, expand or summarize the text, simplify the language, and more. To make your copy look more professional and polished. 

"Edit or review selection" drop-down on Notion with "Improve writing" selected from the options.

For instance, if you click "Improve writing," Notion will reword your copy for clarity and engagement. 

Notion's AI can also brainstorm ideas, generate content, and create to-do lists. If you have a target keyword in mind, ask AI to include it in your copy. 

The tool will make subtle changes to your content to incorporate the keyword. In the image below, you can see both versions of the text: the original version and the one generated by AI. 

"Add the keyword" suggestion highlighted at the bottom of the page on Notion.

Further reading: AI Content Optimization: The Complete Guide

Pricing 

Notion's free version includes all of the features described above—and many others. But to fully leverage its capabilities, sign up for a premium plan. 

  • Plus: $12 per user, per month
  • Business: $18 per user, per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

7. ChatGPT

Register with ChatGPT to create content, generate topic ideas, and proofread your work. Or ask it to translate technical jargon and explain complex concepts. 

This online tool uses natural language processing (NLP), a subset of AI, to generate human-like responses. All you need to do is enter a prompt, like:

  • Create a content brief for an article about [topic]
  • Write an intro for a blog post on [topic]
  • Suggest five headlines for a news article on [topic]
  • Rewrite the following paragraph in plain language 
  • Check the following blog post for grammar mistakes
  • List 20 keywords related to [topic]
  • Optimize this headline for [keyword]

The copy generated by ChatGPT isn’t always perfect, but it can still help. If you want to cover a complex topic, ask ChatGPT to summarize it or share expert insights. 

Key Features and Benefits

ChatGPT can produce content in over 50 languages, making it easier to reach a global audience. It's also an excellent tool for:

  • Topic research 
  • Brainstorming 
  • Editing and proofreading
  • Paraphrasing 

Say you want to explain the results of a study to your blog readers. Ask ChatGPT to summarize the findings in plain language. 

A prompt on ChatGPT to summarize the findings of a study in plain language along with the result generated below.

The tool will automatically save your content. You can access it from the sidebar menu anytime—and add new prompts as needed. 

Previously used prompts on the left sidebar menu of ChatGPT.

Or ask ChatGPT to write an introduction for a blog post on the benefits of dark chocolate. 

A prompt on ChatGPT to write an introduction for a blog post on the benefits of dark chocolate.

Review for accuracy. And make changes for a personal touch. Even with those steps, you’ll still save time and have a starting point for your blog post. 

If you're not happy with the results, provide more specific instructions. Like: “This text is hard to read. Break it down into two or three paragraphs and use shorter sentences.”

To start, use these ChatGPT prompts for SEO and content creation, sales, and other activities. 

Further reading: What Can ChatGPT Do? How to Use It + Examples

Pricing 

ChatGPT has a free, basic version and a paid version for personal use. The latter costs $20 per month.

There's also a business version, which starts at $30 per user, per month. This subscription plan is suitable for teams. 

8. Hemingway App

Polish your writing and create better content with the Hemingway App. The tool will check your text for passive voice, complex sentences, and words with simpler alternatives. 

The Hemingway App focuses on readability. Think of it as a tool for cleaning up your writing to make it more engaging. And if you upgrade to the paid version, it also checks your content for grammar errors. 

Use this tool to detect and address unnecessary adverbs, redundancies, and other issues that keep you from getting your point across. 

Key Features and Benefits 

The Hemingway App can help optimize your content for readability and clarity. It also displays relevant stats, such as word count and estimated reading time. 

What we like most is the color-coded feedback system, which speeds up content editing. 

The color-coded feedback system on the right side of the Hemingway App highlighted.

The Hemingway App makes color-coded suggestions in real time. For instance, hard-to-read sentences are highlighted in yellow. You can instantly spot them. 

It also lets you format the text, add links, and bold or italicize words and phrases. Meaning you can write content directly in the app. 

Formatting options, such as text type, bold, italics, and hyperlink, highlighted in the top-left of the Hemingway App.

The paid version uses AI to improve your writing. Plus, it can detect and fix misspellings and grammar issues. 

The tool also provides actionable insights to help you tighten your writing. 

For example, short sentences are easier to read, which can improve the user experience. And support your SEO efforts. 

Pricing

The basic version of the Hemingway App is free, but it lacks AI capabilities. 

Hemingway Editor Plus, which uses AI, includes a 14-day free trial. If you decide to upgrade to a paid plan, choose one of these options:

  • Individual 5K Plan: $10 per month
  • Individual 10K Plan: $15 per month
  • Team 10K Plan: $15 per user, per month

The tool is also available as a desktop app for Windows and Mac users. This version works offline, so you can use it anytime, anywhere. Just note that it doesn’t have any AI-powered features. 

The desktop app requires a one-time payment of $19.99. 

Further reading: 10 Content Analysis Tools to Boost Your ROI (Free & Paid)

9. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is an SEO platform. It provides insights to help you:

  • Identify relevant keywords
  • Write optimized content
  • Monitor your content's performance

With this tool, you'll get ideas to help your content perform in search engines. SE Ranking can reveal areas for improvement, spot grammar mistakes, and analyze your content's readability. 

"Quality" tab on SE Ranking showing a quality score, along with the readability score and the number of grammatical mistakes, stop words, and punctuation mistakes in the text.

You can see what you did well and what you could do better to rank higher in search results. 

Key Features and Benefits 

The Content Editor, one of SE Ranking's SEO content writing tools, uses AI and NLP to help you craft better copy. 

First, it analyzes your competitors. Then, it makes custom recommendations to assist you with content writing and optimization. 

"Improvements" tab on the right-hand side of SE Ranking highlighted and showing recommendations related to text length, headings, and terms to use.

For example, you may need to increase your word count. To cover the topic in-depth and provide more value. 

The Content Editor also shows where and how often you should use your target keyword. And what other terms to include in your copy to boost its visibility in search results. 

It also includes an AI Writer tool that generates topic ideas, headings, and website content. 

"AI Writer" tab highlighted on SE Ranking with options to generate "Topics", "Headings and subheadings", "Questions", etc.

Let's assume you want to write a blog post about travel yoga mats. Go to the AI Writer, click "Topics," and enter a relevant keyword. Select a tone of voice, and then click "Generate."

"Topics" menu on SE Ranking with a keyword entered, a tone of voice selected and "Generate" highlighted.

The AI Writer will display a list of topics based on your target keyword. 

Use these suggestions to diversify your content and create topic clusters for SEO. So you can build topical authority and internal links. 

Another notable feature is the Content Idea Finder, a tool that helps you discover keywords and topics for your blog. 

A mind map on Content Idea Finder showing keyword and topic ideas based on a seed keyword entered.

Select one or more keywords by checking the box next to them. Then, send them to the Content Editor and start writing. 

Keywords selected and "Create content with content editor" highlighted on SE Ranking.

Or let the AI Writer do the legwork for you. 

Writing options on SE Ranking including to write text manually or generate text with AI.

Pricing 

SE Ranking comes with a 14-day free trial. After that, subscription pricing starts at $65 per month. 

Choose from three membership plans, depending on your business size and SEO needs:

  • Essential: $65 per month
  • Pro: $119 per month
  • Business: $259 per month

The Content Marketing package, which includes the AI Writer, is available as an add-on. It costs $29 to $99 per month, depending on the number of articles and AI-generated words. 

Further reading: Keyword Research for SEO: What It Is & How to Do It

10. WordTune

Wordtune is an AI writing tool designed to maximize productivity. It can generate text, detect grammar mistakes, and correct your spelling. 

The tool also uses AI to rewrite, shorten, or expand your content. And make recommendations for better flow. 

Key Features and Benefits 

This AI-powered tool features a text editor and functions like "Rewrite," "Expand," and "Suggested edits."

Let's assume you want to reword a sentence. Paste it in the text editor and click "Rewrite."

A sentence selected and "Rewrite" highlighted from the options above on WordTune.

Wordtune will generate multiple versions of the sentence you want to improve. 

Select one version and make further changes if necessary. For example, you can tell Wordtune to rewrite the sentence in a different tone. 

Or click the cross symbol to get content ideas. So you can expand on the topic and cover all the bases. 

The cross symbol on WordTune clicked showing contextual suggestions to expand on the topic.

Wordtune's AI writing tool will generate content based on your input. 

Content generated based on the option selected on WordTune.

You can also use its grammar checker to find and fix misspellings, punctuation errors, and other blunders. 

"Editor's Notes" list on WordTune with suggestions to fix misspellings, punctuation errors, and other grammatical errors.

For SEO, use Wordtune's AI rewriter to create content around a given keyword. 

Open a new page, click "Generate with AI," and enter a prompt. Like, “Write an introduction to a blog post about protein powder. Use the keyword “whey vs. soy protein” within the first two sentences.”

Or ask AI to create an outline for your blog post. 

Further reading: Quality Content: What It Is + 10 Actionable Tips for Success

Pricing 

Wordtune has a free plan that includes 10 rewrites and AI-generated snippets per day, three AI summarizations per month, and unlimited text corrections and grammar checks.

Users can also choose from two premium plans with additional AI features.

  • Advanced: $13.99 per month
  • Unlimited: $19.99 per month

Improve Your Content with the Best SEO Writing Tools 

Use SEO writing tools to polish your copy and make it more impactful. These apps can help you craft error-free and optimized content in less time and uncover areas for improvement. 

For example, Semrush's SEO Writing Assistant analyzes your text for readability, originality, and tone of voice. It also suggests keywords to make your content easier to find online. 

ContentShake AI, one of Semrush's best SEO content writing tools, can generate topic ideas in seconds. Plus, it uses AI to create website copy and social media posts. 

The AI Writing Assistant app also gives you access to 74 content creation tools. Leverage its features to generate images, headlines, blog outlines, intros, and more. 

Get all the tools you need in one place with a Semrush account. Sign up today to improve your writing and create content that ranks and converts. 

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Sydney has been creating content for over 10 years. She has been a writer, content manager and coordinator, editor, and strategist. At Semrush, she’s a blog editor who makes sure each article is as accurate, optimized, and helpful as possible.
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