If you’re a developer or a technical SEO, you’ve been there. You run a URL through PageSpeed Insights, and you’re staring at a sea of red numbers and cryptic recommendations like “reduce initial server response time” or “eliminate render-blocking resources.”
In my experience, the report is great at telling you what’s wrong, but not always great at telling you how to fix it in plain English. This is where I use AI to bridge the gap. In my main guide on How Can AI Automate and Simplify Technical SEO Audits?, we discussed the overall strategy. Here, we’ll focus specifically on performance.
Why is a Manual Page Speed Analysis So Difficult?
The main challenge is complexity. A single PageSpeed Insights report contains dozens of data points. Understanding the nuances of Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) and prioritizing the long list of “opportunities” and “diagnostics” can be overwhelming, even for experienced professionals. It’s easy to spend hours on a low-impact fix while missing the one change that could dramatically improve your score.
My Workflow for AI-Powered Performance Audits
My process is designed to turn a confusing report into a clear, prioritized action plan. It’s all about using AI as an expert performance analyst.
Step 1: Get Your Raw Data from PageSpeed Insights
First, you need the source data.
- Go to Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool and enter the URL you want to analyze.
- Once the report is generated, scroll down to the “Diagnostics” section.
- Copy the entire list of diagnostics. This is the raw data we will feed to the AI.
Step 2: Use the “AI Performance Analyst” Prompt
This is the core of the workflow. We’re asking the AI to act as a senior developer and translate the technical jargon into a prioritized to-do list.
Your Action: Use this expert-level prompt.
ROLE: You are a senior Web Performance Engineer and Technical SEO expert with 15 years of experience.
TASK: Analyze the following raw diagnostics report from a Google PageSpeed Insights test. Your goal is to translate the technical issues into a clear, prioritized action plan for a developer.
CONTEXT: The main goal is to improve the Core Web Vitals, especially the LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) score. You must explain *why* each issue is important in simple terms and prioritize the recommendations based on their likely impact on the score.
OUTPUT FORMAT:
- Executive Summary: (A 2-sentence summary of the single biggest performance bottleneck.)
- Prioritized Action Plan: (A numbered list of the top 3-5 most impactful fixes. For each fix, provide a simple explanation of the problem and the recommended solution.)
PAGESPEED INSIGHTS DIAGNOSTICS:
[Paste the full text of the Diagnostics section from your report here]
Step 3: Generate Code Snippets for Fixes
Once the AI has identified the top priorities, you can use follow-up prompts to get help with the actual implementation. This is a huge time-saver.
Your Action: Ask a specific follow-up question. “For your recommendation to ‘defer offscreen images,’ can you provide an example of the HTML and JavaScript code needed to implement lazy loading for my images?”
How Does This Fit into a Broader Technical Audit?
While PageSpeed Insights is perfect for analyzing a single URL, a comprehensive technical audit requires a site-wide view. For that, I use the Technical Page Audit feature in my AI SEO Toolkit. It helps me monitor performance across the entire site over time, spotting systemic issues that a single test might miss.
Implementing some of these fixes, especially server-side optimizations or complex JavaScript refactoring, can be highly technical. This is often where I partner with development teams to ensure the changes are implemented correctly without breaking site functionality.
My Final Thoughts
Using AI for page speed audits is about turning a confusing diagnostic report into a clear, prioritized action plan. It closes the gap between “what’s wrong” and “what to do next.” This workflow makes AI page speed optimization more accessible and allows you to focus your time on the fixes that will make the biggest difference to your Core Web Vitals.
About Me
I’m Sanwal Zia, a certified SEO strategist and the founder of Optimize with Sanwal. With expertise recognized by prestigious organizations, I focus on building effective search strategies that drive growth. You can connect with me on YouTube, my Website, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
