From brainstorming concepts, creating outlines, repurposing content material — AI could make your job as a author an entire lot simpler.
Synthetic intelligence isn’t going to do your greatest be just right for you, after all. We all know there’s (fortunately?) nonetheless work to be accomplished in replicating the weirdness and marvel of human creativity. However AI can take a few of the work off your plate, so you may deal with precisely that: creating.
Nevertheless, with the ever-growing checklist of AI software program and instruments in the marketplace — all promising that can assist you generate, streamline, and automate your writing course of — it may be tough to determine which of them are price your time (and cash).
Which is the place I are available. I’m a productiveness nerd who loves testing out new instruments, and I’ve put dozens of AI writing assistants to the take a look at within the hope of working smarter, not more durable.
My final purpose is to take away the admin and repetition from my to-do checklist as a author so I can deal with what brings me pleasure. (The creating half, as you will have guessed.)
On this article, I’ll take a deep dive into my favourite AI writing mills and who I believe they’ll be most helpful for.
A few years in the past, AI writing instruments felt experimental — even area of interest. Quick ahead to at the moment, and it looks as if everybody has launched one. From Google Docs to Notion to each app with a ‘magic’ button, AI writing is now not a shiny characteristic — it’s desk stakes.
However right here’s the factor: whereas many instruments use the identical underlying fashions (like OpenAI’s GPT or Anthropic’s Claude), they’re not all constructed the identical. The distinction is within the workflows, the interface, and whether or not the instrument really helps you do your job higher — or simply provides one other tab to your browser.
That’s why this checklist isn’t only a assortment of the most well-liked apps. It’s a roundup of the instruments I’ve personally examined and located helpful as a author and content material creator. Instruments that assist me spend much less time formatting, fiddling, or combating author’s block — and extra time really writing.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the choices on the market, I hope this breakdown helps you discover one thing that matches your workflow and your mind.
How I exploit AI in my work
At Buffer, our strategy to AI is easy: it’s a instrument, not a substitute. You’ll by no means discover utterly AI-generated content material on Buffer’s weblog, web site, or the product itself — a human opinions all the things. (You’ll be able to learn extra about how we use AI on the content material staff right here.)
There are a plethora of how to make use of AI instruments in your content material creation course of, however listed below are some methods I’m utilizing AI as a author:
- Generate concepts
- Draft article outlines
- Rephrase paragraphs or phrases with a particular tone
- Generate sentences or paragraphs after I’m hit with author’s block (although I’ll at all times fact-check, edit, or rewrite these)
- Repurpose weblog posts into social media posts
- Write foolish poems I can share for pals’ birthdays
OK, that final one doesn’t precisely depend as work, but it surely’s considered one of my favourite methods to make use of it.
For all the above (and some extra duties), these are one of the best AI writing instruments I’ve examined*.
How I selected these instruments
There are rather a lot of AI writing instruments on the market — and loads of them sound nice on paper. However I used to be on the lookout for ones that truly made writing simpler, no more difficult.
Right here’s what I prioritized when testing each:
- Usefulness for content material creators — I centered on instruments that help duties like outlining, repurposing, writing for social, or breaking via author’s block.
- Ease of use — I didn’t wish to spend hours studying a brand new instrument. These are all beginner-friendly, with minimal setup required.
- Sensible defaults — Whether or not it’s tone, formatting, or search engine optimization, one of the best instruments provided sturdy outputs even after I gave minimal enter.
- Room to develop — Bonus factors if the instrument had options I may develop into (like customized model voice settings or workflow automation).
None of those instruments are excellent — however all of them earned a spot by saving me time, lowering friction, and serving to me get phrases on the web page sooner.
1. Buffer’s AI Assistant
Finest AI writing instrument for social media content material
Buffer’s AI Assistant was constructed for social media. You should utilize it as and whenever you create and schedule your content material with Buffer, making the content material creation course of seamless (no extra copy-pasting to numerous social networks — particularly tedious should you’re cross-posting to a number of platforms).
The most effective factor about Buffer’s AI Assistant is that it understands the nuances of every social media platform. For instance, the content material you create for X (previously Twitter) gained’t exceed your character restrict. It’s additionally skilled to make the tone of LinkedIn content material extra skilled, Instagram extra playful, and so forth.
One other time-saving characteristic is the enhancing buttons throughout the assistant. As an alternative of getting to sort additional directions to the Assistant to tweak your publish, simply click on Rephrase, Shorten, Broaden, Extra informal, or Extra formal to get you nearer to the content material you’re after.
You may as well use these buttons to tweak sure elements of your posts should you don’t wish to rewrite the whole thing — one other time saver. (When you’re new to utilizing AI on this method, this newbie’s information to utilizing AI for social media is a useful learn.)
Past these basic options, listed below are a few of my favourite use circumstances as a author seeking to create extra content material on social media and construct my private model:
Customized concepts
In my expertise as a creator and social media supervisor, social media author’s block is SO a lot worse than the common form. Maybe it’s the sheer quantity of content material it’s a must to create. Who is aware of.
Mercifully, I’ve discovered Buffer’s AI Assistant, which suggests it is a factor of the previous. After I’m caught on what to publish, I head over to Buffer’s Create Area (the place I brain-dump all my publish concepts) and click on the Generate Concepts button.
To get a greater sense of what’s going to resonate along with your viewers, the assistant will ask you two issues:
- What’s your enterprise about?
- Who’s your target market?
From there, the Assistant will generate a stream of concepts so that you can assess, separately. On each, you’ll be capable of hit Use it, which is able to open a pre-filled publish creation window, or Strive one other to regenerate.
Repurpose different posts and content material
The most effective use circumstances for this instrument is the power to repurpose content material that has carried out properly or rewrite it to be extra acceptable for an additional platform.
I typically use the latter to transform posts I’ve created for LinkedIn right into a Twitter thread (one thing that used to take me ages).
One thing else I’m leaning into proper now could be repurposing older social media posts into one thing recent. There’s a good likelihood an enormous chunk of my viewers missed sure posts, and people who noticed them seemingly gained’t keep in mind in the event that they did (particularly if the unique publish has been given a glow-up).
I additionally use the AI Assistant to summarize whole weblog posts I’ve written into bite-sized social snippets — one other factor that used to take me ages.
Free and limitless on all Buffer plans
Not like many different AI author instruments, particularly these constructed for social media, there’s no ‘credit’ system in place. The AI Assistant is free to make use of, as is Buffer (for as much as three channels). With regards to the variety of prompts and rephrases you may submit, the restrict doesn’t exist!
Bonus: No-sign-up-required Social Media Publish Creator
You don’t must be a Buffer person to make use of the AI Assistant. With the free Social Media Publish Creator, you may take the instrument for a take a look at run (or use it indefinitely) with out creating an account or sharing your e-mail handle.
2. Jasper
Finest AI writing instrument for Advertising groups
As one of many first AI writing instruments to market (then often called Jarvis), Jasper has had time to hone its UI and have set.
Together with AI textual content era for a plethora of particular tasks — all the things from touchdown pages to full-on advertising and marketing campaigns, Jasper additionally boasts Remix (a devoted instrument for remodeling content material through a hyperlink, uploaded doc, or textual content), Chat (a back-and-forth chat field with the AI that can assist you brainstorm or hone concepts), plus a Chrome extension.
Jasper has moved past simply copywriting and now goals squarely at advertising and marketing groups. The collaborative options imply everybody can bounce into numerous paperwork and examine tasks and campaigns at a look with nifty Kanban and calendar views. Managers and editors also can add in issues like model voice and magnificence information paperwork to make sure issues keep on observe throughout all content material items.
When writing, Jasper’s intuitive system will ask you to enter a easy immediate or select from a listing of templates. From there, you’ll be requested for extra info upfront, which differs relying on what you’re engaged on. Earlier than producing your draft, you may add issues like your target market, particular factors to incorporate, and extra — however the AI can predict these items so properly that this normally simply entails selecting from some really helpful choices.
Whereas Jasper is intuitive and nice for groups, it’s price noting that the muse of the instrument is identical as a lot of the different (cheaper) choices on this checklist. Jasper “makes use of over a dozen language fashions,” however the advertising and marketing copy generated is just like what you’ll get from ChatGPT and different AI writing software program.
Pricing: 7-day trial, then costs begin at $49 per 30 days
3. Copy.ai
Finest AI writing instrument for automating repetitive writing duties
Copy.ai is one other instrument on this checklist that has outgrown the content material era mildew it was born into. The multifaceted instrument goals to assist Gross sales and Advertising groups go from “go-to-market bloat to velocity.”
What meaning in apply is a slick instrument rather a lot like Jasper. Nevertheless, Copy.ai locations extra emphasis on repeatable workflows that may assist save entrepreneurs (or salespeople) time — assume “repurpose this weblog publish right into a LinkedIn publish,” “Test this copy for plagiarism,” or “Discover prospects at firm X.”
You’ll be able to select these workflows from a formidable library or customise your personal. The completed product will look one thing like a flowchart, the place every step within the course of is successfully an AI immediate (or a sequence of them).
When you’re not bothered with workflows, you may bounce straight into Chat, their AI content material generator. It’s rather a lot like the standard prompt-and-generate system most AI instruments use and requires numerous context to generate what you’re on the lookout for — which is why you is likely to be higher off getting the dangle of the workflow system.
Like Jasper, you may have Copy.ai assess your content material to match your tone and magnificence.
Pricing: Free model with restricted options, paid plans beginning at $49 per 30 days.
4. Lex
Finest AI writing instrument for writing execs
As knowledgeable author, I do not need an AI writing instrument that does the work for me; I need one which works with me. That is precisely what Lex does.
Not like most of the different instruments on this checklist, Lex is initially a instrument for creating copy. It may not have all of the bells and whistles that the others have, however what it does, it does exceptionally properly.
The interface is rather a lot like Google Docs or Microsoft Phrase, simply… cleaner? It is bought some light-weight formatting choices and collaboration instruments (feedback, sharing, and many others.).
Sure, you should utilize prompts to generate drafts, simply as you’d with any AI writing instrument. However the place Lex actually shines is in enhancing and refining your work. It is a bit like having an AI editor to work with you.
You’ll be able to have it rewrite sentences you do not like primarily based on particular directions (make shorter, make funnier), or write extra primarily based on earlier paragraphs (nice should you’re a bit brief on phrase depend).
My favourite is the proofreading perform, ‘Checks.’ You’ll be able to have Lex’s AI verify for the apparent issues like spelling and grammar, but additionally for brevity, cliches, and passive voice.
Pricing: Restricted free model. Lex Professional costs begin at $18 per 30 days, or $144 yearly.
5. Hubspot Breeze
Finest AI writing instrument to streamline enterprise operations
Consider HubSpot Breeze because the Swiss Military knife of AI instruments. The platform helps entrepreneurs, gross sales reps, and customer support brokers take out a lot of the grunt work that comes with their actions and enhance their productiveness.
HubSpot Breeze handles something from writing fast emails and social captions all the way down to extra advanced duties like producing web site pages and summarizing CRM information into digestible experiences. The way in which it does that is via Breeze Brokers — consider them as separate AI assistants, every specialised in its personal division.
For instance, the Content material Agent generates blogs, touchdown pages, podcasts, and the rest content-related. In the meantime, the Breeze Buyer Agent handles fundamental customer support inquiries, provides reply ideas, and compiles customer support information into visible experiences.
There’s additionally the Breeze Co-pilot, which does just a little little bit of all the things — it will probably replace CRM data, generate content material, and summarize buyer help tickets, for instance.
Pricing: Breeze is out there in HubSpot’s free starter suite in addition to all through HubSpot’s premium product choices. Paid pricing begins at $15 per person per 30 days.
6. Sudowrite
Finest AI writing instrument for artistic writing and fiction
If, like me, you’ve been threatening to jot down a novel for years, Sudowrite might quickly develop into your new greatest buddy. Not solely will Sudowrite aid you generate concepts and write tales for the characters you’ve had floating round in your head for years, but it surely’s additionally an AI-powered challenge administration instrument of kinds particularly designed for fiction writers.
As for the writing itself, you’ll begin by coming into the style of your masterpiece-in-progress, then get cracking on the draft. As an alternative of coming into a immediate, begin by coming into what you’ve gotten. With a couple of sentences to start out a chapter, click on the ‘Write’ button, and the AI generator will counsel a number of choices to maintain transferring the story ahead. Spotlight a phrase or phrase and hit ‘Describe’ to generate an outline of the thing primarily based on every of the senses or a metaphor.
There’s additionally a ‘Rewrite’ button that can assist you paraphrase or rework one thing and a ‘Brainstorm’ button to assist get your artistic juices flowing in particular instructions, from characters to world-building to plot factors.
When you’re not prepared to leap proper into chapter 1, you may wish to mess around with Sudowrite’s Story Engine, an area the place you may go into extra element about your style, characters, and description, add extra writing samples to assist the AI match your fashion or simply mind dump concepts.
Then there’s Sudowrite’s Canvas – an area for thoughts mapping your (and the AI’s) imaginings to offer you a hen’s-eye view (and hold observe of) the story you’re creating.
Sudowrite additionally boasts a helpful Google Docs extension so you may work the place you write greatest and a bustling Slack neighborhood of different Sudowrite customers so you may bounce concepts off of people sometimes.
Pricing: Credit score-based free trial (for a specific amount of phrases generated), then costs begin at $10 per 30 days
7. Sort
Finest AI writing instrument for a easy AI writing assistant
Sort describes itself as an AI-first doc editor. With the instrument, you may create brief and long-form content material, from emails to YouTube scripts to cowl letters.
The interface — clear and user-friendly — requires you to start with a easy immediate to get you began. There’s a template library to faucet into, which is helpful for these moments whenever you simply can’t face watching a clean web page (we’ve all been there). From there, Sort will generate a high-quality content material draft, which you’re then inspired to play with and make your personal.
Sort’s generative AI makes it very easy to do that with a bunch of various choices — for instance, you may swap between OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude 3. “Claude tends to be extra artistic and expressive however not fairly pretty much as good at advanced reasoning, whereas the GPT fashions are sometimes a lot better at reasoning, however possibly a bit drier with tone,” Sort Founder Stew Fortier explains in an onboarding video.
There’s additionally the ‘What to jot down about subsequent’ block, a helpful springboard for something you may wish to add. The sidebar accommodates a listing of ideas associated to no matter you’re engaged on that you should utilize to generate one other paragraph. In the primary editor, you may also- spotlight particular sentences, paragraphs, or phrases and ask Sort to transform them for you.
All of the frequent choices can be found, however ‘Customized rework’ is especially helpful, permitting you to ask the AI to do one thing actually particular along with your highlighted textual content.
Pricing: 14 days free, then $29.00 per 30 days.
8. SEOWind
Finest AI writing instrument for search engine optimization content material briefs
SEOWind isn’t a multi-purpose instrument like most of the others on this — it’s laser-focused search engine optimization (search-engine optimized) content material, making it an ideal instrument for content material advertising and marketing.
As such, SEOWind doesn’t ask you to enter a immediate to kick-start your writing however a major search time period. From there, it’ll bounce you to a captivating dashboard that analyzes weblog posts and pages already rating for this time period that can assist you create your ‘temporary.’
On this build-you-brief dashboard, you’ll see a competitor evaluation (an summary of weblog posts and pages already rating in Google to your time period), competitor outlines (the construction of their content material), and inquiries to reply (associated queries pulled from Google, Quora and Reddit). Together with this, the instrument recommends the best phrase depend, the variety of headings, and even the variety of photos to incorporate.
With this info at your fingertips, you may set about pulling bits and items to create your personal temporary, from which SEOWind’s AI will generate a draft so that you can obtain in your format of selection — from there, you’re left to edit the article by yourself. Whereas SEOWind makes briefs tremendous customizable, there’s no technique to edit and rework with AI as soon as your draft is generated.
All briefs are saved inside tasks, the place SEOWind encourages you so as to add particulars about your model tone, particulars about your organization and merchandise, and even integrates with Google Search Console that can assist you discover inside linking alternatives (one of many extra tedious tick-boxes in search engine optimization writing for positive!).
Pricing: 7-day trial, then costs begin at $59 per 30 days.
9. ChatGPT
Finest free AI writing instrument
You is likely to be stunned to seek out ChatGPT in and amongst a few of its extra area of interest rivals, however I’d be remiss to not point out it right here. As a free AI writing instrument (for GPT-3, a minimum of), ChatGPT is one I hold returning to for fast concepts, weblog publish outlines, and goofy metaphors.
ChatGPT, a chatbot primarily based on Open AI’s GPT mannequin, is what most of the bells-and-whistle-filled instruments above are constructed on and what helps generate the copy that lands of their fancy interfaces.
Studying to immediate ChatGPT takes some doing — I are inclined to err on the facet of offering as a lot context as doable — however the chat-style interface might be useful as you refine your ask and tweak prompts as you go.
Pricing: Free for the fundamental model, with paid plans beginning at $10 per 30 days
A fast word on privateness and AI fashions
Lots of the instruments on this checklist are powered by massive language fashions (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT-4 or Anthropic’s Claude. These fashions have been skilled on a variety of web textual content to generate high-quality writing, however in addition they include questions round privateness and accuracy.
When selecting instruments, I caught to ones which are upfront about how they deal with your information — particularly for work-related awriting. Some, like Author, use their very own proprietary fashions designed with compliance in thoughts. Others depend on third-party fashions however provide settings to maintain your prompts personal.
If information safety is a priority to your staff, I like to recommend checking every instrument’s privateness coverage earlier than diving in.
Whereas I’ve examined many AI writing mills, I’m not an AI myself and, as such, can’t take a look at all of them. (In case you’re questioning, that tacky simile was all mine.)
If there’s a instrument on the market that I’ve to place via its paces, I’d love to listen to about it! Please remark under or tag @buffer or @bufferapp on all main social channels, and I’ll put your favourite instrument to the take a look at.
