Dragan Stevanovic

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to create content has polarized the publishing industry, with some worrying AI tools might replace humans while others arguing they’re key to boosting productivity. Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, AI tools for content creation are not only here to stay but are set to proliferate in the future. Months before generative AI captured the global imagination via the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, IBM released a survey of businesses that revealed 35% were already using AI while 42% were exploring it. Five months later and another survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of US marketing professionals use generative AI tools in their work: In 2023, 73% of surveyed US marketers said they used generative AI in their companies’ efforts. Source: Statista Companies are increasingly turning to AI to navigate skills shortages, improve productivity and streamline their marketing efforts. With the introduction of ChatGPT and advanced large language models (LLMs), AI content creation tools are fast becoming a cornerstone of the global economy. With this in mind, we’ve compiled our list of AI tools for content creations we think can help publishers and marketers level up their productivity today. Read on to find out more. What Are AI Content Creation Tools? Artificial intelligence (AI) content creation tools use generative AI to mimic the human writing, editing and design skills to create or repurpose content in a fraction of the time it would take a human. While these tools are a subset of generative AI, increasingly many actually contain elements of predictive AI and prescriptive AI. Where predictive AI — think Microsoft Azure ML, RapidMiner or Health Catalyst — analyzes historical data and forecasts future outcomes, generative AI tools — ChatGPT, Bard or Claude — leverage existing datasets to produce content using natural language patterns. Meanwhile, prescriptive AI — IBM Decision Optimization for Watson Studio or Alteryx — will analyze data points and suggest the best course of action. The results are already being felt within the marketing industry, with a 2022 survey finding that 43% of marketers believed AI and automation drove organizational growth (PDF download). Bloomberg’s Cyborg is an example of how to maximize the role of AI in the publishing industry. The tool produces thousands of articles about company earnings by identifying key numbers and transforming them into content. In other words, the analytical and generative elements in Cyborg converge to produce content at scale while significantly reducing costs in the process. Bloomberg’s Cyborg extracts key figures from the company’s reports and transforms them into publishing-ready content. Source: Risk.net Benefits of AI Content Creation Tools for Organizations and Individuals Artificial intelligence (AI) offers obvious benefits: increased productivity, cost-effectiveness and saved time. The way AI tools affect business ecosystems and the content creation process brings other advantages. 1. Cost Efficiency Most AI tools are affordable and, with proper strategies in place, they can complement human workers’ capabilities, helping to produce better content faster. Midjourney, one of the tools discussed below, starts from as little as $8 per month, while ChatGPT offers free and paid versions. 2. Fast and Scalable Output AI writing tools produce long-form content – and other formats – much faster than humans alone. A first draft can be completed in seconds instead of hours. Blog writers who use AI report working around 30% faster than those without. AI-assisted content creation offers businesses and individuals the chance to save time and money, both of which are key to scaling content production. 3. Personalization and Targeting Content marketing efforts result in greater engagement and conversion rates if a company can tailor them better to the target audience. AI content creation tools leverage data analysis on consumer behavior and preferences to inform about and ultimately help in producing content that resonates. With integrated A/B testing and predictive keyword analysis, AI tools can also improve SEO, overall readability, and hone in on brand voice, all of which are crucial for visibility, higher rankings and clear messaging. 3. Content Marketing Strategy and Management AI tools can serve as an all-in-one solution for content marketing efforts, from initial research, ideation, task assignment, drafting and publishing, all the way to analyzing engagement metrics and suggesting next steps. Some tools even include competition tracking. At the same time, however, understanding how to leverage these tools to the fullest is still a work in progress. Indeed, 43% of marketers don’t know how to get the most out of AI while 70% don’t believe they’ve received proper generative AI training. 4. Automation and Agile Marketing The end goal of AI tools is to deliver higher levels of automation with minor supervision. This opens the door to better implementation of agile marketing principles and stronger market positioning for businesses. Top AI Tools for Content Creation Please note that because these are not deep-dive reviews, we’ve ordered the following platforms by category and listed them alphabetically rather than in order of preference. Text Generation/Editing 1. ChatGPT ChatGPT is Open AI’s seminal natural language processing (NLP) chatbot that understands and generates text based on the prompts it receives. This AI writing tool can write full-fledged blog posts, website copy, product descriptions, programming code, customized emails, social media captions, ads, taglines and meta descriptions. It can also translate text. Besides writing, ChatGPT creates minor visual outputs, such as charts, tables and calendars, which can be useful for content strategy. ChatGPT’s UI can incorporate plugins without damaging the overall simplicity of the layout. Source: Open AI The paid version, ChatGPT Plus, includes many plugins by users and companies. These plugins enable ChatGPT to read documents, communicate with external apps, and perform data analysis and tasks. As of September 2023, ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise editions have access to current events and the Internet thanks to the Microsoft Bing engine. ChatGPT offers three pricing plans: ChatGPT (v. 3.5) — free ChatGPT Plus (v. 4.0) — $20 per month ChatGPT Enterprise — scalable ChatGPT Features Text generation Document translation File upload and analysis Voice control Integrates with other apps Ever-expanding library of plugins Pros Simple and easy-to-use UI Applicable in many industries Very useful for kickstarting content creation Affordable subscription Cons Tone and style customization can be challenging Occasional response lags in the free version 2. Grammarly Grammarly started life as a revision tool for grammar and plagiarism but has since included generative AI that uses text prompts to write content. The revision section of Grammarly AI corrects punctuation, grammar, style and overall clarity in real-time. As for the generative component, Grammarly suggests alternative word choices or writes paragraphs that correspond to the user’s style and context. The plagiarism checker isn’t available in the Chrome/MacOS extension, being restricted to the Grammarly website dashboard. Here the user receives a full overview of sources and plagiarism percentages. Grammarly dashboard checks for grammar, style and plagiarism, while GrammarlyGO is the platform’s generative AI tool. Source: Grammarly Grammarly pricing depends on the number of members and frequency of payment. For monthly subscriptions, the price is locked at $25 per month per person, regardless of the users a company has. However, annual subscriptions offer some discounts: 1-9 users: $15 per member per month 10-49: $14.50 per member per month 50-149: $12.50 per member per month 150+: custom plan Grammarly Features Grammar and spell checker Style suggestions Simple explanations for corrections AI writer Available in most writing apps and browsers Freemium software Pros Free version covers browser plugins and grammar correction Easy-to-use UI Practical integrations Time-saver Cons Occasionally misses grammar nuances There are more advanced AI writers 3. JasperAI Jasper AI (formerly Jarvis) focuses on writing long-form content, such as blog posts and articles, although it can also produce social media posts, emails and marketing copy. Jasper’s biggest advantages are a thorough understanding of context and advanced tone output. Compared to other popular writing tools, Jasper excels in tailoring the requested tone throughout the copy. Because of its integration with SurferSEO, the tool produces high-quality content that is SEO-optimized. Because Jasper is run by a chatbot, the user interface (UI) is relatively easy to use, navigate and edit. Besides writing, the software can also produce AI art. Jasper’s UI is clean with plenty of useful tools and templates for marketing writing and campaigns. Source: Jasper AI Jasper has following pricing plans: Creator: $49 per month (billed monthly), $39 per month (billed annually) Teams: $125 per month (billed monthly), $99 per month (billed annually) Business: a custom plan depending on needs Jasper AI Features Quick long-form content generation Plagiarism checker Hundreds of templates High-level personalization Integration with Grammarly and SurferSEO Image generation Pros Precise tone customization Easy to use SEO-optimized output Content ideas Cons Repetitive on occasion SEO and plagiarism checker require add-ons 4. Narrato Narrato is a one-stop AI solution that helps businesses and individuals through the entire content creation lifecycle: from ideation, planning and drafting to editing and publishing. The software’s AI content assistant provides content briefs, checks writing, grammar and readability, and schedules finished pieces. There is also an integrated plagiarism checker. The platform also has hundreds of templates for content generation. Narrato shows LSI keyword frequency and density to ensure SEO-optimized writing. On the management side, the software comes with a content calendar, workflow automations, and task management, not unlike Airtable or ClickUp. Narrato is also a collaborative platform, so content managers, editors and writers can use a single dashboard for all revisions and tweaks. In fact, the platform can also connect clients with writers that best suit their needs and market niche. Narrato combines content management items with AI content writing. Source: Narrato Narrato offers three pricing options: Pro: $52 per month (billed monthly), $36 per month (billed annually) Business: $100 per month (billed monthly), $76 per month (billed annually) Custom plan: depending on the needs Narrato Features AI content assistant Real-time SEO score Content and task management Collaborative space Custom workflows Plagiarism checker Pros Consolidates content creation and management AI tools for content optimization Hundreds of AI templates Streamline workflows Cons Reports could be more detailed Missing social media integrations Image Creation/Editing 5. Midjourney Midjourney is an AI art-generating Discord chatbot that creates images based on text prompts. The latest Midjourney V5 brings hyper-realistic images and increased responsiveness to users’ inputs. Besides generating different photos — landscape, portrait and fantasy art – Midjourney users also leverage the tool to design marketing visuals, product mockups and social media posts. Users can specify the resolution, aspect ratio and style. The UI consists of a public Discord channel, which, upon being prompted, returns the requested images and offers further fine-tuning. Midjourney Discord bot generates images and encourages learning from other creators. Source: Midjourney Midjourney offers four pricing plans: Basic: $10 per month (billed monthly), $8 per month (billed annually) Standard: $30 per month (billed monthly), $24 per month (billed annually) Pro: $60 per month (billed monthly), $48 per month (billed annually) Mega: $120 per month (billed monthly), $96 per month (billed annually) Midjourney Features High-quality images, photorealism Vast range of styles Zoom out mode Modifiable aspect ratio and resolution Pan button expands the image Pros The most powerful image-generation tool today Applicable in many industries Image fine tuning Responsive Cons Discord channel is public Image copyrights remain undetermined 6. Canva Canva is a graphic design veteran with many practical features, templates and a huge library of visual elements. Last year, Canva rolled out its AI-powered content creation add-on, also known as Magic Design. Magic Design is a text-to-image generator that leverages millions of stock images and videos to produce high-quality designs. All the core functionalities of Canva are, of course, still there. The AI output can be combined with multiple templates, edited or used as a standalone. Canva also allows for specific styles, aspect ratios, effects, stickers, font customization and brand-defined palettes. The company takes data safety very seriously. Canva Shield is an AI data and protection system within the software that ensures privacy and content safety. By sharing the workspace link, this platform becomes a collaborative graphic design space. Canva has two pricing options: Pro: $11.99 per month (billed monthly), $109.99 per month (billed annually) Teams: $23.99 per month (billed monthly), $240 per month (billed annually) The company offers special discounts to teachers, schools and school districts, once verified. Canva Features AI-powered design, editing and erasing Vast library of images, videos and graphic design elements Magic Switch for easy transitions between formats Customizable templates Various image styles and adjustments Canva Shield Pros Intuitive and easy to use Flexible and suitable for all levels of expertise Easy content repurposing Safe, secure and private Cons The best elements only come with paid version Video Generation/Editing 7. Synthesia Synthesia is a tool that creates AI-generated videos based on text prompts. The tool is particularly helpful in creating video content for marketing and sales departments, learning and development, and customer service. Synthesia offers 125 stock AI avatars and generated voiceovers in 120 languages, solving the problem of camera shyness. Industry-specific templates shorten the time needed to create scripts. Shared spaces, meanwhile, allow team members to pitch suggestions and feedback. Among video editing tools, Synthesia is one of the more user-friendly and easy to use. The video output is high-quality and can be customized to accommodate brand guidelines. Synthesia’s free video demo lets users get a taste of natural-sounding, AI-generated video clips. Source: Synthesia There are two pricing plans available: Starter: $29 per month (billed monthly), $22 per month (billed annually) Enterprise: custom plan depending on needs Synthesia Features Text-to-speech AI avatars Different language support Customizable templates and video backgrounds Screen recording Collaborative work Pros Stable and easy UI Realistic, human-like voices Hyper-localized video content Consistent and valuable updates Cons Not the best for complex videos Can become expensive Audio/Podcast Creation/Editing 8. Murf For those who want AI voice generation or to enhance their own audio recordings without going to a fully-equipped studio, Murf can be very helpful. Murf uses natural language processing (NLP) technology to create voice overs from text inputs. The AI can produce studio-quality recordings in 20 languages. It can even sample an individual user’s voice and use it for audio generation. Recordings can further be improved by adding pauses, effects and emphasis for a more natural-sounding output. Finally, Murf also allows users to add images, text and videos to the project, which can be useful for TikTok and Instagram reels, podcasts, learning platforms and explainer videos. Murf’s Studio is a clean, intuitive platform with lots of functionalities and voices to choose from. Source: Murf Murf comes with three different pricing plans: Basic: $29 per month (billed monthly), $19 per month (billed annually) Pro: $39 per month (billed monthly), $26 per month (billed annually) Enterprise: $75 per month (billed monthly), $75 per month (billed annually) The plans limit the number of voice generation hours. For example, Pro allows for 48 hours of voice generation per year, so Murf is not always the best long-term solution, depending on production needs. Murf Features Text-to-speech generation in 120 voices 20 languages supported Voice sampling Linguistic and emotional nuances Google Slides add-on Pros Wide choice of AI voices Natural-sounding audio output Many customization options Cost-effective and saves time Cons Slight learning curve Not a long-term solution 9. Podcastle Podcastle lets users plan, create, edit and promote their podcasts. The platform generates high-quality audio and video recording that can be further enhanced by features such as AI noise canceling, semi-automated audio clipping, minimizing noise, and auto-leveling. The reverse is also possible: Podcastle can transcribe uploaded audio into text, which is useful for generating captions. Similarly to Murf above, there is also the option of voice cloning. For vloggers and video podcasts, this tool can record the stream while simultaneously conducting interviews with up to 10 people. However, it doesn’t allow for special video effects, so it might not be the best solution for YouTubers used to the feature. A screenshot of Podcastle’s main dashboard, with dedicated tabs for recording, audio editing, AI voice generation and transcription. Source: Podcastle Podcastle has three pricing plans: Storyteller: $14.99 per month (billed monthly), $11.99 per month (billed annually) Pro: $29.99 per month (billed monthly), $23.99 per month (billed annually) Business: custom plans Podcastle Features Web-based tool for recording, editing and publishing podcasts Audio improvements such as echo and noise cancelation AI voice cloning Audio-to-text transcription Automated improvement suggestions Pros All-around podcasting process High-quality audio recordings Free version includes unlimited recordings Efficient audio improvements Cons Not the best for YouTubers who use lots of video effects UI/UX changes still underway Social Media Management 10. Lately For individuals and businesses wanting to create social media posts and build a strong presence, Lately can repurpose long-form content, schedule new social media content, and provide feedback on trending topics. The platform takes the uploaded content — blog posts, videos, audio recordings — and the AI slices them into bite-sized posts based on the potential engagement metrics. In some cases, the AI will rewrite the content to optimize results further. One great thing about Lately is that the audio and video content is instantly turned into transcripts with matching recordings. Moreover, the tool can schedule a drip feed of selected posts, which builds into a successful launch, marketing campaign or PR piece, spanning over a period of time. The platform also tracks and analyzes social media engagement, while simultaneously proposing content ideas that could result in higher engagement and conversion rates. Upon inserting a text, audio or video file into Lately’s engine, the AI takes over and analyzes social media posts’ engagement potential. Source: Lately Lately has three pricing plans for Small Businesses, depending on their needs: 4 social channels: $49 per month 10 social channels: $119 per month Unlimited number of social channels: $199 per month There is also an Enterprise edition for large companies. Lately Features Multi-channel social media management Creates posts from various types of content Consistent analysis of previous posts and subsequent improvements Social media campaign scheduling AI content writer Pros Centralized dashboard Streamlined, all-around social media workflow Actionable insights and suggestions Affordable, multi-tier pricing plans Cons Applicable only for social media posts Email Marketing 11. GetResponse GetResponse’s dashboard contains easy-to-use templates for various forms of email marketing. Source: GetResponse GetResponse is an AI tool for complete email marketing management that includes email marketing automation, autoresponders and an AI email generator. The email builder features multiple layouts, sections, and templates, along with GIFs and stock photos. A sizable library of professionally designed email templates is another useful add-on and the inclusion of a drag-and-drop editor is a welcome feature. The AI email writer uses GPT technology to generate keyword-optimized emails that adhere to tone of voice guidelines. GetResponse also contains signup forms, landing pages and integrations to collect emails more easily and build subscriber lists. The paid version offers SMTP-triggered emails for delivery receipts and reminders. GetResponse offers three pricing plans: Email Marketing: 16 euros (~$17) per month (billed monthly), 13.12 euros (~$14) per month (billed annually), 11.20 euros (~$12) per month (billed bi-annually) Marketing Automation: 54 euros (~$58) per month (billed monthly), 44.28 euros (~$47) per month (billed annually), 37.8 euros (~$40) per month (billed bi-annually) eCommerce Marketing: 106 euros (~$113) per month (billed monthly), 86.92 euros (~$93) per month (billed annually), 74.20 euros (~$79) per month (billed bi-annually) These prices cover the first 1,000 contacts, with prices scaling in line with designated subscriber landmarks such as 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000. GetResponse Features Drag-and-drop email builder AI email generator Customizable templates Integrated sign-up forms and landing page builder Autoresponders eCommerce integrations Pros One-stop email marketing management Seamless email creation Scheduling and tracking with high email deliverability Powerful and user-friendly email tool Cons A/B testing limited to subject lines and content SEO Content Research 12. SurferSEO SurferSEO is one of the most popular tools for SEO optimization of long-form articles and blog posts. Surfer’s key features include a content editor for keyword research and optimization, an outline builder and an AI writing tool. Besides these, SurferSEO can also perform a site audit to identify technical SEO issues and rank pages against their competitors. By surveying top-ranking pages and analyzing the content being written, the software produces a real-time SEO score. Surfer is not limited to English-speaking markets, with a multilingual interface that helps localize content and rankings in different languages. Additionally, the company strives to educate content writers by providing a free SEO writing masterclass. SurferSEO offers subscribers the ability to generate drafts using keywords and regions targeting. Source: SurferSeo SurferSEO has a four-tiered pricing plan: Essential: $89 per month (billed monthly), $69 per month (billed annually) Advanced: $179 per month (billed monthly), $149 per month (billed annually) Max: $299 per month (billed monthly), $249 per month (billed annually) Enterprise: custom plan SurferSEO Features Content editor Outline builder AI writing tool Site audit Google Docs plug-in Real-time SEO score Multilingual support Pros Real-time content optimization Creates outlines, briefs, and articles Integrates with Google Docs, WordPress, and Jasper Practical and comprehensive UI Cons Can be expensive Limited competition analysis Limits of AI Content Creation Tools While artificial intelligence (AI) content creation tools can be practical and helpful, it’s important to remember they’re not the end-game. Each tool has its shortcomings and needs human supervision. When it comes to content creation and content management, it’s good to keep a few things in mind: Inaccuracies: With AI writing tools, there are still quality and plagiarism concerns. The so-called hallucinations (AI-generated falsehoods presented as fact) are still very much a problem, so each piece needs to be thoroughly fact-checked. Ranking: While Google states that using AI is not against Google guidelines, there are still many variables to consider when it comes to ranking AI content. This primarily concerns the lack of experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) principles that are among the crucial signals for ranking in SERPs. Repetitiveness: Human writing and editing are still needed, as AI content generally shows repetitiveness, redundancy, and lack of creativity and personalization. Copyright: Legal regulations concerning AI image copyrights and plagiarism/originality parameters are yet to be determined. Final Thoughts Artificial intelligence (AI) has come a long way in the last few years. ChatGPT and subsequent AI models have revolutionized the way we look at AI content creation and productivity. With content creation budgets increasing worldwide, AI tools could be a deciding factor in market positioning in the years to come. Still, many employees don’t receive proper training on AI-powered tools. In an economy where much seems to hinge on said tools, it’s important to begin learning how to use these tools as early as possible to ensure they increase brand value rather than dilute it. Human creators have a keen eye for the mistakes that AI can introduce into the content creation process and it’s important to recognise this before going all in on these tools. Yes, they may hold the key to unlocking that next level of productivity, but in the wrong hands — or simply untrained hands — they can inflict serious reputational deluge.

Dragan Stevanovic

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