Pressat TeamAll You Need To Know About Using an AI Content Writer: The Good & The Bad, Is It Worth It, and Which Are The Best AI Content Writing Tools?
AI content writing tools have burst onto the scene, empowering businesses to create much more content for a lot less money and in a much shorter time frame, while putting professional copywriters, content writers and creators on alert. They can be used to help write and proof read press releases, or simply rewrite current versions of your press release into unique copies.
In a way, the content creation industry is now facing a similar quandary as the manufacturing industry, where machines and robotics have at once enabled higher (and in some cases more precise) production levels while putting a dent in the human job market.
The argument over whether AI content writing is a good thing or a bad thing isn’t likely to end soon, but here’s what we believe: It’s both – and it’s neither. AI content creation tools can be very useful, but they’re far from perfect (just like us humans). The best way to leverage AI content writing tools is to use them to help, rather than do the work in full.
In this article we’ll dive into what AI content writers are, what they can do, and how they work. We’ll also go through some advantages and disadvantages, as well as some useful tips to get the best out of AI content generation tools, and when to steer well clear. Finally, we’ll take a closer look at some of the top AI content writer tools.
Table of Contents
- What Is An AI Content Writer And How Does It Work?
- What Kind Of Content Can AI Content Writing Tools Create?
- What Are The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Using AI Content Writing Tools?
- How Best To Use AI Content Writing Tools
- When To NOT Use An AI Content Writing Tool
- 5 Of The Best AI Content Writing Tools In 2023.
What Is An AI Content Writer And How Does It Work?
An AI content writer is a software that generates natural-looking text based on input from the user. They use Natural Language Programming to create written content which meets your instruction or request.
But what is Natural Language Processing? NLP is the niche of computer science that focuses on enabling computers to both understand and generate words like humans.
You simply tell the tool what you want e.g. write a 100 word social media caption for a luxury car rental platform, or write five bullet points about the importance of networking for your career.
In just a few minutes, or even seconds, the AI content writer will provide you with a first draft, which you can give feedback on and make requests for changes e.g. Make the tone of voice more luxurious; Edit the second bullet point to emphasize the importance of knowing the right people and how it can pertain to investment opportunities.
What Kind Of Content Can AI Content Writing Tools Create?
AI Content Writing tools can create most kinds of copy and/or content, including:
- Short form Social Media Marketing copy
- Website landing page content
- Product descriptions for eCommerce pages
- Medium-long form blogs / articles
- Business or product name ideas
- Poems and song lyrics
- Blog content title/topic ideas
AI content writing tools can also be used to write essays and parts of research papers, but this isn’t a good idea (more on this below).
As well as creating original content, AI content generators can also be used to improve and elevate existing content. In this way, you can input your text, then give the tool instructions to make it better by:
- Proofreading for spelling accuracy
- Checking for grammar and punctuation
- Editing to make writing more readable, or user-friendly (e.g. make this text more suitable for non-native English speakers)
Finally, AI content writing tools are very useful for translating texts from one language, or indeed dialect, to another. It’s not 100% accurate, and you’ll still need a native speaker with good writing skills to polish the final product.
Here’s a good example of using AI to translate content:
You’re publishing a blog article in both English and Spanish. The English writer doesn’t speak French; The French writer doesn’t speak English. In this case, the AI content writing tool can translate the original blog article, allowing the second writer to understand it in their own language, before editing it to publishing standard.
What Are The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Using AI Content Writing Tools?
So, now we know what AI writers are and how they work, let’s dig into the pros and cons of using one.
Pros
More Content, Faster
AI writing tools don’t stop to think like humans do, and they can return hundreds of words in just moments. It can take a human anywhere between 4 hours to two or three days to produce 1,000 words of copy, depending on the complexity of the topic and research needed. AI content writing tools can return a first draft in minutes.
Even in the case of short form creative copy e.g. brand straplines, elevator pitches, product descriptions, brand names etc, it can take creative writers a long time just to come up with that one great idea. AI will get there in seconds.
AI Content Writers Are Better That Some Human Writers
Writing is difficult for a lot of people. Even professional writers struggle at times. The truth is that at this early stage of AI’s development with Natural Language Processing, truly gifted writers will usually produce higher quality work.
However, the standard of AI writing tools is almost shockingly high, and even if the quality of work could be higher overall, AI rarely makes spelling mistakes or grammar and punctuation errors.
AI Generated Content Can Be Cheaper That Human Work
There are a few good, free AI content writing tools (more on these below), while the cost of purchasing the software can range from anywhere between US$20-US$200 per month. A 1,000 word article written by a human, however, can cost anywhere between $50-$300, depending on their expertise and the nature of the work. Good, experienced content writers usually charge upwards of US$35 per hour for high quality work.
It all depends on how much content you’ll need created and how high the quality you need is, but in the long term, AI is generally cheaper.
AI Content Writers Can Improve SEO
“Can” is the key word here… AI generated content can also massively hinder SEO performance (more on this in the Cons below). However, considering that AI content generators trawl thousands of articles and other documents online to gain information, they become well equipped to write using great keyword and keyphrase choices.
Even better yet, users can request many AI content writing tools to suggest a list of keywords and phrases for their blog article topic.
AI Content Writing Tools Are Great Writing Assistants
We’ll go into more detail below in the section “How To Best Use AI Content Writing Tools”, but rather than serving as original content writers, AI content generators can make fantastic assistants for writers themselves. They are quick at researching, great at proofreading, and can explain concepts to writers, in turn helping the writer to explain things to the reader.
Cons
AI Writing Tools Risk Breaking Plagiarism Laws (And The Content Can Be Detected as AI-Generated)
You could argue that original content is almost non-existent these days, and that everything we write is plagiarized to some extent. That being said, the fact is that AI tools generate content based on everything it can absorb online, so there’s a risk of it creating text that is just far too similar to existing content.
As well as this, the influx of AI writing tools has led to a similar demand for AI-detection software. So, if you try to pass off AI-generated work as your own, you run the risk of getting caught). Which takes us back to the counterpoint on SEO…
AI-Generated Content Can Damage SEO Performance
Unsurprisingly, Google is one such company that leverages AI-detection software. Its search engine crawlers are effective at recognizing human content versus AI content, and since 2022, it’s been favoring the former.
In short, you shouldn’t use AI writing tools to generate huge volumes of content simply to rank higher on a search engine. Rather, use it to help with sections of writing, and to identify appropriate keywords.
The Lack of Original Thought & Creativity
The same way that there’s a difference between a mass-produced piece of furniture and a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind piece, there’s a difference between skillfully, human-written content and AI-written content.
AI tools can be useful in the process, but the finished product is only really as good as the average of everything that it absorbs. It might be able to fool plenty of people, but AI is not creative (not yet, anyway), it can’t think conceptually or abstractly – it can’t think outside the box. Humans are still the winner on that front.
The Content Is Only As Good As The Brief
Ask an AI content writing tool to create a 2,000 word article on clouds. It’s going to give you a pretty bad 2,000 words, probably featuring a lot of useless information and lots of repetition. However, if you give it a more detailed brief, it’s going to produce a better piece of writing.
There’s actually a real skill to using AI content writers – a human skill. If the instructions you give are clear, and so is the feedback you provide as you request edits, you stand a far greater chance of getting a great final product. This can take time, patience, concentration, and a lot of clarity of thought.
However, plenty of users have gone on to learn that it might have been easier just to write the whole thing themselves!
There Are No Links To Sources
Not all writing needs links to sources or backlinks to other articles for reference, but many do. AI writing tools don’t yet have the capacity to link to the article it’s taken its information from, meaning you have to find them yourself, which is a time-consuming and laborious task.
How Best To Use AI Content Writing Tools
Now that we’re familiar with the good and the bad of AI writing tools, here are some tips to use them to your benefit and get the best results:
Use It As A “Thought-Partner” And To Break Through Writers’ Block
Writer’s block is a pain for every kind of writer, from social media creators to novelists. Sometimes it’s just difficult to know what to stay, and it can be especially difficult to know where to start. That first paragraph can be painful to write, but once you’ve broken the ice, everything flows much easier.
This is where AI content writing software can be really useful. By instructing to explain a concept briefly, or create a short piece of copy on a certain topic, you can use its content as an effective prompt for your own work.
A useful way to think of this is that the AI tool is your co-worker. Writing is a lonely job for many, but creative teams and editorial staff at magazines can trade ideas with their colleagues, ask for help, run thoughts past them and so on. You can use AI software in much the same way to help your own work.
Use It As An Articulate Research Assistant
Google is of course the most popular research tool, but one of its drawbacks is that it just directs you to information – it doesn’t explain things. AI can be a great help here. Ask it to explain why the Second World War started, what Bespoke Tailoring really means, how Christoper Columus wound up in America rather than India, and it’s more than likely to provide you with a concise response which you can use in your own work.
Learn How To Provide Clear Instructions
As we mentioned above, the content is only as good as the brief. Using AI writing tools effectively still takes effort and careful thought. Be specific in your instructions and in your feedback, and you’ll see much greater results.
Position yourself as the dictator, the editor-in-chief, the boss, and learn how to manage the AI like a member of your staff. The better you perform, the better it will perform.
Use AI To Aid Human Efforts, Not Replace Them
We’ll repeat – there’s no replacement for human ingenuity. Not yet at least. The best way to use AI for content writing is as an assistant, rather than a replacement. It’ll still require an expert eye to make sure the work the AI creates is to standard and accurate. However, writers and content creators can greatly improve the efficiency of their work with the help of AI writing tools.
When NOT To Use An AI Content Writing Tool
It shouldn’t need to be said, but just in case, here are two instances where you should absolutely NOT use an AI content writing tool to help you.
- Academic Work
Universities have long leveraged plagiarism software to help catch out dishonesty, and they’re quickly adopting AI recognition software too. Your academic essays, thesis, research papers etc should be your work and your work alone.
- Without A Client’s Permission
The rise of AI content writing tools has been divisive in the writing and publishing industry. Some see it as a threat to job security, while others see it as a way to make work easier (and in turn make more money). Plenty of daring “content writers” have already been caught out passing off AI-generated work as their own, which amounts to plagiarism. If you have the permission of your client to use AI to help with your work, feel free to use it, but if they’re hiring you to write it, then please do the writing yourself! It’s unethical otherwise, and the impact on your professional career could be huge.
5 Of The Best AI Content Writing Tools In 2023
The choice as to whether to use an AI content writer or not is yours, but if you are going to, it’s important to choose the right software for you. The list of AI content writer tools is growing quickly, but here are 5 popular ones that stand out to us.
1. ChatGPT
2. Jasper
3. Writesonic
4. CopyAI
5. Frase
6. Cuppa
1. ChatGPT
The most well-known of all, ChatGPT burst onto the scene in 2022, picking up millions of users in its first few months. Having been named the fastest growing consumer app of all time, you could reasonably argue that ChatGPT lit the touchpaper for the AI writing tools boom.
Created by OpenAI and now It’s super easy to use, and very responsive to feedback. Just tell it what you need and keep tinkering with your instructions until you’re happy.
ChatGPT has a great free version, but the servers become so busy that it’s not always available. However, the $20 per month premium version allows unlimited access at any time, faster responses, and the premium version is also built on the latest language model – GPT-4, which is more advanced than the free version, and therefore generates better content.
On the whole, ChatGPT is a solid all-round AI content creation tool for both individuals and businesses.
2. Jasper
It used to be known as Jarvis – after Tony Stark’s amazing personal AI assistant in Iron Man and The Avengers – but now the company is called Jasper (a legal run-in with Disney…). Jasper is super popular though, due to the fact that it’s open source and constantly learning.
As well as being very versatile, creating advert copy to long-form articles effectively, Jasper is particularly popular for how much it can do with very simple instructions. It also comes with writing templates for a variety of needs, which are really useful for helping you figure out what you want.
While some would argue that Jasper is a better AI writer that ChatGPT, it’s also more expensive, starting at $59 per month for 50,000 words (also per month). However, there are discount options for upfront payment,
Overall, Jasper is a good option for companies with slightly larger budgets than individuals.
3. Writesonic
Writesonic has become very popular, particularly with businesses, for how easy it is to use, its competitive pricing point, and its versatility in multiple forms of writing.
Available in 25 languages, Writesonic allows users to choose the specific style of content they want, from blog articles to marketing emails, landing pages to Google ads. With just a short brief as a prompt, Writesonic is well able to create high quality content which nears the finished product.
There’s also a free trial for Writesonic to allow new users to get a feel for it. The monthly subscription has a few caveats though. For example, the lowest monthly subscription of US$19 gets you varying degrees of content quality, depending on usage – the first 19,000 words generated are of high quality, the next 47,500 are good, and the next 95,000 are average quality.
If you have the budget to maintain high quality content production, Writesonic is a great option.
4. CopyAI
CopyAI is another tool that’s being lauded for its versatility, especially for shorter forms of writing e.g. product descriptions, headlines, introductions, and summaries. Users select a template of the style of content they need, then with a brief prompt, the tool generates a selection of ten samples for you to choose between.
Like ChatGPT, CopyAI offers a free option with ten credits to use, and access to over 90 tools for different styles of content. The paid subscriptions begin at US$35 per month and can include unlimited use.
For short form content creators and companies such as social media marketing businesses, CopyAI makes a really good choice.
5. Frase
Last but not least on our list of the top AI writing tools is Frase (which spells all words correctly, except for its one name…)
Frase’s value differentiator is its ability to generate SEO-optimized content, as well as creating detailed briefs for articles and blogs. In this way, Frase can help your writers write better! As for the SEO optimization, Frase is able not just to analyze a blog for SEO performance (Like Yoast for example), but make the necessary changes to keywords.
On top of this, Frase comes with multiple-user enablement, meaning you and your team can collaborate on the same project. Frase has 5-day trial period for just US$1, after which you can select between solo and team subscription options, starting at US$14.99 per month.
Frase offers a free trial. And once that lapses, a premium upgrade will cost you $44.99 per month.
6. Cuppa
Cuppa stands out as an innovative content platform that harnesses the power of AI and cutting-edge technologies to streamline the creation of optimized content for websites and brands. Continuously evolving, Cuppa strives to be the ultimate Content Stack solution, integrating various features and enhancements into its platform. Notably, Cuppa distinguishes itself with a Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK) approach, eliminating upcharges on token usage with Open AI and presenting a substantial cost advantage over competitors. Unlike other AI content generators, Cuppa imposes no article limits or general restrictions, providing unparalleled flexibility.
The platform excels at generating AI articles and blogs, whether in bulk, programmatically, or as individual articles. Furthermore, with the impending inclusion of Merchant APIs in the power plan, users can create comprehensive buyer’s guides, optimizing content for ranking and maximizing affiliate commissions. Cuppa goes beyond content generation by offering an all-encompassing Marketplace, consolidating essential elements like links, authorship, reviewers, editing services, and more. Users benefit from exclusive deals and offers from top vendors and providers, simplifying the content creation process.
Cuppa’s commitment to user-friendly content creation is evident in its suite of power editing tools. The Fraise-like editing tool seamlessly integrates into the platform, enabling collaborative editing and simplifying the optimization and publication process with just a click. The Power User access provides advanced SEO SERP optimizations, allowing users to craft highly optimized articles directly from the SERPs and then fine-tune them in the editor before publishing. For those seeking specificity, Cuppa’s custom outlines with research content feature allow users to infuse articles with tailored research data, ensuring the creation of unique and targeted content. Cuppa emerges as a comprehensive and cost-effective solution for content creation and optimization, offering a dynamic and user-centric experience.
7. Koala Writer
Koala Writer is a game-changing AI-powered writing tool tailored for bloggers, copywriters, and marketers seeking seamless content creation. Leveraging OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology, Koala Writer stands out as the go-to platform for effortlessly crafting high-quality, long-form content.
One of Koala Writer’s standout features is its ability to accelerate content creation, allowing users to produce SEO-optimized articles in minutes. Powered by real-time data and SERP analysis, it ensures your content not only meets but surpasses ranking expectations. The tool goes beyond traditional writing by effortlessly generating complete Amazon affiliate articles, incorporating live Amazon data, including real reviews and product information.
Koala Writer isn’t just a writing tool; it’s a comprehensive solution. With a single subscription, users gain access to both Koala Writer and Koala Chat. The latter, a two-in-one AI writer and chatbot, boasts a proprietary SEO algorithm, dynamic prompting, and real-time data integration, producing articles that are ready to publish and superior to other alternatives like ChatGPT.
The platform provides users with enhanced control over their content creation process, offering features such as choosing from seven writing styles, four points of view, and specifying a custom tone of voice for brand consistency. Real-time data integration and Google Sheets compatibility add further versatility to the platform, ensuring a seamless workflow.
For those with complex projects, Koala Writer offers API access, allowing users to tap into its capabilities with a single API call. What sets Koala Writer apart is its risk-free trial, inviting users to try the platform for 30 days and offering a prompt refund if not completely satisfied. In essence, Koala Writer redefines content creation with its powerful features, user-friendly interface, and commitment to customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
Long story short, it’s amazing that we’ve reached a technological breakthrough like this – where computers can create human-quality written content. AI content writing tools are a great idea for some, and not the threat to writers that some might think. For business owners, they’re a fantastic means of helping generate great ideas and create content quickly and cheaply.
But remember, they’re not perfect. By understanding how best to use AI content writing tools in tandem with human writers, you’ll get the best value for your time and money.
Jonathan Artur