AI writing tools have taken the world by storm and are a large topic of debate. Whether you are eager about this new stage of writing capabilities, worried about your own work, or concerned over the ethical implications of AI writing tools, writing by artificial intelligence is a very present part of our world.
There are many ways writers can use AI and AI writing tools to better their writing, but before we dive into the specifics, what exactly is it?
- What Is AI?
- Ways Writers Can Use AI Writing Tools
- Top 5 AI Writing Tools
- Choosing Your Tool
- Make the Most of Your Writing Time
What Is AI?
AI, or artificial intelligence, is a way to generate new content, based on existing data, and uses machines to do so. There are many types of AI, but for the purposes of this article, we specifically focus on AI writing tools.
Ways Writers Can Use AI Writing Tools
Writers can use AI writing tools in a plethora of ways, some of which can speed up your writing process, and others that can take away your unique writing voice. Regardless of the pros and cons of this type of tool, educating yourself on it is an important step for writers today.
One of the ways you can use AI writing tools to your advantage is by making it generate outlines for your next blog post or article. Whether you need a template to follow or just a brief outline to get you started, AI writing tools can save you copious amounts of time.
When using AI tools to outline, it’s important to make sure you follow the legal parameters set in place. For instance, if copy is protected by robots.txt, you’ll want to make sure you don’t crawl content from these protected pages.
Write Your Next Book
You can also use AI writing tools to write your book for you. Sudowrite, discussed later in this article, is one software that does so. This specific writing tool generates up to 300 words for you (over a page of double spaced work).
With this in mind, do be cognizant of the voice, tone, and style AI writing tools give you. While these tools can be extremely helpful for writing a book and writing it extremely quickly, your unique tone will change in at least minor ways.
Craft Your Plot Points
Another use for AI writing tools is in creating your plot. Sudowrite (previously mentioned) has a tool called Canvas that provides you multiple plot points to choose from. If you feel stuck and want AI to present next steps for your characters, you can do so with this writing tool.
When using Canvas, or other types of AI tools, be aware that generated plot points are like a type of maze: There are many journeys through the maze that will lead you to the finish line, but by entering the maze you choose to take a pre-generated path, rather than create one of your own choosing.
Top 5 AI Writing Tools
Let’s take a look at the top five AI writing tools and then discuss which one may or may not be best for you, and why.
Jasper allows you a free trial as well as request to a free demo. To get started, you need to bring seed words to the platform so that it has a starting copy to analyze. Of all the AI writing tools out there, Jasper is known as one of the top in the list. Jasper offers long-form writing help, supports over twenty languages, and is said to include 2,500 categories of writing styles.
This tool was built for creative writers and offers four different categories:
- Writing: generates up to 300 words at a time
- Pacing: ability to lengthen scenes to slow down the pace
- Canvas: creates various plot points you can choose from
- Visualization: offers graphics to help you visualize
Sudowrite acts as the creative and you get to simply watch a book come to life.
SEMRush is known primarily for its SEO capabilities, but it also offers AI writing tools to help you craft articles. If you provide it with a few keywords, SEMRush will generate an article for you. However, if another SEMRush user implements the same keywords, your articles may look quite similar.
Rytr’s writing assistant writes articles for you. You simply get it started, walk away from the computer, and upon your return, your article waits for you. This tool includes a grammar and plagiarism check to help your writing stay safe and look professional.
5. Chibi AI
AI writing tools often generate content for you, but Chibi AI is more of a helping hand for when you stumble into a mental block. Chibi AI can also help you edit your writing, offer feedback on your writing, and has a custom NLP system to help enhance its accuracy.
Choosing Your Tool
With five versatile AI writing tools to choose from, how do you decide which one is best for you? The answer comes down to your goals and how you want to reach them. Consider the following questions:
- Would you benefit from AI writing your book for you, or do you want to act as the creative behind your story?
- Does generating an outline sound like a great time saver, or do you want to create your own outlines?
- How could AI help speed up your turnaround process as a blogger, or would generating content in this way hinder your credibility as a writer?
There are pros and cons to AI writing tools, ethical factors to consider, and the time element to take a look at. Some writers can greatly benefit from AI generated outlines, articles, and even books. This can save them time, and as the saying goes, time is money.
Other writers love the creative process of taking their book from ideation to completion, want to build their credibility as a thought leader and writer, and desire their writing to be self-generated (some platforms award “Human Writer” certificates for writing done without AI).
Whether you fall into one of these two camps or a hybrid of both, AI writing tools are worth learning about and establishing a knowledge base in.
Make the Most of Your Writing Time
In a busy world, it’s crucial for writers to learn how to make the most of their creative time. For many, that means using some form of AI, whether Grammarly, an SEO software, or writing tools specifically made to generate content via AI.
For other writers, the bare bones of AI is all they need to set them on their creative writing journey. They don’t want artificial intelligence plotting their story, much less writing it.
But where do you fall? How will this type of writing tool benefit your writing, speed up your turnaround time, or distract from your authentic writing voice? That’s up for you, the creative, to discover.
Feel free to browse the websites for the five AI writing tools listed above, see which ones may work for you, which ones may hinder you, and then set the trajectory for your writing.
When it comes to AI, there is no one size fits all. How these writing tools benefit you will vary. Do your research, honestly assess where you’re at, and then get back to work!