One of the most popular use cases for generative AI is writing. This is thanks to the ability of tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to create any kind of text, from poetry and fiction to technical documents.
Their ability to understand context and mimic any human writing style in order to create comprehensive content on any subject is probably their most impressive ability right now.
It’s worth remembering, however, that these large language model (LLM) tools are, for the most part, limited to constructing text based on their training data. This means it isn’t necessarily great at communicating new ideas or writing in a way that will grip the attention of a human audience.
But when it comes to brainstorming, drafting, structuring, researching and fact-checking, it can be a powerful tool that can save time and effort for anyone who needs to create written content.
It can also speed up all manner of routine, day-to-day writing, such as drafting emails or creating product descriptions for e-commerce businesses.
Five Of My Favorite Generative AI Writing Tools
The most well-known generative AI tools are all capable of creating written text. But here, I’m focusing on those that specifically provide features and functions designed to assist with writing. These are some of the most useful and interesting players on the field right now:
Jasper
Jasper was one of the first specialist generative AI writing tools, positioning itself as a solution for marketers needing to create copy in a hurry. It provides templates that speed up the process of generating blogs, social media posts or product listings.
This gives it an advantage over more general-purpose genAI tools that often start you off on a blank page and require careful prompting if you want them to follow a process to create multiple pieces of writing. It also adapts to its user’s style and voice over time.
Another advantage over general-purpose tools (like ChatGPT) is that Jasper doesn’t rely on any one language model. While its output is powered by OpenAI’s models, including GPT-4, it is also reported to use models created by Google, Anthropic and more. Jasper isn’t the cheapest option on the market, but it stands out by providing a tailored set of solutions for marketing-focused writers.
Sudowrite
One thing that sets Sudowrite apart is that it is tailored specifically for fiction writers. So, if you’re looking for an AI that might help you write the next Game Of Thrones, it could be the right choice for you!
Sudowrite is built around tools that can help fiction authors, such as brainstorming aids, restructuring sentences to make them more readable or exciting, and providing detailed feedback on their own writing. It is designed to understand concepts such as audiences and genres, as well as what makes a piece of writing engaging for an audience to read. Not sure where your story’s going? Simply hit the Write button and have it continue the tale, giving you options to choose from and mimicking your own tone and voice!
Anyword
Anyword is focused on what it calls “performance content,” content designed to sell, generate clicks or encourage audiences to take some other form of action.
It includes a “predicted performance” stat that attempts to forecast how well your piece of content will go down with your audience. The aim is to automate the data analytics that marketers use when creating and publishing content at the point of writing in order to encourage greater engagement.
Unlike some of the other options here, this is marketed firmly as a business solution and isn’t the best choice for hobby writers or those starting a small business marketing strategy from scratch. It’s accessed via an API rather than a friendly chatbot web interface.
But for established companies who have plenty of data and an established content pipeline that want to start leveraging AI-driven analytics, it’s a good option.
Canva Magic Write
Okay, so this one isn’t a standalone writing tool. It’s the writing element of the versatile cloud-based design platform Canva that has recently added a ton of AI functionality under the heading Magic.
As you might expect, this one is mostly geared toward writing as an element of design rather than creating plain, long-form text. This means it’s optimized for creating marketing emails, social media ads and advertising copy. I particularly like the way it lets you adjust the tone of your text. This is stuff that you’d need to dive into prompt engineering in order to do if you’re relying on something like ChatGPT or Gemini to write marketing copy. One of the differences when using a specialized platform is that this kind of use case-specific function is built into the user interface, so it’s always at your fingertips.
Grammarly
Grammarly has been around for a long time and has always been marketed as an AI typing assistant. But a major overhaul last year saw the introduction of Grammarly GO, its generative AI-augmented service. Currently still in beta but available to most users, GO uses large language algorithms to provide content suggestions and synonyms and to suggest better ways of saying what you want to say.
It isn’t a standalone tool that will churn out long-form content on its own, but rather a plugin that can be integrated into software from word processors to web browsers – anywhere you might want to write text. It also scores your text for readability, detects plagiarism and gives automated guidance on word choice and sentence structure. It may not get mentioned in so many news reports as newer players like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, but as an all-around writing assistant for the sort of writing that most people do every day, it’s hard to beat.
Other Great Generative AI Writing Tools
There are many other apps, tools and platforms that also specialize in writing, so here’s a quick overview of the rest!
AI Writer
Writes content like blog posts while citing its sources to help overcome issues of AI hallucination.
Chibi
Chibi aims to give users deeper control over the AI writing process, creating personalized workflows rather than relying on templates.
Content At Scale
Geared for creating human-like written content for marketing purposes.
Copy.ai
Content creation tool aimed at businesses and enterprises, with built-in templates for common jobs.
Copymatic
AI copywriting tool that specializes in website copy, blogs and social media posts for businesses or hobbyists.
Copysmith
Copysmith’s Describely tool is a very useful application optimized for using AI to write product descriptions for e-commerce.
Fraze
This one provides feedback on grammar and clarity of your writing, and also optimizes copy for SEO purposes.
Friday
A collaborative writing assistant focused on simplifying content production with tools for brainstorming as well as templates.
Hemingway
Designed to help writers create clear, concise and to-the-point writing in an active voice, much like Hemmingway himself.
HyperWrite
Writing assistant with a comprehensive toolbox of AI features to help tackle a variety of writing tasks.
Ink
Auto-generate SEO-optimized content to improve ranking in search engines.
Lex
An AI co-pilot for writers offering AI feedback on your work and tools for finding the right words or expressions or generating ideas.
Longshot
Create more long-form content that differentiates by promising zero hallucinations.
NovelAI
Designed to help would-be novelists get their ideas out of their heads and onto the page.
Outwrite
Another extension-based assistant that plugs into your favorite software and offers in-line automated assistance as you work.
ProWritingAid
A writing mentor for professionals, offering in-depth analysis of style and readability with the aim of creating elegant prose.
Quillbot
Quillbot bills itself as a paraphraser tool to help writers find a better way of phrasing something.
Rytr
Generates blogs, emails, social media posts, SEO headlines and ads.
Scribe
Automates the creation of documentation, step-by-step and how-to guides.
SEO.AI
This one focuses on streamlining and automating SEO-related tasks, cutting down the need for manual keyword research.
Textmetrics
Provides feedback on grammar, style and clarity in order to improve the user’s writing.
Textio
Textio is an AI writing assistant specifically designed for HR writing, automating the process of creating performance feedback and assessments.
Wordtune
Generative writing assistant aimed at professionals.
Writer
This one uses an open-source LLM that has only been trained on freely distributable writing data in order to avoid copyright infringement issues.
WriteSonic
Geared towards creating SEO content and traffic-boosting copy.