6 AI Tools Recommended by Freelance Writers and Content Creators
Freelance writers: I invite you to venture into the “dark side” of content creation. As professional creators, we know the value of human-generated content and that there’s simply no substitute for raw, honest human connections. But with AI seemingly here to stay, it’s time to understand their time and place–and how to use them to your advantage.
I’ll admit, I didn’t know how AI writing tools would shake up our industry. I didn’t know if I’d be out of this dream job I created for myself. But AI has shown me that the need for human creators is greater than ever. I believe AI is best used by professionals like us to help our clients excel.
That’s why I asked other creators how they’re using AI in their work. From the efficiency of Photoshop's AI tools for efficient editing to the advanced writing capabilities of Writesonic, discover the tools they love, hate, and everything in between.
Photoshop's AI Tools for Efficient Editing
My favorite AI tools on Photoshop are the "Remove Background" and the "Select Subject" tools. I use the "Remove Background" tool for creating a PNG file.
I highly recommend this tool for a quicker process for product photography. I use the "Select Subject" tool to edit without interrupting the rest of the image or to cut the subject out and layer it onto another image. I recommend this tool for time-sensitive projects.
Karina Munoz, Content Creator, Kung Fu Tea
Grammarly Pro: Professional Content Editing
I'm a big fan of Grammarly Pro for AI-powered content editing. It's an affordable tool that makes a significant impact. I use it to help freelance writers articulate their ideas more clearly. Grammarly's new "Go" feature instantly refines sentences to sound more professional, making it an invaluable tool in my workflow.
Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand
Midjourney: Discord's Versatile Image-Generation Tool
Midjourney is a great image-generation tool on Discord. If you're looking to create images that can vary from very realistic to sketches, then this is something you should look into. The paid packages mean you have full commercial rights over the images, and so you can use them for your business.
However, if you're looking to create branded images for your website, for example, a DeWalt drill, then it's not great and won't work well. Also, if you need text on your images, it currently can't handle this either and just puts random letters.
Steven Wright, Co-Founder and Chief Editor, Lifestyle to the MAX
Perplexity.AI: Enhancing Textual Accuracy
Perplexity.AI is a tool renowned for its capacity to infuse factual accuracy into text. Its true value, however, lies in its ability to supplement the AI's limitations by providing the missing pieces of the puzzle. After you've fed the text structure and relevant facts into the chat generator, instruct it to evaluate the information in the context of the article's structure.
Use this command: "Evaluate the information I gave and link it to the structure of an article. If you do not know something from the facts I provided, do not invent things. Instead, ask me to provide additional information you think you will need to compose a good article and fill in all the gaps in the structure. You can ask no more than 5 questions."
Simply input the AI's questions into Perplexity's search bar to receive concise, fact-based answers.
Alexander Nadislau, Head of Content, Match.Center
Writesonic: Advanced AI Writing with Caveats
Writesonic is one of the best AI writing tools I've tested. It's advanced, scalable, and user-friendly, with excellent customization options. You can create both short and long content, and it leverages designated sources effectively. What stands out for me is its ability to establish a consistent brand voice.
However, there are some downsides. The sentence structure can sound robotic, and occasional plagiarism requires manual editing. Despite these drawbacks, Writesonic is a valuable tool when used alongside manual editing.
Ewen Finser, Founder, The Digital Merchant
WordHero: Quick Copy for Specific Use Cases
I’ll add my own two cents here. I’ve been using WordHero for just over a year for quick copywriting bits. To clarify, I don’t use this as a copy-and-paste tool – to me, that negates the value of the human writer.
I’ll do a full review of WordHero in a future blog post, but for now, I’ll highlight a few ways I use it:
Generate headline ideas that I’ll edit myself
Create analogies to illustrate a point
Summarize lengthy points into bite-sized pieces
Transform long ideas into short Tweets
Simplify language
Give examples to provide context in my writing
Again, all of these use cases will need some human editing. I’ve found WordHero provides great jumping-off points that help me save time and generate well-rounded ideas for my writing clients. It’s one of the most feature-rich AI writing tools, and it’s super simple and cost-effective.
Hope you’ve found some ways to beef up your content creation with the AI writing and editing tools above. If you’ve got one to share, please drop it in a comment or shoot me an email!