The Best AI Tools to Level Up Your Content Writing
In this recent article, we took a dive into some of our favourite AI tools for creating and implementing a content strategy, from audience and channel research through to topic planning and scheduling.
Content strategy is one of the cornerstones of successful digital marketing. But, as much as research and planning matter if you want content that consistently attracts engaged, enthusiastic, ready-to-spend customers, strategy is only the start of the content journey. There’s so much more to do, starting with the increasingly daunting task of producing all that content you need to fill every social post, email campaign, blog, website and more.
Luckily, there are even more AI tools dedicated to helping you make content than there are products to help you research and plan it. The only difficulty is choosing from all the options available. So with that in mind, we thought a follow-up was in order.
Generative AI’s Content Revolution
The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a critical turning point in the history of AI, and in technology in general. Before, AI was much hyped in tech circles. But beyond the notable exceptions of ‘smart’ assistants like Alexa and Siri, it was yet to have much of a visible impact on people’s day-to-day lives. Then along came generative AI, and almost overnight, AI became the mainstream. It’s already hard to remember what life before was like.
In some ways, Gen AI arrived just in the nick of time for marketers and content creators. In 2023, Deloitte reported that the content production demands faced by an average company had increased 54% in the previous year, and most businesses were only meeting those demands 55% of the time. Before Gen AI came along, not being able to produce enough content quickly enough was a major barrier to businesses capitalising on rapid digital growth.
Now, Gen AI tools not only help to automate production at scales appropriate to the vast number of digital channels and the voracious appetite of consumers and search algorithms alike for fresh content. They open the door to possibilities that were once all but logistically impossible, like personalising content one-to-one on delivery, or controlling localised variations for different markets centrally.
The speed of the revolution in content creation has been breathtaking. Less than three years after the launch of ChatGPT, there are already predictions that up to 90% of online content will be AI-generated within five years.
At these sorts of scales, it’s a revolution you can’t afford not to be part of. So what are the tools you should be looking at?
AI Tools for Copywriting
Like we said, the choice of Gen AI tools that can help you with content creation is already astonishing – so much so that we’d struggle to do a ‘best of…’ list any kind of justice in one article. So we’re going to start with what, according to Salesforce, marketers most commonly use generative AI tools for – writing copy.
AI copywriting tools can be divided into two broad categories, answering two main challenges: tools that do the actual writing for you, responding to the need to increase output, reduce time etc. And tools that help you polish and refine your writing, covering the need for high-quality output.
There’s plenty of crossover between these groups, but what we find is that even tools that offer both tend to be better at one or another, as we’ll explain.
Best AI Writing Assistants
Grammarly is the best-known digital proofreader in the business, and has ridden the Gen AI wave to become an all-round AI writing powerhouse. That means you can get it to draft documents from scratch these days. But its real strengths lie in helping you improve and refine, be it paraphrasing, shortening, rewriting for clarity, impact or change of tone. The addition of AI agents means Grammarly now assesses your writing in the context of goals you set, and makes improvement suggestions as you write. And you can get coaching tips for improving your writing.
Alternatives to Grammarly include ProWritingAid, which is largely aimed at professional writers rather than marketers, but has a fantastic range of 20+ checkpoints if you really want to polish your work. For free grammar checking and paraphrasing, Quillbot is very accessible.
Taking capabilities a step further, Reword is a real powerhouse of an AI writing assistant. What it does particularly well is link the research and ideation phase to production, helping you turn ideas into finished content, not simply by churning out words for you, but by working collaboratively to suggest ideas and refine your writing as you go. Perhaps its most impressive feature is that it learns your writing style over time, and therefore shapes its suggestions to suit.
Finally, although they will happily write complete articles from scratch, there’s an argument that the giant all-purpose Gen AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini work better as writing assistants in a manner similar to Reword rather than as out-and-out generators (we all know the stories about bland, generic or else bizarre and factually incorrect output). They are excellent for inputting draft copy and asking the AI to check and refine it against a brief. The dialogue-based ‘chat’ format also lends itself to developing ideas through different stages of production, perhaps from notes you provide or research/ideation you ask the tool to carry out. And in the case of Google’s Gemini, you can use all the options available in-line as you are drafting in Google Docs, or any other Google Workspace app.
Best AI Content Writers
Another reason to put the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini in the assistant camp, for marketing copywriting purposes at least, is that they aren’t set up to specialise in any particular marketing field. Yes, you can engineer prompts that will get them to focus on, say, promotional email copy or social posts. And yes, you can source these readily through user communities, such as ChatGPT’s system of user-created GPTs.
But the best platforms for marketing content writing do this for you, with ready-made templates for different content types (blog articles, social posts, ad copy, product pages) and user-friendly controls for setting your own parameters. Oh, and not forgetting that what they produce is of a consistently good quality, too.
There are many, many great examples of tools in this category. Jasper.ai is one of the best-known. Its Marketing AI Editor has more than 50 templates for different copy types, includes extensive automation tools for scaling up output, and is equally happy generating from scratch or editing in collaboration. Jasper is also superb at feeding in information about your brand voice, style guidelines etc, to achieve consistency even at high scale, and it lets you configure insights about your audience and best-performing conversion routes to further shape output.
WriteSonic is a more affordable alternative to Jasper, and is also very user-friendly. It has 100+ templates and all copy is SEO optimised. CopyAI has made its name as a specialist in short-form marketing content, especially social posts. It also has automated pipelines for managing publishing at scale.
If flexible choice of template types is your thing, check out Closers Copy – it boasts 700+ copy templates to choose from, meaning it digs into some seriously niche territory. Or, going the other way, you can look for platforms that specialise in that one niche that matters to you. Describely, for example, is dedicated exclusively to copy for product listings.
Finally, what every marketer ultimately wants is copy that converts, whether that’s by securing clicks, follows, sign-ups or sales. However you judge performance, Anyword is a superb tool to have in your armoury. Not only does it create content to your brief, it will ask you for performance-related goals. It then generates multiple versions with individual predictive performance scores, letting you choose which one to go with.
Take the Strain Off Your Content Management
Even with such an impressive choice of AI tools, content writing remains a major challenge. Every website, social channel, email or ad campaign, product catalogue and more demands copy, placing a huge demand on resources.
The answer? How about outsourcing to a digital agency that has vast experience in content management? Key Element has helped dozens of businesses cope with one of the most labour-intensive yet critical areas of modern digital marketing. Check out this case study about how we helped a firm of chartered accountants launch a website and social strategy, including taking on all content creation, management and branding work. Then why not contact our team to talk about how we can help you.
Frequently Asked questions
Why should I use AI tools for content writing?
AI tools can significantly reduce the time and effort it takes to create quality content. They help marketers and writers increase output, maintain consistency across platforms, and refine copy for better engagement and conversion rates. In short, AI helps you work faster and smarter without sacrificing quality.
Are AI tools replacing human writers?
No, AI tools are designed to assist, not replace, human creativity. While AI can generate and refine content quickly, it still requires human oversight to ensure accuracy, nuance, and authenticity. The best results come from combining AI efficiency with human insight and editorial judgment.
What are the best AI tools for copywriting?
Some of the top-rated tools include:
- Grammarly – Excellent for improving clarity, tone, and grammar.
- Reword – Learns your writing style and helps refine ideas collaboratively.
- ProWritingAid and Quillbot – Great for editing and paraphrasing.
- ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini – Powerful assistants for idea development and refinement.
Which AI tools are best for generating marketing content?
For generating high-quality marketing copy, some standout options are:
- Jasper.ai – Offers 50+ templates and brand voice integration.
- WriteSonic – Affordable, SEO-optimised, and user-friendly.
- CopyAI – Ideal for short-form content like social media posts.
- Closers Copy – Provides 700+ templates for niche needs.
- Anyword – Generates copy variations with predictive performance scores.
Can AI tools help with SEO and content optimisation?
Absolutely. Many AI platforms, such as WriteSonic and Jasper, come with built-in SEO features that suggest keywords, optimise readability, and structure content for higher search engine rankings.
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Dominique Childs