In my expert opinion, there are two main types of AI writing apps based on OpenAI's GPT-3 model: blank-canvas and forms-based — and it's probably quite easy to guess what they entail.
Essentially there are two ways of making use of AI to help you write your articles. One gives you a blank canvas like you're used to with services like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. The other is a form you fill out to get back the content you asked for.
Which is better? Let's take a look.
The Blank Canvas Method
The blank canvas is exactly what it sounds like. It is a blank space for you to write and call on an AI writing assistant when you need the help -- literally as if an assistant was waiting next to you to take over when you want.
The biggest benefit is you get to write quickly, get some AI help, keep writing more… going with the flow, working with the AI to produce content quickly -- all in one screen. No jumping around from page to page -- you produce your entire article within one minimal screen.
This gives you the freedom to use the AI at the very point you need it -- to complete sentences and paragraphs for you -- significantly improving your productivity. It's not unheard of to crank out 1,500-word articles in less than 15 minutes.
The drawback is you have to learn how to dance with the AI. There are no training wheels to balance for you. You'll spend some time failing, but if you keep at it, you'll eventually learn to make the most of it -- but you'll find there are times when the AI can be a little hard to get what you want from.
That's where the forms-based AI writing apps come in.
The Forms-Based Method
The forms-based AI writing apps are completely the opposite of the blank canvas style. Instead of one screen to do everything, you get multiple specialized screens designed to help you retrieve a specific type of content -- things like blog post ideas, ad copy, product copy, or meta descriptions.
The benefit is behind the scenes; the tool can better "train" the GPT-3 AI to return the output you probably expected -- based on the form you chose to fill out. These tools often return multiple results for you to choose from too.
Of course, the trade-off is you have to jump from form-to-form and fill them out thoroughly to get what you want from the AI -- then copy and paste the output, paragraph-by-paragraph, into a document to produce your article.
It's time-consuming compared to the blank canvas type but can often produce the result you want -- which is why I say use them together.
Use Them Together
There are a lot of GPT-3 AI writing apps cropping up on the market. Almost all of them are forms-based -- probably because it's easier to develop and looks interesting to users because they can add a plethora of new forms, making you think they've added a lot of new "stuff" for you to check out.
But the real content creation superpower is when you use a blank canvas AI app like ShortlyAI primarily, and then a forms-based app like Jarvis, Nichesss, or Copy.ai for specialized needs.
For instance, in Nichesss, there is a blog post outline form. Fill that out for the topic you want to write about and then paste the results into ShortlyAI, where you can complete the article based on the outline (and then move that first draft into Frase to SEO optimize before publishing).
I think you can see this is a powerful combination, but you probably have a question in mind: "Which of the tools should I combine?"
Which GPT-3 AI Writing Tools to Combine?
Update 30 June 2021 — I now recommend Jarvis over ShortlyAI if you want the best of the best. However, for a lower price, Shortly is exceptionally powerful too.
For the blank canvas type, there is only one: ShortlyAI. If there are others in this category, I am unaware of them. Even if I did find another, I doubt it would compete well against Shortly -- they've done so much to make it the best (even the best overall GPT-3 AI writing app).
I also work closely with the developer to improve ShortlyAI over time to give us a significantly better, more efficient content workflow.
Headlime could fill in here if you didn't want Shortly, but the UI isn't a truly blank canvas. It's a hybrid combination of a forms-based approach mixed with a semi-blank canvas.
If you want the best blank canvas type app, ShortlyAI is it. If you didn't want any other GPT-3 AI writing app, I would say pick ShortlyAI as it has the most flexibility and fits into workflows the best.
Now… for the forms-based tool, there is a lot of competition. The contenders are:
- Jarvis
- Nichesss
- Copy.ai
- and so on… I wouldn't be surprised if there were 50 more out there I am not aware of yet.
So which one of these to use? I think it depends.
Jarvis
Jarvis is the best choice if you're looking to produce quality copy using the Mercedes of the AI writing tools. The new boss mode long-form writing capabilities take it to the top of the list.
Nichesss
If you can grab Nichesss while it still has the AppSumo lifetime deal, use it. $59 for unlimited generations and a founder with a fantastic level of transparency -- you can't go wrong. The return on investment will be worth it. The only gripe is the UI is a bit clunky to work with, but you can get used to it.
Copy.ai
Copy.ai is a fantastic choice too. The team works very closely with the OpenAI developers to bring a solid product. It's a subscription to access it, but you get unlimited generations. Copy.ai isn't focused on serving a particular audience, so if you write about various things, it'll do great.
Headlime
Headlime is a great tool too. The output is fantastic, the UI is nice, and the developer is a really nice guy constantly improving the product. And you'll not only get access to the AI writing stuff, but they have scripts you can "borrow" for headline and email ideas (such as onboarding emails). But, like most of these tools, it suffers from credit limits -- limiting how much you can use the app each month.
Summary
Armed with two GPT-3 AI writing apps, ShortlyAI, and a forms-based tool like Copy.ai, Conversion.ai, Headlime, or Nichesss… you'll have all the power you need to create content very quickly -- and outperform your competition (unless they saw this guide too, sorry).
Full-stack, if you combine Frase.io, ShortlyAI, the forms-based tool of your choice, and Grammarly Premium -- you've got everything you need to produce beautiful, high-quality, perfectly SEO-optimized articles faster than you've ever created them before.
Do your keyword research in Frase, write in Shortly, sub in the forms-based tool when you need some specialized content, finish the first draft in Shortly, SEO-optimize in Frase, and then edit in Grammarly before you publish.
It's a fantastic AI-augmented content creation workflow. Good luck!