Top AI Tools for Marketing and Communications

Knowing a tool exists is what's important

I maintain that knowing when to reach for AI is more important than memorizing a list of tools. If you know AI can create images, you can find an AI image generation tool with a quick search. Below are some of the tools I've found to be the most valuable in my daily work as a communications professional. I'm always interested in learning about new ones and the landscape changes almost daily. So if you see one missing, shoot me a note, I always love to learn about valuable tools!

Another note on AI tools

As tools evolve and change I expect and hope to see them consolidate. Today, you might have to buy a tool for podcast, social posts and music production, but eventually I look forward to these tools becoming integrated with what we already use. Nobody wants to pay $20/month for 20 tools. It's tough to even keep track of that many!

Generative AI image tools

Dall-e 3 - A decent image generator, it doesn't yet have the fully realistic capabilities of some competitors but it can sometimes generate readable text. Text is generally a shortcoming of image generators. If you use it through ChatGPT4 you don't have to worry as much about perfectly formulating a prompt. Chat GPT4 does some of the prompt formulation work for you. Below are some of the ways to access it.

• Dall-e website: https://openai.com/dall-e-3

• Can be accessed via Bing for free: https://www.bing.com/images/create

• Dall-e 3 is also used by ChatGPT 4.0 to create images

Adobe Firefly – Adobe Firefly can create realistic images and has built-in ways to adjust outputs. It is also trained on content that is not copyrighted so it is the most ethical choice I'm aware of. You can get some credits for free use, or if you have a paid subscription to the Adobe suite you can access it that way.

• Adobe Firefly website: https://firefly.adobe.com/#

Adobe Illustrator – You have to have an Adobe Illustrator licence to use this tool, but it is nice to be able to have editable vector images just a prompt away. If you don't pay for the Adobe suite, I just tested Recraft which seems to be a text-to-vector tool with a free level. https://app.recraft.ai/

Adobe Photoshop – You have to have an Adobe Photoshop license to use this tool. However, easily removing or adding elements into a photo can be quite helpful when you have personally identifying information to remove before sharing with media or perhaps a stray, unconsented person in the image. Of course, you wouldn't want to materially manipulate the image to change what is happening, but if you just need a few tweaks, this is helpful.

Google Slides/Duet – This tool is built into the Google Slides tool, so it's nice not to have to leave if you're already working in that program.

Midjourney – Midjourney's functionality is probably near the top of the pack when it comes to image generation. However, I don't recommend it for general users yet because the user interface is not for the non-tech crowd. You access it through Discord and have to have a bit of a mental list of the types of functions you want to use. I believe they're working on a different hopefully more layperson-friendly interface, at which point, this one might become worth paying for if you use images often.

Midjourney website: https://www.midjourney.com/

Generative AI text tools

ChatGPT – Chat GPT 3.5 is free to use. Its information only extends to 2022 and it does not include image generation or internet search. ChatGPT 4.0 is a paid tool, currently $20/month and it includes internet search, excel downloads and Dall-e 3 image generation. Because it's a decent multipurpose tool, this is the one I would recommend paying for if your budget is small. ChatGPT Teams is also now available and supposedly includes enterprise-level security. Your inputs are not supposed to be used as part of their training data. That is the level I'd suggest for an organization.

Chat GPT website: https://chat.openai.com/

Claude – Claude does a nice job of text and data analysis. This is another good free option. Sometimes it's worth making accounts in different places to see what works best for you.

Google Bard – Google Bard was one of the earliest with internet search functionality. That doesn't mean it's the smartest. I find myself reaching for this one less now that GPT 4 has internet connectivity. I'm only listing it here because it's one of the big players, not necessarily because I recommend it.

Google Bard website: https://bard.google.com/chat

Microsoft CoPilot – Microsoft CoPilot has at least three levels. At the lowest, free level it is a free chat and image generation tool. (This used to be called Bing Chat.) It is built using Open AI's technology. As of January 2024 reports say it uses Chat GPT 4. However, I've found that in small, personal tests it is tuned differently enough from OpenAI's version that I'll keep paying for ChatGPT. Don't confuse it with Microsoft CoPilot for Microsoft 365 which is the more pro version that integrates with Microsoft's suite of products. That requires a Microsoft 365 license. I haven't been able to test that version yet.

Microsoft CoPilot free chat website: https://www.bing.com/chat

Perplexity AI – Perplexity calls itself an "answer engine" and focuses a bit more on internet search for answers. As such it does a nice job of automatically showing you the resources it used to generate a response. It seems to be better at providing real-world answers, but perhaps less strong at providing creative responses. It is the only generative AI that has correctly named all current Colorado State Senators when I asked. There is both a free and a paid version, the free version includes internet access.

Perplexity AI website: https://www.perplexity.ai/

Generative AI recording tools

Built-in recording - Paid versions of video conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have AI functionality built-in. They'll take notes for you, a handy way to focus on a meeting with your hands free. If you already use one of these tools, I think you can just use the existing functionality.

Otter.AI - Otter.AI can transcribe calls on Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. It will also take notes for you and highlight action items. They have both free and paid subscription levels depending on the functionality you need.

Otter.AI website: https://otter.ai/

AI presentation/course building tools

Plus Docs – Plus Docs is a Google Slides plug-in that can create a whole deck based on a text prompt. You won't likely go from prompt to presentation in the few minutes it takes to build the slides, but it gives you a nice starting point. I also appreciate that it inserts suggestions for personalization - I like an AI that acknowledges it needs a little human help. There is some free functionality with this tool and of course, you can pay money and upgrade.

Plus Docs website: https://www.plusdocs.com/

Tome – If you're into being independent and not working within Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint this standalone tool can create a presentation from a prompt. I occasionally use it just for the integrated image creation. It's kind of slick feeling think fancy pitch decks. So if that's the style you're looking for, Tome is decent at it.

Tome website: https://tome.app/

Mini Course Generator – This tool will create mobile-optimized lessons, again from just a prompt. You could ask ChatGPT to teach you something, and it will walk you through it, but this tool automatically creates quizzes and chunks information. The outputs look pretty nice, so if you're trying to create some basic learning materials for marketing your organization it seems like a good option out of the handful I tried. Of course, always have educational content double-checked by someone with expertise in that area. You can build small courses for free but the free credits tend to run out quickly.

Mini Course Generator website: https://minicoursegenerator.com/

AI spreadsheet tools

Google Sheets – The AI integrations with Google Sheets are some of my favorite ones. It can be a little finicky about doing what you ask, but it can automatically create dropdown options along with content. I asked it to create a list of things to do in Portland, OR and it came up with a decent, realistic list and dropdowns for ranking and check marks for marking things off. I love it when tools feel fun!

ChatGPT – Chat GPT 4.0 can build you an Excel spreadsheet when you tell it the formulas etc. you want. This saves me so much time when I want to create small automated things that are a little beyond me. For example, I have multiple columns of information about a social post, but I need to enter that into a client's sheet formatted differently with particular words added. I just told ChatGPT what I needed and a few iterations later it was built!

Claude – Both Claude and ChatGPT 4.0 allow you to upload data to analyze. If you're not super data savvy, it's great to prompt it to suggest ways it can analyze your data for you. For example, you can upload social engagement data and ask it what day of the week gets the most engagement from your audience. Let the tools be your guide.