How to Choose the Best AI Writing Tool for Your Copywriting Process
By William Weeks

Let’s get one thing out of the way first …

This article is not about whether AI is good or bad and if you, as a copywriter, should use it.

(Hint: You should use it … If you’re in doubt about that, take a few minutes to check out these articles: Will AI Replace Copywriters? and The Future of Freelancing: Why EVERY Copywriter Needs to Harness the Power of AI.)

So now, we’re going to look at choosing the right AI writing assistant for your copywriting needs, and how you can use AI to augment your writing ability and supercharge your productivity.

As a copywriter, you've most likely noticed the frenzy about using AI as a writing assistant.

AI tools are powerful … especially when it comes to research, ideation, outlining/drafting, and editing.

And once you discover what works for your copywriting career … you’ll never write the same way again. You’ll be faster, better, and able to earn more.

So, to help you move forward, you need to choose the right AI tool for the right task.

And in case you’re working with a limited budget, in this article we’ll compare the FREE versions of four commonly used AI — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini — to determine where they shine in the writing process.

What Is the Writing Process?

Whether you’re writing compelling sales copy or engaging content, there are four basic stages to any writing project: Research, Ideation, Outlining/Drafting, and Editing.

Before looking at AI tools and their roles, it's important to understand these stages and their common challenges.

Research

Here, you’re gathering the ingredients for your project. But there’s too much information out there. So, finding reliable data, and relevant details becomes a serious endeavor.

Ideation

This is where you brainstorm unique ideas — figuring out how to use the ingredients to benefit the audience. The obstacles to this stage are overcoming the blank screen and deciding what to use.

Outlining/Drafting

Now, you’re experimenting with the structure of your draft. However, maintaining a logical flow with a consistent voice and tone can feel like you’re juggling five eggs.

Editing

And finally, you’re polishing your draft to enhance accuracy, consistency, and readability. The trick is finding all errors and keeping the same voice while focusing on the reader and their experience.

To gain a better understanding of AI’s potential as a writing assistant, you need to be intimately familiar with your own writing process.

What’s in the AI Toolbox?

Now that we've taken a look at the copywriting process, let's meet the AI tools that can help you.

ChatGPT (created by OpenAI)

• A general-purpose conversational AI
• Great for brainstorming ideas, creating various forms of content, and writing in different styles.
• Its free version is limited, and you’ll need to check your facts to ensure accuracy and relevance.

Perplexity (created by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski)

• Focused on delivering accurate information.
• Excels at summarizing multiple sources and providing citations.
• The free version might not offer research capabilities as deep as its paid plans.

Claude (created by Anthropic)

• Conversational AI known for its nuanced understanding of human language.
• Generates relevant content ideas, and evaluates those ideas, noting potential drawbacks.
• It is conservative in generating content to prioritize safety and ethics.

Gemini (created by Google)

• Specializing in accurate and reliable information.
• Helps with fact-checking and suggests SEO keywords.
• Creative brainstorming abilities might not be as strong as other AI tools.

Where the Tools Go to Work for You

Research

When researching and checking your facts, Perplexity and Gemini shine.

Perplexity finds accurate and relevant information while providing sources — making your work reliable.

Here’s an example from Perplexity using health benefits of almond milk:

Gemini can help you with SEO keyword research by brainstorming seed words, competitor analysis, and search intent — so your content ranks well in search engines.

And here’s a sample for SEO keyword ideas with Gemini:

Ideation

Two AI options stand out here: ChatGPT and Claude.

Both can generate creative content ideas like blog titles, catchy headlines, or social media captions.

Here’s a social media sample from ChatGPT:

And an example from Claude:

ChatGPT and Claude can also brainstorm different formats like emails, case studies, and video scripts.

However, ChatGPT’s generated content can be a bit more readable than Claude.

Outline and Draft

ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini dominate this step of the writing process.

They all can help you structure your content logically.

And create initial drafts of your project.

But they’re more effective with short-form content like blogs, emails, and social media posts.

Here’s simple social media post from ChatGPT:

And here’s the same social media post from Claude:

Although they do a great job, you still need to polish the language, check facts, and add your unique voice to your project.

Remember, AI assistants can do a lot … but they are there to help your process, not replace it.

Aside from ChatGPT and Claude … Gemini can be a lot more conversational and generate content that sounds more human.

Here’s Gemini’s take on the same social media post:

Editing

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity combine to become a powerful fail-safe system.

Imagine having a team of writing assistants who cross-check each other’s work as well as your own.

They collectively boost your project’s structure, flow, clarity, style and tone, consistency, formatting, grammar, and vocabulary.

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity all provide additional help in proofreading your project as well.

So, Which Tool Is Best?

Even though ChatGPT is a good choice all around …

Currently, there is no one AI tool that can do it all.

So just like a team can do more than a single individual, the greatest progress is achieved through collaboration. Ideally in a team, each person complements the group. And when flow is achieved, productivity and efficiency grow exponentially.

The same is true of AI like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.

Each tool brings something different to the writing process.

And when combined with human imagination and emotional intelligence …

 … you get something that’s never happened before in our history.

We’ve now entered the age of the “jet-propulsion” writer.

It’s largely uncharted territory.

Now, if you MUST choose only one AI writing tool, I’d choose ChatGPT, because it’s the best all-around tool.

But I recommend you try each tool and discover which one(s) work best for you.

To get familiar with AI, you can learn how to use AI writing tools and become a better, faster, higher-earning writer (Part 1).

And afterwards you can advance to Part 2.

This is a great time for writers to explore and create!