These AI Instruments Upped My Productiveness, Here is How

Benjamin Franklin as soon as mentioned, “Misplaced time is rarely discovered once more.” Whereas that isn’t precisely essentially the most optimistic quote, it’s sadly true. Till scientists determine time machines or immortality, we’re caught with adopting strategies to stay productive and higher use our time.

We will’t deny AI’s cultural renaissance. It has turn out to be part of on a regular basis workflows and conversations. HubSpot’s AI Proof & Positioning Report discovered that employees are most involved about shedding their jobs as a result of AI, and the #1 purpose they don’t use AI is as a result of they fear about changing into too reliant on it.

Whereas I perceive how unsettling it could really feel to have a software that appears to do your job higher than you (the professional), I’ve acknowledged that AI is definitely simply serving to me do my job higher and quicker.

Nonetheless skeptical? Learn on for extra information from our AI Proof & Positioning Report and The HubSpot Weblog’s State of AI Report, which surveyed 1100 entrepreneurs.

Desk of Contents

AI instruments assist entrepreneurs rapidly sift by means of giant quantities of data and current it much less complexly. I can attest that, as a marketer, AI instruments like ChatGPT and Grammarly have helped me streamline analysis, current textual content clearly and concisely, and improve my capacity to multitask throughout a number of campaigns.

Professionals who’ve applied AI and automation into their workflow share that these instruments assist them get menial duties carried out quicker, enhance the effectivity of their duties and objectives, and liberate time that may very well be higher spent on essentially the most vital duties.

On this method, AI is just not solely enhancing productiveness but additionally serving to to make your job extra satisfying.

Listed here are some survey outcomes from actual business professionals who see the worth of AI of their every day workflows.

1. 75% of respondents both considerably agreed or strongly agreed that AI helped save time on handbook duties.
2. AI instruments give advertising groups 12.5 hours again per week, which equates to 25-26 extra working days per yr. This enables entrepreneurs to concentrate on strategic duties, artistic work, and other people administration.
3. 84% of bloggers/SEOs state that AI and automation have impacted their search engine optimization technique.
4. 83% of entrepreneurs say that AI helps them create considerably extra content material than they might with out.
5. 85% of salespeople utilizing AI and automation say it makes their prospecting efforts simpler.
6. 72% of companies which have applied AI instruments state that AI and automation make their workers extra productive.
7. 68% of enterprise leaders say that AI will help their firm scale in a method inconceivable with out it.
8. 53% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI to put in writing copy say they solely have to make minor edits to the textual content afterward.

Whereas I particularly utilized them to my work as a author, I can verify that, as a marketer, I already use among the instruments under or would fortunately implement them in my day-to-day job at Nickelodeon. In any case, 35% of entrepreneurs say they already use AI and automation instruments every day.

Jasper is an AI software that helps write all kinds of enterprise-marketing-style content material, from press releases to web site touchdown pages to, sure, weblog posts. It’s the second-most widespread AI software for advertising.

I used the “Model Voice” characteristic to hyperlink one among my current HubSpot weblog posts. This characteristic helps the software set up your “voice” so it could finest match that when producing textual content.

Subsequent, I clicked “Create Content material” and toggled to “Create a weblog put up.” The put up you might be studying is finest served as a listicle, so I selected “Listicle” as my sort of put up. Jasper then requested me to fill within the matter, viewers, and description.

After filling on this fast info, I hit “Generate now.” Look ahead to your self how Jasper sprung to the check.

I didn’t anticipate the put up to be able to ship after Jasper wrote it since AI content material is just not full sufficient to publish by itself about 96% of the time. I used to be right in my pondering as a result of the put up was far too brief and a bit too stiff.

However that’s okay since solely 5% of entrepreneurs use generative AI to put in writing complete items of content material. Extra individuals merely use it to spark inspiration (35%), create a top level view (33%), or get just a few paragraphs to broaden upon (25%).

What I Like

• The “Model Voice” characteristic means that you can add or hyperlink to your or your model’s writing samples so Jasper can pump out content material that meets your distinctive fashion. Many writers, like myself, are very protecting of our voices, so this characteristic made me really feel snug and assured that the textual content may keep true to me.
• Your content material takes simply seconds to be written up. You merely have to fill in some temporary details about the content material, similar to matter, audience, or name to motion, and Jasper will rapidly use that info to draft a comparable piece. My jaw dropped at how briskly the software pumped out a model — albeit shorter and fewer pleasant — of this very weblog put up.
• Jasper does an amazing job of staying throughout the standards you request. For my weblog put up, for instance, I listed the precise headline titles and variety of instruments I needed to include, and the software made certain to comply with these guardrails.
• You may create a Marketing campaign to maintain all of your content material in a single place. If I had been utilizing this software for my job at Nickelodeon, I may manage social and print advertisements, electronic mail newsletters, Instagram put up copy, and press releases for a similar new youngsters’ sequence marketing campaign throughout the similar folder.

What Wants Enchancment

• Although I linked to a current HubSpot weblog put up to assist set up my voice, the AI-generated put up was much less private, a lot shorter, and extra formal than my writing normally is. The concept of “Model Voice” is wise, however it might require a number of writing samples earlier than Jasper acknowledges your fashion.

Pricing

• Creator plan: $39/month ($468/yr) – 1 consumer
• Professional plan: $59/month/seat ($708/yr) – as much as 6 customers
• Marketing strategy: Should contact Jasper staff for pricing.

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is a software I’ve been utilizing since school earlier than AI had a reputation. I’ve at all times been obsessive about phrases and grammar (very cool, I do know), so I grew to become equally as obsessive about a software that might enhance my writing in real-time.

I’ve the free Grammarly for Chrome extension, which affords options on numerous writing-related points, together with correctness, tone options, full sentence rewrites, readability, engagement, and supply.

How loopy is that? You may see how Grammarly can present stay suggestions whilst you sort. It’s a vital software for content material creators of all types. Irrespective of how brief or lengthy your textual content is, having an AI co-creator trying over your shoulder like an AP English trainer is useful.

Why I Like It

• You may obtain writing options as you go (like I do with the Grammarly extension), or should you’d relatively sort up your textual content and acquire suggestions on the finish, you may add a doc or copy and paste a whole physique of textual content instantly into the Grammarly software.
• Grammarly analyzes your piece for the subject and argument and makes use of its “Enhance your impression” characteristic to recommend the way to meet these objectives. This elevates the software from a spelling and grammar checker to an end-to-end writing companion in seconds.
• The ability remains to be in your arms as the author; whereas Grammarly affords suggestions on all the things from rephrasing a sophisticated sentence to choosing a extra substantial synonym, you make the final word determination. I do know my writing finest, so I select to train my artistic liberty when Grammarly’s options are much less technical.
• College students and professionals alike can use the “Verify for plagiarism” characteristic to make sure you haven’t by accident borrowed some phrases from one other supply.
• The AI software can simply be built-in into different instruments, web sites, and apps, similar to Microsoft Suite, Google Drive, iOS, Android, and even Hubspot, so you may guarantee your writing improves throughout all platforms.

What Wants Enchancment

• As a lot as I really like this software, I have to admit it could generally be visually distracting. I’m consistently sifting by means of dozens of multi-colored, underlined phrases and phrases, which might turn out to be tedious.
• As is true for all AI instruments, Grammarly can’t be trusted to be 100% good. It’s at all times finest to make use of your experience as a author (or that of a trusted colleague or pal) to offer your writing a once-over and guarantee Grammarly doesn’t miss an incorrect verb tense or pointless capitalization.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Premium plan: $12/month, billed yearly (or $30/month, billed month-to-month)
• Marketing strategy: $15/month, billed yearly (or $25/month, billed month-to-month)

3. ChatGPT

We’ve all heard of it — one of many forerunners within the AI business. In 2022, OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot and digital assistant, and it has rapidly turn out to be a trusted software for data, solutions, concepts, and assist. You may chat about numerous matters, as seen from the instructed prompts under.

53% of entrepreneurs who use AI instruments use chatbots. For this weblog put up, I used to be interested by what differentiates ChatGPT from different chatbots, so I requested.

As you may see, ChatGPT is exclusive as a result of it has data of a variety of topics and may perceive and talk in a human-like method. It’s made to converse, so that you don’t have to formalize your writing, and it could usually comprehend minor spelling and grammar errors, as I examined under:

Why I Like It

• ChatGPT affords priceless help to professionals. You may prepare your ChatGPT to satisfy your particular skilled wants, similar to conducting market analysis or discovering concepts for buyer surveys, by inputting your model pointers into the “Customized Directions” characteristic, constructing templates for prompts, and extra.
• It simply integrates with different instruments and web sites, providing alternatives for personalization, AI-fueled conversations with shoppers, and environment friendly streamlining of data and information throughout platforms. I not too long ago used the Expedia app’s AI assistant, which has ChatGPT expertise, to plan a visit to Charleston.
• You may depend on ChatGPT for a lot of use instances that will in any other case have to be cut up up throughout a number of AI instruments. I’ve used it to seek out out what sorts of influencers are hottest in worldwide markets, uncover synonyms for widespread phrases, and even discover ways to burn up leftover produce in my fridge.

What Wants Enchancment

• ChatGPT can’t study in real-time, so its data solely exists up till the final time it was up to date (at present January 2022). Meaning a few of its info is perhaps barely outdated or not factual.
• Whereas it could talk like a human, it’s not human. ChatGPT would possibly generally miss the context for or misread your prompts or questions. It could actually additionally present biased or incorrect info, so its phrase can’t be relied on as legislation.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $20/month
• Group plan: $25/consumer/month, billed yearly (or $30/consumer/month, billed month-to-month)
• Enterprise plan: Should contact ChatGPT staff for pricing.

4. Reclaim

“Reclaim” your time with Reclaim, an AI calendar scheduling app that optimizes your (and your staff’s) schedules to extend private and staff productiveness, all whereas prioritizing your work-life stability.

Reclaim boasts supplying you with again an additional work day each week, with 7.6 extra productive hours, which I do know I may definitely use.

I accomplished a superb chunk of this put up on a rolling foundation however discovered myself a few days earlier than the due date with roughly 8 hours of writing left. I used Reclaim to assist me optimize my time round my morning exercises, Nickelodeon working hours, and night social plans to get my put up carried out in time.

Reclaim additionally affords a wide range of skilled and private behavior templates to select from, and it’ll routinely match the behavior into your calendar for nevertheless lengthy and at no matter cadence you favor.

My work calendar rapidly fills up with conferences, so I might use Reclaim to arrange Focus Time all through my week to work on tasks and Mindfulness breaks to make sure I take brief walks and time away from my display.

Entrepreneurs spend roughly 5 hours every day on handbook, administrative, or operational duties. AI instruments like Reclaim will help the common marketer save practically 2.5 hours every day on these duties and spend extra time on the issues that matter most.

Why I Like It

• It’s onerous to schedule time for private actions similar to studying, exercising, or having a correct lunch throughout the workday. Reclaim encourages you to find time for these items and routinely provides these habits to your calendar.
• The “Sensible Conferences” characteristic analyzes your complete staff’s schedules and finds one of the best time for recurring conferences, so that you don’t have to manually lookup calendars, electronic mail colleagues, and handle scheduling conflicts.
• The “Calendar Sync” characteristic helped me mix my Nickelodeon, HubSpot, and private calendars to maximise my time and effectively prioritize all my commitments.

What Wants Enchancment

• The app isn’t as user-friendly as different AI instruments I examined. It took a while for me to get acquainted with the assorted options and to determine one of the simplest ways to optimize Reclaim for my HubSpot Weblog writing wants.
• Reclaim works finest in a piece setting if all of your staff members additionally use it. In any other case, you’re unable to train among the finest options, like “Sensible Conferences.”

Pricing

• Lite plan: $0 – 1 consumer
• Starter plan: $8/consumer/month – as much as 10 customers
• Marketing strategy: $12/consumer/month – as much as 100 customers
• Enterprise plan: $18/consumer/month – over 100 customers

5. ChatPDF

48% of entrepreneurs as we speak use generative AI instruments like ChatPDF to conduct analysis. ChatPDF has revolutionized the concept of “skimming” into an AI-powered machine. You merely add any PDF and watch for ChatPDF to soak up the data.

Then, you might be delivered to a chat web page, the place you may ask any questions in regards to the PDF. The chat characteristic is very useful for college students and professors trying to summarize prolonged academic supplies.

Nevertheless, it additionally has infinite prospects for professionals. Acquired a 50-slide presentation from a consumer that it’s essential to sift by means of by the morning? Or a 30-page report from a client survey that may present insights on your subsequent marketing campaign? ChatPDF has your again.

As you may see, ChatPDF helps you digest giant quantities of data and select no matter information factors and conclusions are mandatory on your work. I take pleasure in utilizing this software as a fact-checker or second set of eyes.

I learn by means of the HubSpot Weblog’s State of AI Report, a 33-page PDF, to analysis some key AI productiveness stats and information. Then, I used ChatPDF to double-check my work and guarantee I included an important materials on this weblog put up.

Why I Like It

• This software is an ideal instance of how AI will help us do our jobs higher with out truly doing our jobs. ChatPDF doesn’t provide you with any new info; as a substitute, it helps you chop by means of the noise and get the precise information you want.
• The software may be very simple to make use of. Its look is straightforward, which works properly for the sort of AI software. Even essentially the most technologically challenged particular person can determine ChatPDF.
• You may add a PDF in any language. That is particularly useful for me, as I work in Worldwide Advertising. Moderately than asking my regional advertising groups to translate their PDFs into English earlier than sending them to me, I can settle for the unique format and summarize it myself.
• I respect that, relatively than merely summarizing the contents of a PDF, this AI software introduces a chatbot characteristic. This manner, you ask for exactly what you need, which works twofold — you aren’t slowed down by unneeded info and are compelled to have some semblance of the contents since it’s a must to know what to ask for. It prevents us from getting negligent with our work.

What Wants Enchancment

• The software has a really area of interest function. Not like ChatGPT, which can be utilized for numerous private {and professional} duties, ChatPDF has a restricted workflow. It does what it does properly, however it’s possible you’ll not want to make use of it every day.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $5/month
• Premium plan: $15/month

6. DreamStudio

Stability AI is the proprietor of a wide range of AI merchandise for text-to-image and video era. Entrepreneurs who use AI to generate written and visible content material save a mean of greater than 3 hours per piece, so I used to be trying ahead to testing DreamStudio, the web-based app model of Steady Diffusion 3.

I’m not a pure artist or designer, however at Nickelodeon, I sometimes temporary our artistic groups on a brand new sequence (from primary characters to animation fashion to areas), which they then use to tell the creation of the sequence key artwork.

Instruments like DreamStudio would assist me rapidly visualize my advertising technique, which the artistic staff may use as a diving off level.

I made a decision to check this software to generate a picture I may use inside this weblog put up (see How I Examined the Greatest AI Instruments for Work).

This immediate was an amazing instance of the capabilities of this text-to-image generator. I added numerous prompts and filters to hone in on the precise sort of picture I needed.

Studying the way to write sturdy prompts that information picture era is the best method to make use of text-to-image generative instruments. Chatbots will help with that by drafting a particular immediate on your desired picture, which might then be plugged into DreamStudio.

Why I Like It

• As I discussed, this can be a nice solution to visually convey your concepts to life. Like a written define earlier than a weblog put up, DreamStudio can give you a picture define that you should use as inspiration on your design or pictures work.
• You may generate imagery to again up a pitch at work. If I had an thrilling concept for a Nickelodeon activation, I may use AI-generated imagery to convey my concept to life and assist my staff visualize it.
• Not all picture turbines have a “Detrimental Immediate” characteristic, however it is rather useful to share not solely what you need to see but additionally what you need to keep away from in your picture. You can even play with the side ratio and the variety of photos you obtain.
• Moderately than a month-to-month subscription, as with different AI instruments, DreamStudio means that you can purchase credit per picture, which affords extra flexibility.

What Wants Enchancment

• The pictures generated weren’t at all times correct. One of many instances I examined my above immediate, the photographs on the laptop computer display resembled scenes from a fantasy film relatively than AI-related imagery. Whereas promising, this software might take some trial and error to lock down precisely what you’re searching for.

Pricing

• 25 free credit
• $10/1,000 credit: Roughly 5,000 photos