These AI Instruments Upped My Productiveness, This is How

Benjamin Franklin as soon as stated, “Misplaced time isn’t discovered once more.” Whereas that isn’t precisely probably the most optimistic quote, it’s sadly true. Till scientists work out 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 into 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 because of AI, and the #1 purpose they don’t use AI is as a result of they fear about turning into too reliant on it.

Whereas I perceive how unsettling it might really feel to have a software that appears to do your job higher than you (the skilled), 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 shortly sift by way of massive quantities of knowledge 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 enhance my potential 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 executed quicker, enhance the effectivity of their duties and objectives, and release time that may very well be higher spent on probably the most essential tasks.

On this manner, AI just isn’t solely bettering productiveness but additionally serving to to make your job extra satisfying.

Listed below are some survey outcomes from actual trade professionals who see the worth of AI of their day by 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 further working days per yr. This permits entrepreneurs to deal with strategic duties, artistic work, and other people administration.
3. 84% of bloggers/SEOs state that AI and automation have impacted their search engine optimisation 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 more practical.
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 manner inconceivable with out it.
8. 53% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI to write down 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 affirm that, as a marketer, I already use a few of the instruments under or would fortunately implement them in my day-to-day job at Nickelodeon. In spite of everything, 35% of entrepreneurs say they already use AI and automation instruments day by day.

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

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

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

After filling on this fast data, I hit “Generate now.” Look ahead to your self how Jasper sprung to the take a look at.

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

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

What I Like

• The “Model Voice” characteristic lets you add or hyperlink to your or your model’s writing samples so Jasper can pump out content material that meets your distinctive model. Many writers, like myself, are very protecting of our voices, so this characteristic made me really feel snug and assured that the textual content might keep true to me.
• Your content material takes simply seconds to be written up. You merely have to fill in some transient details about the content material, akin to matter, target market, or name to motion, and Jasper will shortly use that data 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 submit.
• Jasper does an important job of staying inside the standards you request. For my weblog submit, for instance, I listed the precise headline titles and variety of instruments I wished to include, and the software made positive to comply with these guardrails.
• You possibly can create a Marketing campaign to maintain all of your content material in a single place. If I have been utilizing this software for my job at Nickelodeon, I might set up social and print adverts, electronic mail newsletters, Instagram submit copy, and press releases for a similar new children’ sequence marketing campaign inside the identical folder.

What Wants Enchancment

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

Pricing

• Creator plan: $39/month ($468/yr) – 1 person
• Professional plan: $59/month/seat ($708/yr) – as much as 6 customers
• Marketing strategy: Should contact Jasper group 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 gives solutions on varied writing-related points, together with correctness, tone solutions, full sentence rewrites, readability, engagement, and supply.

How loopy is that? You possibly can see how Grammarly can present stay suggestions when you kind. It’s an important software for content material creators of every kind. Regardless of how brief or lengthy your textual content is, having an AI co-creator wanting over your shoulder like an AP English trainer is useful.

Why I Like It

• You possibly can obtain writing solutions as you go (like I do with the Grammarly extension), or should you’d slightly kind up your textual content and acquire suggestions on the finish, you possibly can add a doc or copy and paste a complete 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 affect” characteristic to recommend tips on how to meet these objectives. This elevates the software from a spelling and grammar checker to an end-to-end writing companion in seconds.
• The facility remains to be in your palms as the author; whereas Grammarly gives suggestions on every part from rephrasing an advanced sentence to deciding on a extra substantial synonym, you make the final word choice. I do know my writing finest, so I select to train my artistic liberty when Grammarly’s solutions are much less technical.
• College students and professionals alike can use the “Examine 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, akin to Microsoft Suite, Google Drive, iOS, Android, and even Hubspot, so you possibly can guarantee your writing improves throughout all platforms.

What Wants Enchancment

• As a lot as I really like this software, I have to admit it might generally be visually distracting. I’m consistently sifting by way of dozens of multi-colored, underlined phrases and phrases, which might turn into tedious.
• As is true for all AI instruments, Grammarly can’t be trusted to be 100% excellent. It’s at all times finest to make use of your experience as a author (or that of a trusted colleague or buddy) to provide 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 trade. In 2022, OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot and digital assistant, and it has shortly turn into a trusted software for information, solutions, concepts, and assist. You possibly can chat about varied subjects, as seen from the advised prompts under.

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

As you possibly can see, ChatGPT is exclusive as a result of it has information of a variety of topics and might 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 might usually comprehend minor spelling and grammar errors, as I examined under:

Why I Like It

• ChatGPT gives priceless help to professionals. You possibly can prepare your ChatGPT to satisfy your particular skilled wants, akin to conducting market analysis or discovering concepts for buyer surveys, by inputting your model tips 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 customers, and environment friendly streamlining of knowledge 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 possibly can depend on ChatGPT for a lot of use instances which will in any other case must be cut up up throughout a number of AI instruments. I’ve used it to search out out what sorts of influencers are hottest in worldwide markets, uncover synonyms for frequent phrases, and even discover ways to dissipate leftover produce in my fridge.

What Wants Enchancment

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

Pricing

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

4. Reclaim

“Reclaim” your time with Reclaim, an AI calendar scheduling app that optimizes your (and your group’s) schedules to extend private and group 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 might definitely use.

I accomplished a great chunk of this submit 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 submit executed in time.

Reclaim additionally gives quite a lot of skilled and private behavior templates to select from, and it’ll mechanically match the behavior into your calendar for nonetheless lengthy and at no matter cadence you like.

My work calendar shortly fills up with conferences, so I’d 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 day by day on handbook, administrative, or operational duties. AI instruments like Reclaim will help the typical marketer save almost 2.5 hours day by day on these duties and spend extra time on the issues that matter most.

Why I Like It

• It’s arduous to schedule time for private actions akin to studying, exercising, or having a correct lunch throughout the workday. Reclaim encourages you to find time for this stuff and mechanically provides these habits to your calendar.
• The “Good Conferences” characteristic analyzes your complete group’s schedules and finds one of the best time for recurring conferences, so that you don’t have to manually search for 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 best ways to optimize Reclaim for my HubSpot Weblog writing wants.
• Reclaim works finest in a piece setting if all of your group members additionally use it. In any other case, you’re unable to train a few of the finest options, like “Good Conferences.”

Pricing

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

5. ChatPDF

48% of entrepreneurs right this moment 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 anticipate ChatPDF to soak up the data.

Then, you’re delivered to a chat web page, the place you possibly can ask any questions concerning the PDF. The chat characteristic is very helpful for college students and professors seeking to summarize prolonged academic supplies.

Nonetheless, it additionally has infinite prospects for professionals. Acquired a 50-slide presentation from a shopper that you might want to sift by way of by the morning? Or a 30-page report from a shopper survey that may present insights in your subsequent marketing campaign? ChatPDF has your again.

As you possibly can see, ChatPDF helps you digest massive quantities of knowledge and pick no matter information factors and conclusions are mandatory in your work. I get pleasure from utilizing this software as a fact-checker or second set of eyes.

I learn by way 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 submit.

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 data; as a substitute, it helps you narrow by way 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 any such AI software. Even probably the most technologically challenged particular person can work out ChatPDF.
• You possibly can add a PDF in any language. That is particularly useful for me, as I work in Worldwide Advertising and marketing. Slightly 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 recognize that, slightly than merely summarizing the contents of a PDF, this AI software introduces a chatbot characteristic. This fashion, you ask for exactly what you need, which works twofold — you aren’t slowed down by unneeded data and are compelled to have some semblance of the contents since it’s important 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. In contrast to ChatGPT, which can be utilized for varied 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 day by day.

Pricing

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

6. DreamStudio

Stability AI is the proprietor of quite a lot 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 wanting 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 often transient our artistic groups on a brand new sequence (from principal characters to animation model to areas), which they then use to tell the creation of the sequence key artwork.

Instruments like DreamStudio would assist me shortly visualize my advertising technique, which the artistic group might use as a diving off level.

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

This immediate was an important instance of the capabilities of this text-to-image generator. I added varied prompts and filters to hone in on the precise kind of picture I wished.

Studying tips on how to write robust prompts that information picture era is the simplest manner to make use of text-to-image generative instruments. Chatbots will help with that by drafting a selected immediate in your desired picture, which might then be plugged into DreamStudio.

Why I Like It

• As I discussed, this can be a nice method to visually deliver your concepts to life. Like a written define earlier than a weblog submit, DreamStudio can give you a picture define that you should utilize as inspiration in your design or pictures work.
• You possibly can generate imagery to again up a pitch at work. If I had an thrilling concept for a Nickelodeon activation, I might use AI-generated imagery to deliver my concept to life and assist my group visualize it.
• Not all picture turbines have a “Unfavourable 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. It’s also possible to play with the facet ratio and the variety of photographs you obtain.
• Slightly than a month-to-month subscription, as with different AI instruments, DreamStudio lets you purchase credit per picture, which gives extra flexibility.

What Wants Enchancment

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

Pricing

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