9 AI Tools for Journalists You May Not Have Tried Yet

While artificial intelligence is already streamlining processes and increase efficiency in the media space, AI's integration into newsrooms—see the London Evening Standard, Bloomberg, and the Associated Press—has been met with mixed feelings among journalists. Some have enthusiastically embraced AI writing assistants, grammar checkers, and headline optimizers. But others wonder if AI writing tools could ultimately replace human reporters. Plenty are rightly worried about the continued future of a profession that has been reshaped again and again over the past two decades.

Journalists who made a concerted effort to learn from the switch from paper to digital delivery or the ascension of social media in reporting were likely better off than their peers. Consider what we can learn from their choices. 

Right now, there's a great deal of resistance to AI in journalism and in writing in general. And a lot of writers on Twitter believe that AI integration in newsrooms and in publishing is nothing more than a fad that will pass. Others aren't so sure. Nitish Pahwa, writing for Slate, asserts that "chatbots suck at journalism," but then goes on to describe the various uses of AI in the newsroom and the cold hard calculus of replacing humans with artificially intelligent writing software (but only if it cites its sources). An opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post paints a bleaker picture, stating outright that "the age of reporters is ending."

We Need to Keep Talking About AI Integration in Journalism

The integration of AI in journalism is launching reporters into yet another era of uncertainty. Can AI tools replace journalists? The frustrating reality is that no one knows yet, but you can bet some publishers will try to just that (looking at you, CNET). The only path forward for journalists is to get on board the AI train as an idea generator, an angle refiner, a research enhancer, a headline suggester, and a story optimizer. Exploring the benefits of AI writing tools—not just the limitations—may be the key to staying relevant.

"Is [AI] good or bad? [That] doesn't matter because it's happening anyway. What matters is how we use this technology and how we make sure it's not used to spread fake news," Gael Breton, the digital marketing and SEO expert who first spotted CNET's use of AI, told Euronews. "I think we need to understand how it works, learn how to use it - because there's no way we can get rid of it".

What are the Different Types of AI tools for Journalists?

No one is suggesting that reporters have ChatGPT, Bard, or Microsoft's Bingbot write editorial content. But journalists shouldn't turn up their noses at AI-powered content enhancement tools, grammar checkers, paraphrasers, automatic transcription services, or SEO tools.

9 AI Tools Every Journalist Should Check Out

Simplified

This writing tool uses AI to simplify complex language and improve the readability of text, making it especially helpful for journalists who want to ensure their articles are accessible to the widest possible audience. Simplified analyzes text and suggests simpler phrasing and better sentence structures, making writing clearer and more concise.

VondyAI

VondyAI lets journalists quickly create video content to accompany articles with little or even no video editing skills. This AI tool automatically selects the most important information to include in videos and offers customization options, automatic captioning, and sharing tools.

AISEO

AISEO helps journalists optimize articles for search engines by analyzing copy and suggesting relevant keywords and phrases to improve page rankings. AISEO also provides real-time feedback on readability, easy-to-understand optimization scores, and suggestions for improving sentence structure and tone.

NeuralText

NeuralText analyzes copy and suggests improvements to tone, structure, and style. Advanced features allow for customization and personalization. This tool also has collaboration functionalities.

Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai is an AI-powered tool that helps journalists transcribe and organize interviews more easily. This tool uses advanced voice recognition technology to transcribe audio recordings into written text, allowing journalists to quickly and accurately transcribe their interviews, and provides a range of features to help organize and manage transcripts, including search, tagging, and sharing capabilities.

Otter.ai

Otter.ai is another transcription tool that utilizes AI to transcribe audio and video recordings into text. With it, journalists can edit transcriptions in real-time, making it easy to correct any errors or typos right away.

Wibbitz

This video creation tool uses AI to automatically create videos from written content by scanning copy and selecting the most important information to include in the video. Journalists can use it to generate a high-quality video in minutes.

CoSchedule Headline Analyzer

This tool scores headlines based on factors like word choice, length, and emotion, giving journalists insights into how to optimize their headlines for maximum impact and grow their readership.

Designify

This tool helps journalists create visually appealing designs for their copy by suggesting relevant design elements that could enhance a reader's experience, including fonts, color schemes, and imagery. Designify also offers collaboration features, making it easy for journalists to share designs with team members or get feedback in real-time.