Top 10 AI Tools for Digital Publishing
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has kicked off debates about its benefits and disadvantages, and within journalism, the topic is particularly heated. Some argue that AI will lead to job losses and displacement, while others see it as a useful tool to improve accuracy and reduce the rate of error. Despite the arguments, there’s no denying that AI tools offer significant advantages, and its potential as a helpful tool cannot be overlooked. By using AI tools with your existing newsroom software, such as Superdesk, and your live blogging platform, like Live Blog, you can further improve their functionality and overall efficiency.
From content creation to fake news detection, AI journalism tools are changing how journalists work. With a plethora of affordable AI platforms to choose from, finding the right combination for your reporting can be overwhelming. This brief guide will help you decide the best AI tools for your newsroom.
1. AI Content Generation: Jasper
Automated content generation has become important for journalism. Jasper is an AI tool for writing, can generate high-quality articles, reports, and summaries based on specific inputs, avoiding repetition, and adapt to tone and style instructions. This tool helps journalists produce content quickly, allowing them to focus on more complex investigative work. Product prices start from €39, including a free trial.
ChatGPT is a good alternative as a free AI writing tool that also assists in content creation, providing accessible AI writing support to a greater audience. Additionally, HuggingChat is an open source AI software, giving users another free writing tool for generating content.
2. AI Grammar Checker: Grammarly
Maintaining grammatical accuracy and stylistic consistency is a necessity for professionals in any field. Grammarly, an AI writing tool, provides advanced proofreading based on rules of grammar and context, offers clarity suggestions, vocabulary and style enhancement tips, and guarantees that the written content meets high standards. Grammarly browser extensions are available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, making the AI writing assistance accessible across different platforms. Grammarly is free to use but offers a premium plan for €12/month, which includes extra features such as a plagiarism checker and writing tone adjustment.
3. Language Translation: DeepL
In an increasingly globalised world, good translation ensures that journalists can cover international stories with high accuracy and depth. DeepL provides the accurate translations with a focus on context and nuance, while keeping a natural sound. This tool helps overcome language barriers, making it easier to gather information from various sources and reach a wider audience. DeepL plans start at €7.49/month, but the software offers a free version that allows users to translate up to 1,500 characters per text.
4. Speech-to-Text Converter: TurboScribe
Transcribing interviews and speeches can be time-consuming. TurboScribe simplifies this process by converting audio and video files into written text accurately and quickly. Efficient transcription is helpful for providing accurate quotes and information, which are the foundation of trustworthy journalism.
5. AI Fact-Checking: Full Fact
Accuracy is imperative for credible journalism. In today's world of "fake news” and misinformation, fact-checking is even more important than ever. Full Fact is an AI-powered fact-checking tool that cross-references information against trusted databases and sources. It helps journalists verify claims and ensure that their reporting is reliable and truthful, while saving time, money and effort. TurboScribe’s unlimited version costs €10 monthly, however, with the free version, users can have three free transcripts daily, each with a time limit of 30 minutes.
6. AI Data Visualisation: Flourish
AI data visualisation tools are useful for presenting complex information in an accessible way. Flourish enables journalists to easily combine data from multiple sources, and to transform it into interactive charts, maps and graphics. Readers understand and engage with the content more easily with data visualisation, which makes Flourish a powerful free tool for immersive storytelling.
7. Social Media Monitoring: Brandwatch
Being well-informed about public opinion and breaking news is crucial for journalists. Brandwatch tracks and analyses social media trends, mentions and sentiment. This AI tool helps journalists monitor real-time developments and public reactions. Social media monitoring is helpful for understanding consumers’ interests and staying informed about the latest news and trends.
8. AI-Powered Recommendation Engine: Recombee
Personalising content for readers based on their habits and preferences can significantly improve satisfaction. Recombee uses AI to analyse audience behaviours and recommend articles that align with individual interests. This AI tool helps news organisations deliver personalised content, making readers feel valued and understood, which can help increase user interaction. Recombee's pricing model is determined by the number of recommendations served per month, with a free version also available.
9. SEO AI: Clearscope
Search engine optimisation is essential for improving the visibility of news articles. Clearscope uses AI to give recommendations for optimising content. By improving keyword usage and readability, it helps journalists reach a wider audience. Good SEO ensures that news articles are easy to find and accessible to readers online. Clearscope offers monthly plans starting from $199.
10. Image and Video Creation: Canva
Creating compelling visual images and videos helps to engage audiences. Canva’s Magic Design platform offers AI-powered design features that allows journalists to create professional-looking images and videos by using a text-to-image generator. At the moment, AI-generated images are not protected by copyright law, therefore, journalists have to take this into consideration when using them. Canva is a free tool to use, but with a monthly subscription of €12, users can unlock premium content.
The evolution of AI tools for journalism is progressing rapidly, as these tools continuously transform how journalists work. Although AI tools are proficient, they cannot replace the skills, expertise and experience of journalists. By using AI platforms in the newsroom, journalists can improve their efficiency and content quality, while also delivering more personalised experiences to their audience. As technology continues to improve, the integration of AI will undoubtedly play a role in influencing the future of journalism.