As a consultant who specializes in using generative AI in marketing I get a lot of questions about what copywriting tools I use. It's my job to test different options, and today I'll share some of my views of a popular tool called Jasper.
Here is the twist. The first version of this article was written with Jasper. Not only that... I'm timing myself during this editing process to see how efficiently I'll be able to turn an article generated by Jasper into a blog article I'm happy with as a SEO consultant.
Let's get started!
Introduction to Jasper AI
What is Jasper?
Jasper is an advanced AI writing tool designed to assist marketers in creating compelling content at scale.
The tool was originally called Jarvis, and was founded by Chris Hull, Dave Rogenmoser, John Philip Morgan way back in 2015. In 2021 the tool was rebranded as Jasper and today is recognized as one of the most popular AI writing tools used by marketers.
Overview of its main features
Jasper offers a range of features like auto-correction, content generation, and style improvements that streamline the writing process.
More specifically, Jasper offers solutions for:
- blogging and copywriting,
- search engine optimization,
- social media marketing,
- defining content strategy and brand tone of voice,
- creating integrated marketing campaigns.
Jasper's onboarding flow gives you a good idea who the solution is intended for
As a whole, Jasper describes their solution as an "AI copilot to revolutionize marketing." It's a tall promise, but with over $125 million raised in VC funding, Jasper is one of the better funded AI content tools geared for marketers.
Understanding Jasper
How does Jasper work?
Jasper utilizes machine learning algorithms to understand context and produce relevant text, whether you're drafting blog posts, ads, or emails. Jasper has in the past mentioned that they use OpenAI's GPT-4 in their solution, but their approach is deeply imbedded in the tool with custom functionality.
In practice, Jasper looks like a text editing tool that gives you the ability to pre-configure AI generated text.
Who is Jasper for?
According to Jasper's own generated answer, it is tailored for content creators, marketers, and entrepreneurs who need to generate high-quality content efficiently.
In my view Jasper's target audience is a bit more targeted. In my view the tool is most suitable for professional content marketers working in small agencies or growth companies where they need a tool that is more sophisticated than ChatGPT, but not requiring absolutely human-level copywriting.
Jasper Review
At this moment, let's have a transparency notice and share that the pros and cons were generated entirely by Jasper itself. Let's start with the summary pros and cons according to Jasper and then I'll give my own reflections.
Pros and cons of Jasper (generated by Jasper)
Pros
- Saves time with rapid content generation.
- Enhances writing style and tone.
- Responsive and intuitive interface.
Cons
- May require proofreading to ensure context accuracy.
- Might be cost-prohibitive for some small businesses.
Pros and cons of Jasper (I observed as a tester)
In my own view, Jasper's pros and cons are a bit more nuanced, and highly dependent on what is the alternative.
On the positive side, Jasper is super easy to use. You can get started in just a few minutes, but also give more details to your content generation requests when needed. For example, the structure for this article was largely pre-defined as I was asked to set up the blog article.
Another good thing is that the tone of voice from a pre-set template suggested by Jasper was pretty good. I would have preferred the ability to define the ability to write in first-person, but the overall written text was a positive surprise all the way from the main headline that I have kept exactly as Jasper suggested it.
Example of what this article looked like when it was generated by Jasper.ai
On the negative side, there are elements to the generated text that appear very ChatGPT'ish. For example, the original article draft started "in the fast-paced world of digital marketing..." which sounds to me a staple ChatGPT output.
Another clear negative is that the standard blog template was way, way too light to cover this detailed topic. It contained a total of 561 words. That's quite short for a regular blog article, and I would have much preferred to choose the length and depth of the article ahead of time.
Some of the core functionality in Jasper, like the plagiarism checker, were annoyingly excluded from the basic package. On the other hand, some functionality that I didn't really look to find provided useful. For example, Jasper's Chat feature gave me detailed answers with references of sources. For example, it told me that Jasper has over 100,000 customers (users?) referencing a press release on PR Newswire.
My own summary is that Jasper provides a pretty good draft as a starting point for new articles. Regardless of what tools you use, you should never use AI generated content on your website without first reviewing, editing and enhancing the content first with your subject matter expertise.
For Jasper, the pros don't just need to outweigh the cons. The natural follow-up question is how does it compare to the most common alternative, copy.ai.
Jasper vs Copy.ai
Most often, I've seen Jasper compared directly to Copy.ai - a solution that bills itself as the "first AI GTM platform." The reason why Jasper and Copy.ai are often compared is that they were some of the first solutions to utilize OpenAI's GPT models, even before ChatGPT was provided as an independent solution.
Let's now find out how Jasper itself generates a comparison between itself and copy.ai.
Jasper pricing vs. copy.ai (according to Jasper)
Jasper: Jasper's pricing structure is tier-based and targets varying levels of usage. Their Starter plan is aimed at individuals who need assistance with short-form content, while their Boss Mode is more suited for professionals and teams looking for more extensive control over the AI's output for long-form content. Jasper also offers customizable plans for enterprise clients with specific needs.
Copy.ai: Copy.ai presents an inviting freemium model, giving users the chance to use a limited version of the platform for free, which is perfect for those who want to trial the service before committing. They also have a Pro plan with more features and fewer restrictions compared to the free version. For larger teams or agencies, Copy.ai provides custom solutions similar to Jasper.
Jasper offers a 7 day free trial, so you can try the tool yourself at no cost.
Jasper language support vs. copy.ai (according to Jasper)
Jasper: Jasper boasts support for over 25 languages, making it a versatile tool for global teams and campaigns. This allows marketers to easily create and localize content for different regions without the need for extensive translation services.
Copy.ai: Copy.ai is somewhat less diverse in its language offerings but still supports several major languages. It may not cover as many as Jasper does, but for marketers focused on the primary global languages, it should suffice.
Jasper ease of use vs. copy.ai (according to Jasper)
Jasper: Jasper offers a user-friendly interface with a relatively short learning curve. Its features are straightforward and the tool provides helpful tips to guide users on how to get the best results. The Boss Mode in particular, while more advanced, gives users greater control in directing the AI.
Copy.ai: Copy.ai prides itself on simplicity and ease of use. New users can quickly become accustomed to the interface and start creating content almost immediately. The platform is designed to remove barriers to creativity, allowing users to generate various types of copy with minimal input.
Jasper vs Copy.ai (according to me)
In my view Jasper and Copy.ai have a lot of similarities and some differences. The comparison is natural and useful for marketers.
To start, Jasper and Copy.ai are both in a way "high-end" replacements to ChatGPT. They offer different kinds of pre-built templates and functionality that make the life of marketers easier. The main difference I see is that Copy.ai has started to expand beyond the core marketing use case into functions like sales, while Jasper is clearly aimed at marketers.
Both Jasper and Copy.ai score highly in user interface / usability in my view, but that is a bit of a mirage. While the tools look and feel really polished, I'm not convinced either Jasper or Copy.ai offer the truly effortless solution for creating new content. Anything they generate requires a large amount of editing, research and quite simply... humanizing to sound and look convincing.
Both Jasper and Copy.ai can start to get more expensive with use. Jasper's "popular" Pro option at $59/month per user can stack up pretty quickly if it is used across a larger team. As an alternative, Copy.ai's $186/month team subscription gives pretty extensive usage, but may also be outside of the budget of smaller teams.
Is Jasper worth the investment?
In my view Jasper could bring value in specific occasions. For content marketers looking to create AI-inspired content together in a uniform way, Jasper can give a good framework for creating first drafts. Features like "Brand Voice" can help you get consistency to generated content.
For someone who uses AI generated content actively, Jasper isn't yet a full replacement for creating content directly with ChatGPT. At the moment it's quicker and easier to engineer prompts directly in ChatGPT and do the editorial checks directly in your CMS.
A good example is this article. The first draft was generated by Jasper within minutes, but the final editing took 52 minutes. During the process I needed to check a number of facts and add quite a lot of specific details I had observed during my testing process.