New AI editing tools can strengthen your writing. They spotlight misused or missing words, flabby phrases, and meandering sentences, then offer suggested edits. You choose which revisions to implement, just as you would with a human editor. I’ve found these digital writing assistants surprisingly useful. Read on for a few specific AI editors to try.

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DeepL Write is a free new tool, in beta, that offers two ways to sharpen your writing.

• Languages: As of now it works for American or British English and German.

• Translation: DeepL also makes DeepL Translator, which can translate text, PDFs, Word docs or PowerPoint files between 30 languages in seconds. It worked well when I converted a long German PDF into English.

• My take: DeepL Write is the simplest of these new AI editing tools and the one I prefer for quick edit suggestions. It lacks the clutter of more complex editors. I like its clean drop-down menu with multiple edit alternatives.

Like DeepL, Quillbot’s AI offers multiple ways to rephrase sentences. It has multiple editing modes:

• Formal Presents text in a more sophisticated and professional way

• Simple Presents text in a way most people can understand

• Creative Expresses ideas in a completely new way

• Expand Adds more detail and depth to increase sentence length

• Shorten Strips away extra words to provide a clear message

Pricing: Free for basic usage. $100/year for premium or $20/month.
My take: I found Quillbot’s interface clunkier than DeepL Write, though it has a broader array of features, including a “co-writer” option with Web search built in.

Wordtune Spices is a more advanced word processor. Paste or type in text and you'll notice phrases highlighted. Hover over them to get grammar or fluency suggestions. Incorporate any fixes you like, or ignore them to keep your writing unchanged. Editing notes appear in the right margin.

You can choose which kinds of suggestions you want to see:

• Improvements: Improve Clarity, Increase Fluency or Enhance Vocabulary

• Corrections: Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, Repetition, Missing Word

Wordtune can also help spice up your writing by suggesting additions to what you’ve written. Click the “+” button next to any line and choose among “spices” that build on what you’ve already written with any of the following:

• Explain Adds a detailed explanation to what you’ve just written

• Emphasize Reiterates your message to underscore your point

• Expand on Expands on a point you’ve made

• Give an example Provides a real-world instance

• Counterargument Adds an opposing opinion

• Define Adds an informative definition

• Give an analogy Adds a simple comparison

• Statistical fact Adds a data point to support your message

• Make a joke Adds (an attempt at) comic relief

• Historical fact Adds a fun fact from history

• Nature fact Adds a fun fact about nature

• Inspirational quote Adds a quote by a famous person

• ♒️ Can interrupt freewriting

• 💦 May water down your writing style

• 🦾Can’t replace human sensitivity

  • “AI Text Editors can lack human understanding and instinct, limiting their ability to provide meaningful feedback and analysis of the text.” —Lex.page’s AI response to my query about potential limitations of AI text editors.

• 🤐 Might diminish your editing confidence

  • After relying on an AI editors, you may trust less in your own editing instincts. Counterpoint: Just as a personal trainer can help improve your fitness sensibility, an AI editor can strengthen your editing muscles.

• Lex.page, a new AI writing tool I like, just added a unique new AI editing feature. You can highlight text and click a rewrite button to have the AI add a comment with a potential rewrite for that sentence. Here’s a short video Lex’s founder made to show it in action. Pricing: free for now, w/ waitlist

• Notion AI is a terrific new editing resource. Just highlight any text you’ve written within Notion (here’s my introduction to that tool) and choose from a variety of options shown in the screenshot below, including change tone, use simpler language, or make longer/shorter. Pricing: free for now, w/ waitlist

• Grammarly, used by 30 million people, has added “tone rewrite suggestions” to its premium version to help you come across as “personable, constructive, and confident.” You can use it with Word or in email apps, Slack, or online. Pricing: free for help with spelling, grammar, punctuation and conciseness. The $12/month Premium version adds style help.

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