AI Tools for Writers: What We Actually Use and Why
Free, voice-preserving, and genuinely useful — the real tools behind this blog, no paid subscriptions required.
Suggested AI image prompt
Hi everyone,
I get asked all the time: what tools are you actually using? How do you put these posts together so consistently? Is it AI or is it you?
Honest answer: it's both — and knowing the difference matters. AI helps me think, structure, and polish. But the voice, the stories, the opinions, the heart of it? That's mine. Any tool that threatens that is out the door.
Here's exactly what's in my toolkit right now — what I use, why I use it, and where I land on the paid vs. free question (spoiler: free wins almost every time).
✍️ AI Writing Assistants — My Actual Workflow
Before we dive in — a quick orientation because this trips people up. These AI tools are all built on similar underlying technology but they come from completely different companies with different personalities. Think of them like TV networks: same basic concept, very different shows. Claude is made by Anthropic. Copilot is Microsoft's. Grok is Elon Musk's (built into X, formerly Twitter). ChatGPT is OpenAI's. Gemini is Google's. None of them are the same thing and they don't talk to each other. Once you know who made what, it all makes much more sense.
I use three different AI tools for writing and they each do something different. Here's how they divide up in my real day-to-day:
Claude (claude.ai — by Anthropic) + Microsoft Copilot (copilot.microsoft.com)
These two are my primary writing partners and I use them almost interchangeably for developing posts. Claude is built by Anthropic and lives at claude.ai — completely separate from Google, Microsoft, or Elon Musk's platforms. Copilot is Microsoft's AI, built into Windows, Edge browser, and available at copilot.microsoft.com. I'll bring a rough idea, a few scattered sentences, or even just a feeling I want to express — and we build it together in conversation. What I love about both: they follow my lead. They don't try to rewrite me into something corporate and polished. Claude tends to be particularly good at matching emotional tone and helping structure longer pieces. Copilot is right there with Microsoft's ecosystem and handles similar tasks beautifully. Both are free. Both keep my voice intact because I stay in the driver's seat the whole time.
Grok (grok.com — by xAI, Elon Musk's company, built into X/Twitter)
Grok is Elon Musk's AI — built by his company xAI and integrated directly into the X platform (formerly Twitter). You can access it at grok.com or right inside X if you have an account. This is my go-to when I need fast, hard facts and a rough unemotional first draft. Grok is direct, pulls from current sources, and doesn't sugarcoat. If I need to know a statistic, verify a claim quickly, or get a no-frills skeleton of information to then build on in my own voice — Grok is the tool. Think of it as research mode. It's not where I find my storytelling voice, but it's excellent for getting the raw material fast. Free through the X platform.
ChatGPT (chat.openai.com — by OpenAI) + Google Gemini (gemini.google.com)
ChatGPT is made by OpenAI — a separate company from Google, Microsoft, or xAI — and lives at chat.openai.com. It's the one that started the whole mainstream AI conversation and everyone knows it. Google's version is called Gemini, available at gemini.google.com, and it's built right into Google's ecosystem. Both are solid for brainstorming and outlines. I find them slightly more generic in tone than Claude or Copilot for personal writing, but they're reliable workhorses. ChatGPT is also the gateway to DALL-E 3 image generation (more on that below). Free tiers are useful; advanced features and image generation require a paid plan.
My honest take on paid writing tools like Jasper, Scribe, and Copy.ai: Built for speed and volume, not voice. Great if you're writing product descriptions at scale. For personal blogging where you are the brand? They'll flatten your personality right out of your writing. Save your money.
🖼️ AI Image Generators — Visuals Without a Budget
A post without images is a wall of text. Stock photos feel fake. AI image generators have genuinely solved this for bloggers on a budget — and the results keep getting better.
ChatGPT + DALL-E 3 (chat.openai.com)
ChatGPT uses DALL-E 3 under the hood for image generation — and it's genuinely impressive. Describe what you want in detail, including mood, lighting, style, and emotion, and you'll get photorealistic results in seconds. My prompts always include words like "dignified," "warm light," "photorealistic," and "documentary style" to avoid that generic AI look. Free users get limited generations; more with a paid plan. This is where most of my blog images come from when I don't have a real photo to use.
Pixabay (pixabay.com)
This is almost always my first stop for free photography. Thousands of high quality images completely free for commercial use — no attribution required. Search is excellent, the quality is genuinely good, and it has saved me countless times when I needed a real photograph rather than an AI generated image. Bookmark this one immediately if you haven't already.
U.S. Government Photo Libraries
This one surprises people — but government agency websites are goldmines for free public domain photography. NASA, the CDC, the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and many others publish stunning high resolution images that are completely free to use. Particularly useful for health topics, nature, senior living, and American history content. Search "[agency name] public domain photos" to find their image libraries.
Your Own Camera — The Best Images Are Real
Never underestimate your own photos. The most powerful image in our recent senior housing post wasn't AI generated — it was a real photo of my husband and our friend laughing in the storage shed. Real moments connect with readers in a way no AI image ever will. Your phone camera is enough. Authenticity beats perfection every time. Upload to Imgur, grab the link, you're done.
Adobe Firefly (firefly.adobe.com)
Particularly strong for realistic people and warm lifestyle imagery. Free credits available every month. Good backup when DALL-E's free limit runs out.
ElevenLabs (elevenlabs.io) — I've Tried It and WOW
I've used this once and honestly — oh my gosh. ElevenLabs creates the most jaw-droppingly realistic AI voiceovers I have ever heard. We're talking your own voice, cloned, reading your blog posts aloud. The potential for turning blog content into audio, podcasts, or video narration is enormous. It is a paid service, which is the only reason it's not in my regular rotation yet. But having tried it I can tell you the hype is absolutely real. This is the tool that will change everything for content creators once the pricing becomes more accessible. Watch this space. 🎤
📸 Image Hosting — So Your Photos Actually Load
Boring topic, critical problem. Broken image links happen more than you'd think — and they make your whole post look unprofessional.
Imgur (imgur.com)
Upload your image, get a direct link, paste it anywhere. That's it. The link is stable and platform-independent — it won't break if you edit or delete a post. This is what I now use for all blog images: AI generated visuals, real photos, everything. Go to imgur.com, upload, right-click, copy direct link. Done in 30 seconds. Fell in love with this one immediately and haven't looked back. Game changer for Blogger users especially.
Postimages (postimages.org)
Another solid free image hosting option worth knowing about. No account required, just upload and grab your link. Not quite as slick an experience as Imgur but it works reliably and is worth having in your back pocket as a backup. Some people prefer it for certain use cases — worth trying to see which workflow fits you better.
Blogger's Built-in Hosting + Your Blog as Host
Blogger hosts images automatically when you upload through the post editor — and for many bloggers that's perfectly fine. Our contributor Susan also uses her blog itself for image hosting, which works well especially for original artwork and photography. The main thing to watch: those Google-hosted Blogger links can occasionally break on older posts. Fine for most use, but for images you reuse widely, a dedicated host adds stability.
Zazzle & Poshmark Direct Links — For Product Images
If you sell on Zazzle or Poshmark — or feature those products in your posts — always link directly to the product image rather than re-hosting it elsewhere. It's already hosted, it's stable, and if someone clicks through it could lead directly to a sale. Our contributor Susan does this beautifully with her Zazzle artwork and card designs. Same principle applies to Poshmark listings — grab the direct image link from your listing and use it. Two birds, one link. 🎯
📣 Social Sharing — Spinning Posts Into Pins, Tweets & More
Here's something most bloggers don't realize: you don't need a separate social media tool. The same AI writing assistants you already use for posts can spin your content into social snippets in seconds.
Claude, Copilot, or ChatGPT — Yes Really!
I use whichever AI I have open at the time to spin my blog posts into Pinterest descriptions, LinkedIn snippets, Facebook posts, tweets, and Instagram captions. Just paste your post link or key paragraphs and ask for a platform-specific version. Each platform has its own tone and hashtag strategy — ask your AI to account for that. LinkedIn wants 3-5 focused hashtags and a professional tone. Pinterest wants keyword-rich descriptions with 3-5 hashtags. Facebook wants warmth and a personal hook. The AI knows the difference — just ask. No extra tool needed.
Buffer (buffer.com) + Hootsuite (hootsuite.com)
Once you have your social copy written, both Buffer and Hootsuite let you schedule posts across platforms so you're not manually posting everywhere on publish day. Buffer's free plan handles up to 10 scheduled posts and is super simple. Hootsuite is more powerful — particularly good for Twitter/X scheduling and monitoring — but the free tier is limited and the paid plans can get pricey. Buffer for casual scheduling, Hootsuite if Twitter is a big part of your strategy and you want more control.
Pinterest (pinterest.com)
Worth calling out on its own because it's not just a sharing platform — it's a search engine with a very loyal senior living, caregiving, and lifestyle audience. Slow burn but the traffic lasts for years, not hours. Create a tall 1000x1500px pin image in any AI image tool or Canva, add a bold text overlay, and link back to your post. Consistency is the key.
🔍 My Secret Weapon — How I Actually Research
This one doesn't get talked about enough and it's honestly where a lot of the magic happens. AI is extraordinary at turning raw research into something readable — but you have to feed it well first.
Asking the Right Questions — In Different Ways
My superpower isn't the AI — it's knowing how to ask. I research a topic by asking the same question multiple ways, from multiple angles, until I get the information I actually need. AI is brilliant at surfacing facts you didn't know to look for. Then once I have the raw material — the stats, the facts, the framework — I either let AI organize it into a clean table, or I weave it into the story myself and let AI help me refine how it flows. The research is mine. The curiosity is mine. The story is mine. AI just helps me shape it. That's the whole philosophy of this blog in a nutshell.
AI as Table Maker & Story Refiner
One of the most underused AI tricks: paste your raw research notes and ask for a clean comparison table. Instantly readable. Or paste a rough draft and ask "does this flow?" — AI will catch where the story stumbles without rewriting your voice out of it. These two moves alone have leveled up my posts significantly.
💰 Monetization — Building Toward Something Real
I'll be honest — this is the section most in progress for me. But here's what I know is real right now, starting with the most important one first:
☕ Buy Me a Coffee (buymeacoffee.com/alrady40p)
If this post is helping you — or any post on this blog is helping you — this is the most direct way to say thank you. Buy Me a Coffee is the simplest, most human monetization tool I've found. No subscriptions, no commitment — readers just tip what they feel moved to give. Set up takes about 10 minutes, you get a link and a little coffee cup button, and that's it. It's hit or miss in terms of income but when someone tips it genuinely means the world — both financially and emotionally. Those people are your most loyal readers. ☕ Buy me a coffee here if you'd like to support this blog!
Google AdSense / Ezoic / Raptive — Display Ads
Passive monetization that runs in the background. Google AdSense is the easiest entry point. Ezoic and Raptive pay significantly better rates but require more monthly traffic to qualify. Start with AdSense, graduate to the others as your audience grows.
Amazon Associates + ShareASale — Affiliate Marketing
If you mention products naturally in your posts, affiliate links let you earn a small commission when readers purchase. Amazon Associates is the easiest starting point. ShareASale opens up a much wider range of brands. I'm actively building toward this — authenticity first, commissions second always. Speaking of which — if you love handmade art and cards, check out Susan's Zazzle store and my own Poshmark closet for resale treasures! 💛
Substack — Paid Newsletter & Community
This is on my radar and I'll be exploring it soon. Substack lets you build a paid newsletter on top of your existing audience — readers subscribe monthly for exclusive content and deeper dives. Your list, your relationship, your revenue — no algorithm in between. If you have experience with Substack ost in comments or even let me know if you want to do a guest blogpost about your experience with substack. Watch this space — I'll write about my experience once I dive in! 💛
Other Paths Worth Knowing About
The full landscape also includes: Ghost (similar to Substack, more control), Podia (courses and digital downloads), WooCommerce for selling products if you move to WordPress, and MemberPress for membership communities. Each has its moment depending on where you are in your journey. Build your audience first, monetize authentically second — never the other way around.
The Bottom Line 💛
You don't need to spend money to write well with AI. You need the right free tools, a fierce commitment to your own voice, and the discipline to stay in charge of your content. The tools work for you — not the other way around.
I'll keep this post updated as my toolkit evolves — especially once I get into Substack! And if you have a tool I haven't mentioned that's changed your workflow, drop it in the comments. This community always knows things I don't. 😄
📚 More From This Blog
Dig deeper into AI writing, research, tools, and keeping your voice:
by Alrady — Old-school SEO is out. Here's how to get cited by AI search engines instead. Why I Don't Let AI Write for Me: How to Protect Your Voice
by Susang6 — The philosophy behind this entire blog. Read this one first if you're new here. The Glass Pool Wall Video: Viral Mystery Solved with AI
by Alrady — AI forensic analysis in action. A real example of asking the right questions and digging for truth. How Facebook Indexes Blog Links (and What I Do to Help It)
by Susang6 — Essential reading for anyone using social sharing to grow their blog traffic. ESS60 and the Longevity Conversation: A Quality-of-Life Perspective
by Alrady — AI-assisted research writing at its best. Facts woven into story, voice fully intact. AI-Assisted Watercolor Birthday Card Templates on Zazzle
by Susang6 — A working artist shows what AI image collaboration really looks like in practice. How Grok's Deepfake Failures Are Creating New Parenting Risks in 2026
by Alrady — Grok put to the test. See exactly how one of the tools in this post performs under pressure. A Satire About Blog Titles So Long They Collapse Under Their Own Weight
by Susang6 — Because SEO and voice have to coexist. Funny, painfully true, and a must-read for bloggers. Winter Reflections: Finding Strength in Community and Blogging
by Alrady — Personal blogging with heart. Writing through hard seasons and finding your voice again.
Much love,
Alrady 💛
Comments