An Overview of the Best AI Marketing Tools for Your Small Business
Hundreds, if not thousands, of AI marketing tools now exist to assist marketers with various aspects of their craft. With the incredible volume of tools available, it can be overwhelming to shop for the right ones. Ditch the anxiety with this buyer’s guide featuring some of the top tools to help you get started with confidence.
By Jared Frank | 10 min read
The number of AI marketing tools is constantly growing as technology evolves. Available tools vary widely in function, complexity, and target audience across general purpose platforms and highly specialized solutions. Use cases range from writing blog posts to keyword research, voiceovers to editing podcasts, graphic design to video content creation, plus social media management, email marketing, advertising optimization, chatbots, analytics, market research, CRM, SEO, lions and tigers and bears, oh my.
It’s a lot for a small business, any business really. But it doesn’t need to be scary. There is good news. You don’t need ALL the tools. You only need the RIGHT tools for your specific needs. None of us need another tool in our toolbox that never gets used. If email marketing, for example, isn’t a priority for you right now, then don’t worry about adding an email marketing tool to your toolkit.
So when evaluating AI marketing tools, don’t start with the tool. Start with your workflow.
Key Takeaways
Instead of focusing on what AI can do, start with what your business needs. Audit your workflows, identify where you need a boost of speed or quality, and strategically delegate those tasks to AI.
AI marketing tools include simple-to-use, budget-friendly large language models, image generators, video generators, and speech generators that create high-quality media for just about any use case.
An AI marketing tool is not an easy button to automate all your marketing activities. Tools are not solutions. It’s still up to you, the human marketer, to understand the larger strategy and when to use the right tool for the job.
When to Use AI Marketing Tools
Instead of focusing on what AI can do, start with what your business needs. AI is helpful for completing both manual tasks (repetitive, time-consuming) and mental tasks (brainstorming, creativity). AI does not change the need for the task or the nature of it. The AI serves to increase your speed and quality of output for existing tasks. So the first thing you should do is audit your workflows, identify where you need a boost of speed or quality, and strategically delegate those tasks to AI.
To identify the right tools for those specific tasks, take a systems thinking approach and include team members from different departments. Sales and operations might have a unique perspective into company pain points that impact marketing workflows.
Once you’ve identified some tools for your trade, test them. Many companies offer inexpensive, or even free, tiers of their solutions. So it isn’t cost-prohibitive to pilot the tools that look attractive and measure their results.
So What Are the Best AI Marketing Tools?
Now that we’ve audited our workflows and identified where we need some AI power tools, let’s dig into our buyer’s guide. This guide outlines some of the top generative AI tools currently in market, including those tools in the Seat 36 solution stack for content generation. Inclusions in this buyer’s guide are not endorsements. Seat 36 is in no way affiliated with these companies or compensated by them. They only serve to help you get started with your own research. Now put your belt and safety goggles on. It’s time to tool up.
Large Language Models
A large language model (LLM) is a type of advanced computer program that can understand and generate human-like text. It has been trained on vast amounts of written content, such as books, articles, and websites, so it can predict what words come next in a sentence or conversation. This training allows the LLM to answer questions, write articles, or even help with tasks like summarizing information or translating languages. Essentially, it works like a digital assistant that can communicate in a way that feels natural and helpful.
TALE OF THE TAPE
ChatGPT
- Developed by OpenAI
- All-around general workhorse
- Analyzes data, interprets code, creates content, generates images
- Less creative than some other LLMs, but with fewer hallucinations
- Free with a usage cap or $20 per month with higher cap and more features
- Options to opt out of data storage or delete data
- Trains its model on your data unless you opt out
- SEAT 36 TOOL
Claude
- Developed by Anthropic
- Best for strategic decision making
- Advanced reasoning capabilities, thought partnership, business savvy
- Good at processing large documents and organizing information
- More prone to hallucinations
- Free with a usage cap or $20 per month with higher cap and more features
- No opt out, but data is automatically deleted after 90 days
- Does NOT train its model on your data
Copilot
- Developed by Microsoft
- Best for companies deeply integrated with Microsoft products
- Integrates with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams
- Boasts the efficiency of ChatGPT with a focus on MS product capabilities
- Can create personalized GPTs on specific data for specific use cases
- Copilot Studio creates agents and automates business processes
- $30 per month
- Enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance
Gemini
- Developed by Google
- Best for active users in the Google ecosystem
- Generates better written content that is more humanlike
- Uses the most up-to-date information from Google Search
- Integrates into Google apps, connects with Google Drive
- Free with a usage cap or $20 per month with higher cap and more features
- Option to opt out/delete data, but Google can access your data for three years
- Uses user data to improve all Google products (AI and non-AI)
Perplexity is an additional LLM to consider. It boasts innovative search and information retrieval capabilities, delivering precise, sourced answers to specific queries. It is an ideal tool for research and fact-checking.
Image Generation
Text-to-image generation is a type of artificial intelligence that creates images based on written descriptions. Imagine typing a sentence like, “A sunset over a mountain with a lake in the foreground,” and the AI produces a picture that matches this description. It works by using advanced algorithms trained on vast datasets of images and text to understand the relationships between words and visual elements. This technology allows anyone, even someone without artistic skills, to generate creative visuals for projects like presentations, social media, or website design simply by describing what they envision.
TALE OF THE TAPE
DALL-E
- Developed by OpenAI
- Best for general use
- User-friendly integration with ChatGPT
- ChatGPT generates tailored prompts for DALL-E
- Advanced features include inpainting
- Has safeguards to prevent harmful content
- Included in ChatGPT’s plus plan ($20 per month)
- OpenAI also offers a pay-per-use pricing model
Firefly
- Developed by Adobe
- Best for Adobe users
- Integration with Adobe’s Creative Cloud products
- Generates clear text in images
- Effective for logos and custom visuals
- Uses licensed data to avoid copyright concerns
- Provides transparency for AI-generated content
- Free plan, or $4.99 provides 100 monthly credits
Leonardo (Canva)
- Acquired by Canva
- Best for Canva users
- Powers Canva’s Dream Lab feature
- Provides multiple artistic styles of a single prompt
- Popular in gaming and digital design communities
- Canva free users have access to 20 credits/month
- Canva Pro users get 500 credits/month
- SEAT 36 TOOL
Midjourney is an additional, emerging image generator to consider. It has a reputation for creating highly detailed and imaginative visuals, making it a favorite for those seeking creative inspiration.
Video Generation
AI video generation takes written descriptions or still images and transforms them into motion videos. The AI can add motion, transitions, and effects to bring the still elements to life, creating a short video that matches the input provided. For example, it can take an image of a landscape and animate the sky, add moving clouds, or even create characters that interact within the scene. This technology is widely used for creating dynamic content for marketing, storytelling, and creative projects without needing advanced video production skills.
TALE OF THE TAPE
HeyGen
- Turns written scripts into videos with AI avatars
- Best for e-learning use cases with talking heads
- Users can turn themselves into a custom avatar
- 500 stock avatar looks also available
- Supports over 40 languages and 300 voices
- Free plan: three videos/month at 720p resolution
- Paid plans: unlimited videos at 1080p resolution
- Pricing starts at $24 per month
Runway
- Current go-to tool for creators
- Best for short videos (max ten seconds)
- No technical expertise required
- Known for transitions and cinematic quality
- Allows for easy experimentation
- Generates videos quickly
- Free plan comes with 125 one-time credits
- Paid plans start at $12 per user per month
Sora
- Developed by OpenAI
- Best for longer videos (max 60 seconds)
- Leverages advanced diffusion technology
- Simulates realistic movements and characters
- Generates videos from unique camera angles
- Available with a ChatGPT subscription
- Plus Plan: $20/month for 1,000 credits
- Pro Plan: $200/month for unlimited generations
Additional Seat 36 Tools
I use AI marketing tools every day at Seat 36. Here are some additional tools in that kit (both AI-specific tools and AI features within existing software) with a variety of use cases noted. There are plenty of other tools that my research has yet to uncover. If you have a good tool you’d like to add to the conversation, send me a quick message. I’m always curious to learn what else it out there.
Artlist: For music, sound effects, and voiceovers
Auphonic: For podcast/audio post-production sound engineering
Design.com: For logo designs
Elementor: For website design and image optimization
Yoast: For search engine optimization
Never Blame the AI Marketing Tools
As the saying goes, a poor carpenter blames his tools when things don’t turn out as intended. Don’t do that. Tools are not solutions. And AI is just a tool, not a solution. It’s still up to you, the human marketer, to understand when to use the right tools for the job.
AI marketing tools are not a blanket fix for all your pain points. They are not an easy button to automate all your marketing activities. Think “augment” not “automate” when deploying AI marketing tools. Despite what you may have heard about robots taking over the world, AI is not replacing humans. It’s helping us work faster. But we still need to understand and do the work.
The list of solutions in this article only represents the tip of the spear. But the tip is where you start to impact outcomes. And always remember, you should gain an appreciation for preparation and research first to ensure the arrows in your quiver align with the needs of your workflow. You win before you begin with AI. 
Do you need help identifying AI marketing tools for your business? Let’s chat.
Write to Jared at [email protected].
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