Are we finally seeing the rise of the machines?
Creativity is one of the things that makes humans stand out from the rest of the natural world. Art, writing, sculpture, architecture and an appreciation of what creativity offers is what marks us out as uniquely human.
Is that about to change? Is AI about to have its day? Can a piece of software called Jasper replace copywriters? Is it ready for the mainstream?
We spent a few days using Jasper to find out. An editor, a technical writer, a blog writer and content manager tried creating usable content with the program to see if our time in this industry is limited. Or not.
Here’s what we found.
What Is Jasper?
Jasper is a software tool that uses AI. It’s marketed as being the ultimate copywriting tool that delivers high-converting copy for websites, emails, social media, ads and a whole lot more.
It can provide short form copy for ads and calls to action and longer form content for blog posts, web pages and marketing.
It has apparently been ‘trained’ by copywriters and marketers to deliver great quality content for a variety of situations.
What Can It Do?
Jasper can write a range of content types from product descriptions to creative stories, blog post outlines to Facebook ads. There are 29 different areas within the Jasper dashboard helping you with different areas of writing.
The software can provide ideas for you to explore creatively. It can help provide topical blog post ideas, design product descriptions, expand sentences, outline Amazon product features, help with video scripts, some up with perfect headlines and even help you respond to reviews.
Who Could Benefit From Using It?
Without giving too much away before you even read the review, we would say that people whose skills lie elsewhere other than writing would benefit most from Jasper.
Businesses who don’t have access to writers, smaller enterprises who don’t have the time or money to hire professional writers and anyone who regularly needs help overcoming writer’s block or generating ideas. All would benefit from using Jasper.
Generating Content With Jasper
Generating content with Jasper is ridiculously easy. In fact, this is probably the best thing about the entire platform. You could genuinely be creating usable content within a couple of minutes of logging in. It is that straightforward.
Here’s what to do.
- Log in or sign up to Jasper
- Select Dashboard from the top menu
- Select a template from the main window to begin building content
- Enter some guidance in the left part of the template pane
- Set a tone of voice and optional output language
- Select the blue Generate AI Content button at the bottom of the page
That’s it! That’s all there is to generating content. You should see all the options appear in the right pane. Depending on how many outputs are selected, you’ll see them all listed one underneath the other.
Select one to highlight it or select the copy icon to copy the content to your clipboard.
The more detailed you make the input, the more useful the output. You have to be very mindful of the information you enter in order to get anything usable out.
We found that adding brief information on the left gave us less than useful output. The more detailed we made it, the more relevant and usable the output.
Jasper Template Types
There are currently 39 template types available covering many common content types. They include AIDA, PAS, blog intros, blog topic ideas, creative story, content improver, Google Ads description and many more.
We worked with a number of these template types over the course of a few days to get to know how they worked.
Below we have listed the data we input (Product name, product description, etc) and the Jasper output so you can see how it performs.
Rather than just describe how each Jasper function works, let’s use examples to illustrate what’s possible.
1. AIDA
Let’s start with AIDA, a well-established marketing framework for writing content. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action which are the four tenets of writing converting copy.
To see just how clever the software is, we included a deliberate spelling error to see if Jasper would pick it up. We thought it considered ‘saloon’ to be the product name so left it alone.
Product name: Beauty Saloon
Product description: Beauty Saloon
Jasper output:
Attention: Looking for a new salon?
Interest: Beauty Saloon is the perfect place to find your new favorite hairstylist. We offer haircuts, color services, and so much more! Our stylists are all licensed professionals who have years of experience in the industry. They’ll make sure you leave feeling great about yourself and looking amazing too!
Desire: You deserve to feel beautiful every day. That’s why we take our time with each client to ensure they get exactly what they want out of their visit. Whether you need a haircut or just some highlights, come see us at Beauty Saloon today!
Action: Schedule an appointment online now or call us at (123) 456-7890!
Output 2
Attention: Looking for a new salon?
Interest: Beauty Saloon is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for a fresh, modern, and relaxing environment. Our stylists are experts in their field and will take care of your hair needs with precision. We offer everything from haircuts to color services to waxing – all at affordable prices!
Desire: You deserve the best treatment possible when it comes to your hair. That’s why we provide free consultations before any service so you know exactly what you’ll be getting before committing. Plus, our stylists are always up-to-date on the latest trends so they can give you that trendy look without breaking the bank!
Action: Stop by today for an appointment or book online now!
Verdict for AIDA
The results for AIDA were technically pretty good. Jasper AI correctly identified the four elements of AIA and used them accurately.
We would want to edit the content a little as it isn’t exactly compelling, but you can clearly see the platform delivers on the framework and even added a little emotional element too.
Not bad at all!
2. PAS
Next up is the Problem-Agitate-Solution (PAS) Framework. Another framework model for copywriters that covers the problem, specifics and solution method of writing marketing content.
This time we used a list of services similar to what you would see in a web design brief. Tone was motivational.
Product name: Sharmila’s Beauty Salon
Product description: Beauty, Skin Care, Body Care, Facials, Cleanups, Waxing, Threading, Manicure, Pedicure, Bleach, tan, Polishing, Hair, Basic hair cut, Advance hair cut, Hair treatments.
Output 1
Problem: Sharmila’s Beauty Salon is a hair and beauty salon in the city of Bangalore. Our stylists are all highly experienced with years of experience, which allows them to deliver precise and satisfying haircuts for men and women from all walks of life.
Agitate: We have been providing hair services since 2010, but we are always looking for ways to improve our business.
Solution: At Sharmila’s Beauty Salon, we believe that it takes more than just experience to make your day special. That is why we offer you an entire range of beauty treatments designed specifically for you! From head-to-toe cosmetics to classic hairstyling – our professional staff can handle every one of your needs without fail!
Output 2
Problem: You don’t have to be a celebrity or supermodel to look like one.
Agitate: Makeup can seem complicated, and it’s hard to know where to start.
Solution: Sharmila’s Beauty Salon is here for you with the best beauty services in town. We offer everything from makeup application, hair styling and skin care treatments so that you can look your best every day of the week. Whether you want an everyday natural look or something more dramatic for a special event, we will help you achieve the perfect appearance for any occasion. Our goal is simple – make sure that our clients leave us feeling beautiful inside and out!
Verdict of PAS
PAS is pretty good but not as usable as AIDA. Technically, the composition of PAS worked and the software correctly identified what content needed to go where.
The output made sense but wasn’t the most creative and would require some editing before you could use it.
Okay but far from impressive.
3. Product Descriptions
Jasper can help you write product descriptions too. We used one of our own Beaver Builder product descriptions to see what Jarvis could come up with.
The image above shows you what it delivered.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful here as it has been so far. We used witty as the tone here.
Product Name: Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder
Product description: Supercharge Beaver Builder with 60+ powerful modules, 200+ section templates & 1200+ page templates to build WordPress websites in record time! This Beaver Builder Addon is here to make website building an ultimate journey for you all.
Jasper output: Beaver Builder is an awesome page builder, but after a while you get tired of using the same old layouts? Look no further! With Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder you can whip up WordPress websites in record time with smart modules, 200+ section templates and 1200+ page templates. Stop fiddling around with hard to use extensions that are outdated and have been patched so many times they’ve lost their original function. It’s high time you experience true automation!
Jasper output: Hop on board the social media train and let Beaver Builder take you to a whole new world. Social Media Experts will know that one of the best ways to engage your audience is through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ads. With this plugin installed in Beaver Builder addons and WordPress themes, build one-of-a-kind pages for all these channels with ease!
Jasper output: The Beaver Builder Ultimate Addon will significantly improve your website building experience. With its 60+ modules, 200+ section layouts and 200+ layout options, generating professional grade websites has never been this quick! Talk to our friendly support staff about how we can be of help with more specific needs.
Want more customization options? No worries – Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder brings 200+ page templates – loads of layouts for people who want their website to look like it came straight out of InDesign!
Verdict for Product Descriptions
Jarvis didn’t do so well with product descriptions. It simply rearranged some of the existing content and added a little extra text.
We wouldn’t use any of these for real life product descriptions but you could use them as inspiration so it wasn’t a complete bust.
4. Content Improver
Next up was Content Improver. Jasper says it can take a piece of existing content and rewrite it to make it more interesting and engaging.
We entered more content you would typically see in a web design brief but we kept it purposely brief to see what the software could do.
We used neutral as the tone for this output.
Input: Look into our workshop where you’ll find our men at work, the standards we follow and the cars that roll out of here.
Jasper output: Please join our team at the workshop and see how we follow safety standards to make sure your new car is safe.
Jasper output: Step into our workshop and you’ll find some of the most industrious men in this business. You can see what we do here, how we make sure to meet every standard, and then witness with your own eyes as cars are perfected before they roll out of these doors.
Jasper output: You’ll find our men hard at work in the workshop, taking care of cars and following industry standards.
Verdict for Content Improver
The Jasper output was accurate and mostly grammatically correct but didn’t improve on the content we entered. In fact, you could argue it would actually be harder to read and not as engaging as the same content we added.
You’ll also notice some long sentences and readability issues within some of the output too. Content? Yes. Improved? Not so much.
5. Creative Story
Creative writing is a tough ask for humans let alone software so let’s see how Jasper handles creative work.
This time we used subprime content as input to see how Jarvis handles it. We used confident as the tone for this section.
Our input: Website hacking is very normal for not updated WordPress websites. In this post we are going to discuss 15 online security scanners which will help you to detect a hack.
Jasper output: You’re surfing the web and stumble upon a website that offers you to scan your WordPress website for security vulnerabilities. You click on the link, type in your URL, and then get the following message: “Your website has been hacked”
Security is an important factor of any business or organization’s virtual footprint. Hacking is not only prevalent but it can lead to devastating consequences such as customer data loss or stolen intellectual property. With more than 100 million websites currently online, it’s apparent that hacking will continue to be a threat as long as there are unprotected sites waiting out there for cybercriminals to exploit. The good news though is that if you know what signs indicate a hack, you’ll be able to take proactive steps towards securing
Jasper output: The WordPress Security Experts say that the best way to tell if your website has been hacked is by using a scanner. There are many different scanners out there, but these 15 will be good for most people.
1) Sucuri SiteCheck – This scanner automatically searches and detects any known vulnerabilities on your site. It also shows you how to fix them! 2) WordFence – This plugin offers real-time protection of your login pages as well as malware scanning of uploads made into the WordPress Media Library. 3) BulletProof security – The bulletproof security team consists of experienced hackers who’s main job is to find vulnerabilities in plugins and themes before they are exploited by malicious attackers 4) iThemes Security Scanner – A software system
Verdict for Creative Story
We have mixed feelings about creative story. Admittedly, we provided a dry example that didn’t offer much scope for creativity, but that was on purpose.
The response was on topic, offered usable content and could be used easily with some editing.
Like with product descriptions, we would say the output was more useful as inspiration rather than usable content.
6. Blog Topic Ideas
One key selling point of Jasper is the ability to avoid writer’s block. As coming up with blog topic ideas is tough for even the most seasoned blogger, we thought it would make an excellent test for the platform.
We used a conversational tone here.
Company name: Astra
Product description: Lightweight, SEO optimized WordPress themes and plugins that utilize Elementor, Brizy, Gutenberg and other page builders
Audience: Website developers, web-design agencies, freelancers
Jasper output: The dangers of selling your website design services yourself
Jasper output: What SEO best practices to focus on in 2019
Jasper output: Elementor vs Brizy: Which page builder is best for a new WordPress user?
Verdict for Blog Topic Ideas
Jasper is much more successful here. It took WordPress as the main theme and ran with it, providing some decent blog post ideas for future use. All of them were relevant and would make excellent topics for future posts.
We wouldn’t say the subjects were particularly innovative or creative but they were on topic and relevant to our input.
7. Email Subject Lines
Email subject lines can also be problematic to design so this is fertile ground for testing Jasper. Many seasoned copywriters can struggle with email subjects so this is a good test for an AI tool.
We used exciting as the tone.
Product name: Ultimate Addons for Elementor
What is your email about?: Introducing a social share widget in the Ultimate Addons for Elementor
Jasper output: Introducing the Ultimate Addons Social Widget
Jasper output: Get more shares instantly with our new widget
Jasper output: Introducing a social share widget in the Ultimate Addons for Elementor
Verdict for Email Subject Lines
All three results were relevant and on topic. They were hardly creative or high-conversion though.
These are all subject lines even a new copywriter or marketer could come up with and while they work, they aren’t particularly exciting or innovative.
8. Persuasive Bullet Points
Persuasive bullet points are intended to add a little punch to product pages, emails and marketing content. These are usually fairly straightforward to write but it would be interesting to see how the AI could handle it.
We used witty tone for these.
Company name: Astra
Product description: Astra is a theme that makes building websites fun and easy. It is easy to use even for non-techies. Many people like the theme as it’s super fast and does not add any bloated code. It also offers dedicated integration for popular plugins such as WooCommerce, LearnDash, LifterLMS, and so on.
Jasper output:
- Astra is easy to use for non-techies
- It’s fast with no bloated code
- It comes integrated with popular plugins
Jasper output:
- Makes building website easy
- Open source and free to use
- Add new features with ease owing to the plugin integration
- Parallax scrolling, CSS animations, etc. available at your disposal
- 90% less code than other themes of this kind
Jasper output:
- Theme is easy to use and does not overwhelm non-techies
- Astra integrates with most popular plugins, such as WooCommerce
- Astra’s clean code helps make your site faster than ever
- Clean, minimalistic design which can be used for any type of business or industry
Verdict for Persuasive Bullet Points
Persuasive bullet points were quite successful. The results weren’t amazingly insightful or particularly high converting. But, they were relevant, on topic and could be useful with a little editing.
Jasper Pricing and Value for Money
Jasper isn’t cheap but it could offer excellent value for money if you have trouble formulating your own content.
There are currently two paid plans, Starter and Pro. They charge by the word like most commercial copywriters and offer a selection of features.
- 20,000 words
- Green Check
- Unlimited Team Members
- 5 Project Folders
- 400 Character Input Limit
- 40+ Short-Form
- Copywriting Templates
- 11 Supported Languages
- Chat Support
- Unlimited words
- All Starter features
- Workspace Documents
- Long-Form Assistant
There is a free trial so you can try before you buy.
The pricing plans are accurately described. Starter is for shorter content like email subjects, headlines, product descriptions and items that won’t use up your word allocation too quickly.
Pro includes unlimited words and is more useful for longer form content such as video scripts, creative writing and longer content.
We aren’t fans of services divided by arbitrary limits like bandwidth or data caps so the word count limit doesn’t work for us. Our team writes up to 20,000 words a day, so we could easily use up the monthly limit even if we just used it for inspiration.
Your mileage may vary though.
What Is Jasper Good For?
Jasper is good for anyone who isn’t a natural writer. It can help generate ideas, get you started on a topic, provide ideas for headlines, bullet points and more.
It could also deliver on its promise to help you overcome writer’s block.
If you don’t have time to research or check other examples of what you’re trying to write, Jasper could be useful.
If you’re just not creative or cannot hire anyone who is, Jasper can work.
Jasper is good for:
- Busy enterprises with no creatives on staff
- Organizations who don’t want to hire professional writers
- Writing filler content or content that doesn’t need to engage particularly well
- Coming up with ideas if you’re short of time
- Quickly devising bullet points or other short content
What Is Jasper Not so Good For?
Jasper is not so good for anyone with even basic writing ability. None of the output we listed above is beyond someone capable of performing research, identifying trends and hot subjects and turning them into content.
We certainly wouldn’t use the content from Jasper in anything we wanted to convert!
While we may be taking our own writing and editing experience for granted here, none of what we saw and included in this review would convert. It’s just not good enough yet.
Can Jasper Write Better Than a Human?
Despite some aspects of our review not being particularly glowing, we actually really like Jasper. It’s fast, easy to use and can deliver usable content within a matter of minutes.
Can it write better than a human?
That depends on the human. Those with an aptitude for writing or are already professional writers have no need to be afraid of being replaced by AI just yet.
Those without an aptitude for writing will find Jasper very useful indeed.
Jarvis actually delivers on some of the promises it makes. It could help end writer’s block and it could help publish more content faster.
But we don’t think it will boost sales with better copy or deliver ‘high converting copy for increased conversions and higher ROI.’ From our testing, the content Jasper delivers is just not up to that standard. Yet.
If you regularly struggle to write content or generate ideas for blog posts or headlines, you will find value in Jasper. If you’re looking to save a little time with blog posts or pages you don’t want to optimize for SEO, Jasper delivers.
For everything else, Jasper can be a useful assistant to provide ideas and inspiration but we don’t think it’s ready to replace us just yet!
Opinion of Jasper
We are genuinely conflicted about Jasper. It’s a superb piece of software that can achieve a lot. We just cannot quite see how it offers real world value.
Writing for an audience is about more than throwing words at a screen and hoping they stick. It’s about understanding your audience, understanding what they find useful, knowing and empathizing with their pain points and offering genuinely useful solutions.
We’re just not sure an AI can do that yet.
On one hand, Jasper is an astounding piece of software engineering. What it can do is genuinely impressive.
Does it generate ‘awesome results’ or will it ‘end your copywriting woes forever’ like some reviews have said?
We think not. Not yet anyway.
Can it help end writer’s block and give non-writers a hand with generating ideas and getting started?
Yes, it can.
But so does spending an hour on the internet doing research or walking outside in the fresh air with a notepad and that doesn’t cost $30 a month.
Have you tried Jasper? What do you think of it? Does it help you generate good content? Tell us your thoughts below!
Sujay Pawar is the co-founder and CEO of Brainstorm Force. He brings a one-of-a-kind fusion of tech brilliance, business savvy and marketing mojo to the table. Sujay has consistently spearheaded the development of innovative products like Astra, CartFlows, ZipWP and many others that have become market leaders in their respective niches.
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