Note: ShortlyAI has been acquired by the people behind Jasper.ai. Most of ShortlyAI’s technology for long-form content generation has now been implemented into Jasper’s Boss Mode editor. Because of this, and the extra functionality Jasper offers, at a minimal price difference, I can no longer recommend ShortlyAI as a primary solution for AI Content Generation.
ShortlyAI, is an AI writing assistant, which allows you to generate original content at scale. Though It’s not a very known tool, it’s still popular with quite a few content creators.
In this review, I’ll go over ShortlyAI and discuss features, pros and cons, pricing and give you some real-world examples of what this content writer can do. At the bottom of this post, you’ll also find a link to some of the best ShortlyAI alternatives.
What is ShortlyAI?
ShortlyAI is an AI content generation tool that’s generates content with AI (artificial intelligence). If you’re familiar with other AI writer tools, you probably know that most generate a wide range of content types through templates. Templates allow you to input data, so the AI can output results.
ShortlyAI is different. It only offers a long-form editor, that takes its input through an number of simple commands.
ShortlyAI Features
ShortlyAI offers the user with a very clean user experience. There’s only a long-form editor, and content is generated by using a set of simple commands. The long-form editor experience, allows the writer to immerse themselves in the creation of their content, without any distractions.
The lack of templates doesn’t mean you can’t generate certain types of content. On the contrary. These simple commands (shown later on in this article), give you all the freedom you need to have AI generate any type of content you need.
ShortlyAI can be used or generating a wide range of original content, including:
- Blog post outline and briefs
- Unique blog content and long-form articles
- Content Ideas
- Generation of blog post headlines, PPC headlines, and advertising copy
- Any type of social media post content
ShortlyAI pricing
ShortlyAI has an annual plan, as well as a monthly plan. Both plans will give you unlimited credits, which means there’s no limit on the amount of content you can generate. This can make Shortly economical, if you need to generate content at scale, without being limited. You can pay by credit card only and there is no free trial.
The reason for not offering a free trial seems to be because the parent company (Jasper.ai) is in favor of potential ShortlyAI customers signing up with Jasper instead. With the small price difference between ShortlyAI and Jasper’s ‘Boss Mode’, I would recommend checking Jasper out as well.
Anyway, back to ShortlyAI. Below are some examples of how to generate different types of high-quality content using ShortlyAI.
ShortlyAI Pros
- Immersive writing experience. There’s nothing but a clean long-form editor
- Outputs a wide range of original content types with a few powerful commands
- Unlimited Content generation credits with both the annual plan as well as the monthly plan
- Outputs original, quality content
- Maintained by the people at Jasper.ai (formerly Jarvis)
ShortlyAI Cons
- Other AI copywriting tools have more features
- The pricing plan can be relatively high, unless, you can want to generate content at scale (unlimited credits)
How to use ShortlyAI
Working with ShortlyAI writer is incredibly easy. To get the writing assistant to generate content, all you need to do is enter a few simple commands. These commands give the AI engine hints on what to generate. Once you get used to the workflow, you’ll be able to produce high-quality website copy in no time.
Available commands are:
- /instruct [what the AI engine should write about]
- /rewrite [rewrites text in a unique way]
- /shorten [shortens a text to make it more concise]
- /expand [extends and develops the text]
In 85% of all cases, you’ll probably be using the /instruct command.
You can invoke Shortly’s AI engine to generate new content by providing one of the commands and hitting ‘write for me’, or ctrl-enter. Next, ShortlyAI will scan the following sections and start giving you the output:
- The article brief
- The title of the article
- The last 1200 words before the line where you enter the command
In case you need ShortlyAI to read less than the last 1200 words, you can insert ‘///’, at any point in your text. Using this feature gives you more control over the input the AI engine will use in order to create the new content.
Create various types of AI-generated output
Below are some examples of how I use Shortly to create different types of output. By getting creative, the possibilities become endless.
Tip: you can first generate a blog outline, and then use the generated outline as input for the paragraph generation. This is one of the quickest ways I know for creating long-form website copy. Getting creative and trying new things out is the way to go.
Example 1: Generate Blog Outlines
Generating briefings or outlines is your first step to structuring well-writing articles. You can generate these outlines easily by instructing the AI to provide you with some. After you generate a number of outlines, you can then determine which ones to continue working with.
/instruct [write a blog outline about how to improve digital marketing with AI content tools]
Example 2: Engaging Headlines
You can create surprisingly engaging headlines, which you would never think about yourself. As a digital marketer, I’ve been able to improve not only CTR (click-through rates) but also CVR (conversion rates) by using AI-generated headlines in my blog post titles and PPC ad copy titles. Many of the headlines I use are, at least, inspired by AI tools like Shortly.
/instruct [write 5 headlines about how AI content generators can improve your SEO results]
Example 3: Relevant, Unique Content
The most common use of AI content tools is to create paragraphs, that are highly relevant for the reader, quickly. It’s possible to use the outlines created earlier in order to instruct Shortly to write a complete paragraph about the topic. If you look closely at the image, I’ve taken one of the outlines (example 1) and placed it into the /instruct command.
/instruct [write about how AI affects the marketing mix]
/instruct [write about the role of AI in Digital Marketing]
Example 4: PPC Ad Copy that Converts
Many AI-powered content tools have templates for generating different types of output. For example: for generating Blog Headlines. As you’ve seen earlier, ShortlyAI can easily generate copy for Google Ads, or Facebook Ads with the /instruct command.
Tip: you might want to set the output length to short since advertisement copy usually isn’t very long. Also, be sure to convey your pitch in the input as clearly as possible. That way, the AI engine can produce some original results, that you can work with.
For example: if you’re selling SEO services and you want to buy Google ads
/instruct [write some ad copy about how niche websites generate passive income]
Example 5: Get ideas for Blog Posts and Articles
Instructing the AI engine to generate ideas to write about is easy. Just ask for ideas and get inspired. Since ShortlyAI offers unlimited credits, you can do this over and over again. It’s time to say goodbye to writer’s block for good.
/instruct [give me 5 online business topics to write about]
/instruct [give me 5 content marketing topics to write about]
Note: all AI writing tools predict and generate content, based on the input they are given. In ShortlyAI, these are the mentioned commands. The quality of the output depends on this input. Logically, often, you need to tweak the input a little and regenerate the text, until you get the desired results.
For more information about how to improve, AI-generated texts, take a look at these AI writing tips for creating better content.
What I like About ShortlyAI
There’s a lot to like about ShortlyAI. Below are the main reasons why I recommend this AI writing assistant.
- Easy to use
ShortlyAI is simple, and it’s very easy to use. The long-form editor is not only clean (which allows you to focus on the writing), but also fast. The user experience is incredibly clean. - Quality of output
Generally, ShortlyAI’s output quality is really good. Like many AI writers, ShortlyAI uses GPT-3 for generating content. This doesn’t mean that it’s perfect though because, at times, you’ll need to tweak the input, to get a more appropriate output. This, however, goes for all AI writing software. - Long-form generation, but also short form
ShortlyAI’s long-form editing experience is great, but it doesn’t stop there. Once you get accustomed to using the commands, you’ll be able to generate short-form output texts, within the long-form editor as well. See the given examples in this tutorial. - Unlimited credits for content generation
While most AI writing assistants will limit the number of generations, ShortlyAI does not. Instead, you can generate AI content as often as you need. ShortlyAI gives you unlimited credits. - Affordable
For what you get, ShortlyAI pricing is considered very affordable. If you need long-form editing features in your AI writing assistant tool, then the best two options are conversion.ai’s Jasper, or ShortlyAI. It’s obvious that Jarvis is more expensive, because it has more bells and whistles. However, in many (I should actually say most cases), ShortlyAI doesn’t fall much behind.
For a discount and 2 months of free usage, I’d recommend the annual plan, however, if you choose a one-month subscription, you can still cancel anytime.
ShortlyAI vs. Conversion.ai | Jasper (Boss Mode)
I mentioned this at the start of this review, but let me repeat that. ShortlyAI has been acquired by Conversion.AI | Jasper earlier this year. As a result, some of the features that make ShortlyAI so great are now available in Jarvis (Boss Mode) as well. JarsperAI was originally conversion.ai’s long-form content editor.
After integrating some of Shortly’s technology and features into Jasper, the company even rebranded itself to simply: ‘Jasper.ai’. Jasper offers the most bells and whistles in a pricing plan they call ‘boss mode‘. Have a look at their website if you’re interested to learn more. This is a ShoralyAI review, so I’ll leave it at that.
Differences between ShortlyAI and Jasper (Boss Mode)
- Jasper has more bells and whistles and thus is more powerful. It does different things and there are more commands at your disposal.
- ShortlyAI is more affordable than Jasper, yet it is not significantly less powerful. This might change in the future as Jasper is developing quickly.
If you’re interested in ShortlyAI, because of all the power and great capabilities it offers, then you’ll have to give Jasper a look as well. Your choice should be based on what you get out of the AI content creation process.
When to go for ShortlyAI over Jasper (Boss Mode):
- If you’re working alone (you are a solo blogger/entrepreneur/niche site owner) and your business still needs to grow, before you can even afford Jasper. In this case, I’d recommend ShortlyAI, because it’s more affordable still just as powerful.
When to choose Jasper AI (Boss Mode) over ShortlyAI:
- If your business is highly reliant on creating a lot of content, and you work in a team, Jasper AI is your pick. Jasper offers a number of extra features that like multiple user seats and extra features such as templates for productivity.
What are the best ShortlyAI alternatives?
If you’re looking for a more mainstream or popular AI Writer Tool, with more features, then I recommend Jasper.ai. Also, have a look at this summary of best AI Writing Software Tools, for more information.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to like about ShortlyAI. It’s fast and easy to use. The output is high-quality and the long-form editor can also be used for short-form copy. If you use the simple, yet powerful commends, you can instruct the AI to create any type of content.
Pricing is reasonable for a quality AI-powered writing tool. However, ShortlyAI lacks features that you’ll find with the competition (like Jasper.ai) Of course, depending on your needs, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a deal-breaker. In the end, it depends on your needs and your budget.
I recommend Shortly AI Writing Assistant for:
- Any writer and content creator, such as bloggers, who don’t need many features and are focused on long-form content generation (articles and longer blog posts)
- Those who are willing to get creative with the simple commands ShortlyAI offers.
