You may have heard of the many things that AI (artificial intelligence) can do. There are chat bots that can assist you with various tasks, and you may be familiar with Alexa and Siri, digital assistants who can help you with various tasks like giving directions and setting timers. We have even previously written about Rytr, a tool that can help you with your writing. Now there is a new type of AI that can create art by simply entering a keyword or two.
Craiyon, which was formerly known as Dall-E Mini, uses AI model drawing images to create images based on any prompt.
You can use a broad term. This is what it came up with when I entered “mountain hotel”:
Or you can get a little more specific. This is what it came up with when I entered “cat reading on the beach”:
There are all sorts of fun things you can try, such as famous people, places, or food. Have you tried Craiyon? Let us know in the comments.
Descript is an online service with several tools to help you edit audio and video files painlessly. There is a free version that is limited, but if you need more transcription time or a larger vocabulary for your voice clone, there are three different paid tiers.
Overview Video
If you would prefer to watch an intro video created by Descript, you can view it here:
Key Features
Use Descript to capture your screen and record your microphone or computer audio.
Transcribe your audio or video at the press of a button.
Record remotely
For podcasting: edit audio, remove silence, add crossfaces and effects.
Edit video, add titles, shapes, lines, arrows, and images.
Remove uh, um, and other filler words instantly.
Overdub: create a digital clone of your own voice to generate and edit audio tracks.
Overdub
The feature that really made me stand up and take notice of Descript is Overdub. It allows you to create a clone of your voice (free version limited to 1000 words). You can then create an audio track of your voice by just typing the words! It can also be used to make changes to an existing audio recording and blend the tone on each side to make it sound natural. You can also create voices in different tones and performance styles in order to apply Overdub in a variety of situations.
While this technology has been around for some time, consumer tools have left a lot to be desired. Overdub marks a giant step forward in quality, with its AI doing the heavy lifting.
To hear samples of Overdub voices, check out this page: https://www.descript.com/overdub. Even better – if you’d like to take it for a live test drive, there is a widget at the bottom of the page that invites you to choose a voice profile and type in any text you want. Click the “speak it” button to hear your text “read” by the AI voice profile. Just below the widget, there is an option to test it against other popular text-to-speech services.
Conclusion
Descript is a free, easy-to-use tool that is full of features and can help you create and edit audio and video tracks easily. Have you used Descript or Overdub? Do you have another AI tool you find indispensable? Let us know in the comments.
If you struggle with writing content for your blog, social media, website, ads, emails, or other online platforms, Rytr may be able to help. Rytr is an AI that can help you save time, improve SEO rankings, boost ad/call-to-action conversions, and overcome writer’s block. Here are a few of the other use cases they list on their website:
Come up with catchy names for your brand or business
Write a business idea pitch
Prepare interview questions
Create job or product descriptions
Generate post/video ideas
Craft replies to reviews and messages
Write song lyrics
Story plots
Reviews
Headlines/taglines
As a bonus, Rytr checks for plagiarism automatically. Pretty much, if you need to write, Rytr can help.
You will need to create an account to use this service. There is a free version that allows you to generate 5000 characters per month. Depending on how you use the service, that may be enough for you. The paid tiers offer more characters per month, the ability to create custom use cases, and more support.
Getting Started
Upon logging in, you are presented with a writing window. Options on the left allow you to select the language, tone, and use case (purpose of the writing). The center is empty for a new account, but will eventually contain a list of your creations. You can use the menu on the upper left to mark favorites, create a new folder, or create a new document. For this example, I have chosen to write an informative email in English.
After choosing your option, enter the key points of your email. This is what I entered:
We have a new service.
Read the Times Union online
https://bit.ly/EGTimesUnion
Must be a resident cardholder.
I left the settings at 2 variants (creates two options) and optimal creativity level.
This was the result:
It came up with two decent options, aside from the fact that it picked up a link for a coupon that has nothing to do with this and put it in the first option. The second variant was definitely more like the tone we use in our library emails. All of the text in this window, including the suggested subject, are editable and can be formatted.
Fine Tuning the Result
When I click on a phrase, additional editing options pop up. Select a large chunk of text and click “more” to access the plagiarism checker.
After some manual edits, I dropped in an image. If you do this, be sure to use an image of high quality, because it will be stretched to fit the page width. I couldn’t find a way to format it to stay in its original size or form a column in the email. Images may be more easily handled by adding them later in your email editor. Here is the finished product:
By default, all creations are saved and listed on your account home page. To reveal additional options for the project, click the three-dot menu icon in the upper right of the page.
Returning to the account home page, we see my document and a folder created for it. To move a file into a folder, click the three-dot menu for the document and select move. Select the folder from the popup and click “move here.”
If you decide you want to go back to the original variants that were created, click on history in the upper left of the screen and select an item.
The original information is all there, along with the number of credits used and the date and time of creation. If you’re really pleased with the outcome, click the orange button to “Ryte more like this.” If you are unhappy with the outcome, click “report poor output quality.”
If you need help, click the question mark icon in the upper right of the screen. Links to tutorials, resources, community, chat, and email are available.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes writing even the simplest copy can take more time than you have. Rytr can help ease the burden and free up your time for other things.
