Last updated: February 2026
Content creation used to mean one thing: writing. Now it means writing, filming, editing, designing, publishing, promoting, analyzing, and somehow staying sane through all of it. AI tools won’t do everything for you, but the right stack turns a one-person creator into a small production studio.
I’ve been creating content full-time for three years. Here are the AI tools I actually use — not the ones I tried once for a review and forgot about.
The Content Creator’s AI Stack
Writing: Claude Pro ($20/month)
I’ve tried every AI writing tool. Claude produces the most natural, least “AI-sounding” long-form content. The writing has personality. It varies sentence structure. It doesn’t default to the same tired phrases that make readers’ eyes glaze over.
My workflow: I outline the piece myself (AI outlines are generic), then have Claude write sections based on my bullet points and notes. I edit heavily — maybe rewrite 30-40% — but the first draft gets me past the blank page in minutes instead of hours.
Why Claude over ChatGPT for writing: Claude follows complex style instructions better. “Write like a tech blogger who’s direct and slightly irreverent, avoids corporate jargon, and uses short paragraphs” — Claude nails this consistently. ChatGPT tends to drift back to its default formal tone.
Thumbnails & Graphics: Midjourney + Canva ($23/month total)
Midjourney ($10/month) generates the hero images and custom illustrations. “Editorial style illustration of a developer surrounded by floating AI interfaces, warm lighting, muted colors” gives me something unique that no stock photo can match.
Canva Pro ($13/month) handles everything else — social media graphics, YouTube thumbnails, email headers, Pinterest pins. The AI features (Magic Design, background removal, resize) save maybe 2 hours per week.
Video: Runway Gen-3 + CapCut ($12/month + free)
Runway ($12/month) generates b-roll footage that would cost hundreds to shoot or license. “Smooth camera pan across a modern workspace with multiple monitors showing code” — 5 seconds of usable footage in 30 seconds.
CapCut (free) for editing. The AI features are genuinely good: auto-captions (95%+ accuracy), background removal, silence detection, and smart cut. For YouTube and social video, it’s replaced Premiere Pro for 80% of my editing.
Audio: ElevenLabs + Descript ($27/month total)
ElevenLabs ($5/month) for voiceovers when I don’t want to record myself. The voice quality is good enough that most listeners can’t tell it’s AI.
Descript ($22/month) for podcast and video editing. Edit audio by editing text — delete a word from the transcript and it’s removed from the audio. Filler word removal is automatic. Studio Sound makes any microphone sound professional.
SEO & Research: Perplexity Pro ($20/month)
Perplexity replaced Google for 80% of my research. “What are the trending topics in AI tools this week?” gives me sourced, current information in seconds. For keyword research, I combine Perplexity with Google Search Console (free) and Google Trends (free).
Scheduling & Distribution: Buffer (free) + Make.com ($9/month)
Buffer’s free tier handles social media scheduling for up to 3 channels. Make.com automates the repurposing pipeline: new blog post → auto-generate social posts → schedule in Buffer → add to email newsletter draft.
Total Monthly Cost
| Tool | Cost | What It Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Pro | $20 | Freelance writer ($500+/month) |
| Midjourney | $10 | Stock photos ($30+/month) |
| Canva Pro | $13 | Graphic designer (hours of work) |
| Runway Gen-3 | $12 | Stock video ($50+/month) |
| ElevenLabs | $5 | Voiceover artist ($100+/project) |
| Descript | $22 | Audio engineer (hours of work) |
| Perplexity Pro | $20 | Research assistant |
| Make.com | $9 | Virtual assistant |
| Total | $111/month | $1,000+/month equivalent |
Tools I Tried and Dropped
Jasper ($49/month): Good for marketing copy, overkill for blog content. Claude does everything Jasper does for less money.
Synthesia ($22/month): AI avatar videos look impressive in demos but feel uncanny in real content. My audience prefers authentic over polished.
Surfer SEO ($89/month): Useful but expensive. For most creators, free tools (Google Search Console + common sense) get you 80% of the way there.
Opus Clip ($15/month): Auto-clips long videos into shorts. The AI selection is hit-or-miss — I spend as much time reviewing clips as I would cutting them manually.
The Workflow That Actually Works
Monday: Research and outline 2-3 pieces (Perplexity + my own ideas)
Tuesday-Thursday: Write and publish (Claude for drafts → heavy editing → Midjourney for images → publish)
Friday: Batch create social content (repurpose the week’s articles into social posts, short videos, newsletter)
Ongoing: Make.com automations handle distribution. Buffer schedules posts. Analytics review once per week.
Output: 2-3 blog posts, 10-15 social posts, 1 newsletter, 1-2 short videos per week. As a solo creator. That’s the AI leverage.
Advice for New Creators
Start with free tools. ChatGPT free + Canva free + CapCut free is a genuinely powerful stack that costs nothing. Add paid tools only when you’ve identified specific bottlenecks.
AI writes first drafts, not final drafts. The creators who succeed with AI edit heavily. The ones who fail publish raw AI output. Your voice, your experience, your opinions — that’s what people subscribe for. AI just gets you there faster.
Don’t automate your personality. Automate the boring stuff (scheduling, formatting, resizing). Keep the creative decisions human. Your audience follows you, not your AI tools.
Affiliate links below where available. All tools used daily in my own content workflow.