Jasper is arguably the biggest name in AI writing tools. In just over two years, what started as a way to create and test ads has become an AI writing powerhouse. 

I've been using Jasper since it was called Conversion.ai, and it's fascinating for me to see how much it has developed. I'm not here to talk about the quality of its output, since it's running on the same models as many of its competitors. Instead, I'll focus on how it works and the features it has that help make marketers better at their jobs.

With that, here's a deep dive into Jasper.

• How does Jasper AI work?

• Jasper AI features

• Jasper AI pricing

• Jasper AI review

How does Jasper AI work?

Jasper is built on top of custom, proprietary AI language models and other third-party models like Cohere, OpenAI, and Anthropic. It then combines the data from these models with your brand information and recent search data to produce the best quality outputs for your use case.

If you're curious about how those models work, you can check out Zapier's articles on natural language processing and how ChatGPT works. But for now, let's keep it to how the app itself functions. Jasper works in two primary ways: you either start with a template or you start with a blank document.

Jasper templates

Most AI text generators work with templates. You select a specific template (e.g., blog post, Facebook Ad, Amazon product description), provide some information about what you need, and click a button. That's it. The tool spits out content, and it feels like magic every time. 

To create content with any of Jasper's templates:

1. Click Create new content from your dashboard.

2. Select New from template.

3. Choose a template for your use case.

Your template will ask you for some background information, so Jasper knows what to write about. Fill that all in, select the number of outputs you want, and click Generate.

Here's an example: I used the "blog post conclusion paragraph" template and asked Jasper to generate a conclusion for this article. After selecting the template, here's what I saw.

I filled in all the fields, I hit Generate, and it returned some decent content outputs.

Jasper documents

If you're like me and prefer creating content from scratch, select New document from your dashboard instead. It'll open a blank document similar to Google Docs, where you can give Jasper commands and work alongside it.

(Note: This blank document mode was formerly called Boss Mode, so you might see it described with that term in some places.) 

This view turns Jasper into a powerful AI assistant that takes instructions, but you still have choices for how you want to use it. There are three options:

• In Focus mode, you instruct Jasper on what to write using commands. You can tell it to write in a specific style or like a specific person, for example. It takes to patterns well, so set a structure you want it to follow, and then run a command. As it works, you can get involved and fuss with the outputs. Refine your commands, add context to the outputs, and iterate inputs on the go. Depending on your specifications, the tool will produce short, medium, or long outputs. Whenever it stops writing, click Compose, and it'll add more content.

• In Chat mode, Jasper becomes an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. But it has extra powers: the chatbot allows for voice commands, so you can converse with it out loud. And if you toggle the Include search option, Jasper will pull in data from the internet as it creates content for you. For a more personalized experience, you can teach the chatbot your tone of voice and style. Then, use the Enhance prompt option to refine your prompts and provide context on the output you're looking for.

  

   

• In Power mode, you'll get direct access to Jasper's templates. But this time, they'll have pre-defined workflows for creating content from start to finish. Power mode also brings in the editor and puts it beside the workflows, so you can add content outputs into the document.

  

10 Jasper AI features to help you create content

Beyond the basic workflows, Jasper has all sorts of features that enhance the content creation process by speeding things up, personalizing the outputs, and adding even more bells and whistles. Here are my favorite Jasper features.

1. 50+ templates

Jasper has templates for basically anything you could want, including everything from social media copy to eCommerce product descriptions to SEO content writing. My two personal favorites, though, are Content improver and Explain it to a child.

• The Content improver breathes life into any boring piece of content to make it more interesting and engaging.

• Explain it to a child will rephrase complicated content, so it's easy for a middle schooler to understand. 

If you're a newbie or non-writer, these features take the strain out of clarifying your message and making sure you're getting to the meat of things quickly.

One other thing: Jasper's templates can write in 30+ languages, so you can meet your audience wherever they are.

2. Custom and dynamic templates

Jasper also allows you to develop personalized templates and workflows for your specific needs. This level of customization is a big asset for advanced marketers.

Using prompts, you can create dynamic templates for things like demand gen, content marketing, and product launch campaigns. Then, if you're on the Teams or Business plan, you can save these templates for a repeatable process. (On the Business plan, the Jasper team can even build custom templates and workflows tailored to your company.)

3. Brand voice and memory

You can train Jasper with your brand voice by giving it some text to imitate—and you can even create multiple "voices," so it can produce different results depending on the medium you're writing for. You can also create "memories" based on things like your product catalog and style guide—it will then remember those details, so the content it produces is more accurate and authentic to your brand. Of course, it's still AI, so the outputs will still need some human love, but it gets you one step closer to having AI create truly unique content for you.

4. Browser extension

Lots of browser extensions for AI writing tools don't really do much. The Jasper browser extension actually carries the full power of Jasper with it (including the brand voice features). Once you install the extension on Chrome or Edge, you can generate, repurpose, translate, and edit content on any platform. 

5. SEO mode

You can switch to SEO mode to access Jasper's Surfer SEO integration while you're generating content in documents. Though it comes at an extra cost, it helps you optimize your content for search ranking while you write—showing the Surfer analysis alongside your document.

(If you don't want to spring for the Surfer integration, Jasper offers some SEO templates for creating optimized titles and meta descriptions, but Surfer will help you ensure you're creating fully optimized content.)

6. AI art generator

Jasper uses DALL·E 2, so you can create AI-generated art right inside the app. Once you describe your ideas and specify details like styles and mood, the AI art generator will take your prompt and turn it into a unique, royalty-free image. Impressively, the outputs are high-resolution, so they work well for different platforms, even print. 

7. Recipes

Jasper offers a full suite of pre-built workflows created by marketing experts. Instead of starting from scratch every time you want to write something, you can run these "recipes," and as you use commands to create your own workflows, you can save them for a repeatable process.

Here's an example of a blog post recipe from the Jasper community.

If you're churning out a lot of content, recipes will help you create it at scale.

8. Zapier integration

When you connect Jasper with Zapier, you can streamline your content production workflows, sending information between the apps you use to run your business. For example, automatically create blog posts or product descriptions, run commands, or summarize content in Jasper—all based on the actions you take in other apps.

Here are some examples to help you get started, but you can connect Jasper to thousands of other apps with Zapier.

9. Account management for teams

If you manage content for your team, Jasper provides tools to streamline the entire content production process. You can collaborate with multiple writers, track production status, and manage user access in a secure platform with enterprise-level admin functionality. 

10. Excellent customer service 

One last thing that really stood out to me about Jasper was its customer service. The email response time is fast—when I email them on the Teams plan, they respond in minutes. And the best part: it's a real human offering to help solve any problem you encounter. Not bad for an AI company.

Jasper AI pricing: How much does Jasper cost?

Jasper offers three price plans: Creator, Teams, and Business. 

• The Creator plan starts at $49/month, billed monthly ($39/month when billed annually). It includes all of the templates, unlimited words, and the blank document (for long-form content). It's intended for one person to use, and while you can access features like Brand Voice and Campaigns, it's in a more limited fashion. You also can't access SEO mode or save your workflows as recipes, and customer support is limited to email.

• Teams plans start at $125/month ($99/month when billed annually). It's great for small marketing teams because it offers three user seats and more liberal access to all of Jasper's features as well as access to SEO mode. You'll also get access to chat-based customer support.

• The Business plan allows for a more customized, scalable AI platform. For that reason, pricing is custom depending on your needs, but you'll get access to everything in the other plans, plus unlimited Brand Voices, API access, single sign-on (SSO), and a dedicated customer success manager.

If you're not sure which features you'll use, you can sign up for a seven-day free trial to test the waters and decide what's best for you.

Jasper AI review: Should you use Jasper?

I'm a loyal Jasper customer, so my review is simple: it's a game changer.

But I do want to be clear that it's not all rainbows and butterflies. For starters, it has a bit of a learning curve. If you're an advanced marketer, you may not even notice it, but all the options can be a bit much for a new marketer just looking for a quick fix. Also, it's pricey. I think its sophisticated features more than justify the cost, but compared to some of its competitors, it's not very budget-friendly.

And, like with all AI writing tools, the output still requires heavy editing. You need to fact-check, for one thing, but you also need to ensure that the content sounds human—I've found this to be especially true with long-form writing.

But all in all, Jasper is impressive. It'll accelerate your content production process, so you can focus on other parts of your business—I know it has for me.

Related reading:

• 6 ways to make your content stand out in the AI writing wave

• 8 ways real businesses are using AI for content creation

• How to create an AI writing coach with GPT-3 and Zapier