With so many AI tools popping up faster than Year 7s at the lunch bell, how do you choose the right one?

I’ve tested three popular AI content generation tools with school marketing in mind, though still relevant for all sectors – Grok, Claude, and ChatGPT – and here’s what I’ve learnt...

🎓 Grok (by xAI) – The Maverick

• Tone: Witty, rebellious, sometimes offbeat – think teenager trying to impress.

• Strengths: Entertaining and bold; great for Twitter-style content or punchy copy.

• Weaknesses: Still in beta, limited integration, not yet great for nuanced or sensitive school messaging

• Best for: Attention-grabbing headlines, reactive marketing, and content that breaks the mould.

• Paid Perks: Included in X Premium+ (£32/month), giving access to more advanced responses, better model versions (like Grok-1.5), and longer context windows for in-depth queries.

• Verdict: Fun for inspiration – but not quite ready for prospectus polish.

📚 Claude (by Anthropic) – The Humanities Scholar

• Tone: Balanced, thoughtful, more likely to fact-check itself.
  
  
• Strengths: Long-form content, policies, letters, nuanced storytelling.

• Weaknesses: Can be overly cautious or vague; not as widely integrated into platforms yet.

• Best for: Crafting parent comms, policy support, or considered blog posts.

• Paid Perks: Claude Pro (£16/month) unlocks faster responses, priority access during busy periods, and enhanced model performance. It also handles larger documents – ideal for admissions packs or strategy docs.

• Verdict: A safe and insightful option – like the deputy head you can trust.

✨ ChatGPT (by OpenAI) – The All-Rounder

• Tone: Adaptable – from formal newsletters to fun social posts.

• Strengths: Fast, intuitive, integrates with Canva, Google Docs, and more; you can even train it with your brand tone.

• Weaknesses: Requires human oversight to avoid errors or generic phrasing.

• Best for: Prospectus copy drafts, blog content, email flows, and social calendars.

• Paid Perks: ChatGPT Plus (£16/month) gives you access to GPT-4 – more accurate, creative, and reliable than the free GPT-3.5. It can handle more complex tasks, work across documents, and even analyse data or generate images.

• Verdict: The head girl of AI tools – dependable, flexible, and ambitious.

So, Which One Should You Use?

The truth? There’s no one-size-fits-all – you need to test them to see what works best for you.  Take a piece of copy and drop them into each of the AI tools and see what you prefer. You will be surprised at the difference.

Personally, I have the paid version of ChatGPT, but use Grok and Claude free versions when I want something slightly different. I find Claude is more considered, Grok has more personality.

How can I help you? I support marketers to make confident, practical use of AI as part of the wider marketing mix – improving efficiency without compromising authenticity.

Whether you're looking to enhance customer engagement, streamline your communications, or bring fresh energy to your storytelling, I offer strategic marketing support tailored to the independent school sector.

Because great stories deserve to be told – faster, smarter, and with just the right blend of creativity, authenticity and technology.