I refer to the «Cambrian explosion of AI-powered online tools» as the rapid proliferation of large language models like GPT and the explosive growth of AI services based on their advances. OpenAI’s ChatGPT led the way toward the end of 2022, and the market for such tools exploded in 2023.
Table of Contents
The websites There’s an AI for that and Advanced Innovation.io offer comprehensive lists of AI tools sorted by timeline or by functionality. Mind you, the speed of development of new AI capabilities is staggering!

Future Tools offers a comprehensive list, too, with filters per functionality.
Now that prompts are the new way of working, there’s databases emerging that support your prompt engineering, say
Eye for AI,
FlowGPT,
Img2prompt,
Jrnylist,
PromptBase,
PromptBox,
Promptist,
PromptLayer,
Public Prompts,
Dallelist.
More such comma-separated lists below are borrowed from AI Daddy. He compiled a list with 600+ AI tools. Go to his website to ask for the full list.
Below is my own list of tools that you can use right now to begin leveraging the power of AI to grow your business.
AI tools to try out (my personal preferences)
These lists are by no means comprehensive and I won’t be able to keep up with the development in the field. But it may give you a good starting point.
A prompt is the text that the appropriate AI tool should use to generate the desired result. Many of these tools work better the more specific you are.
Generate images based on text prompts
Image generator for rather realistic looks.
Text to image based on Stable Diffusion. In my tests, the results were less impressive than with Midjourney.
Text to background image of product photos.
Text to vector images. You «only» get 3 variations per prompt, hence the limited match with my needs. Two vector images come for free.
Text prompt to image generator for artistic looking graphics. Signup via Discord. This post’s header image was «imagined» by Midjourney. The best image generator for my needs. Very commendable.
Text to image or video.
Stockimg.ai
Text to photo or logo. One photo is for free. This is too little to test, compared to the free amount you get on say Midjourney.
Also in this category, more art related: AI Picasso, Artbreeder, ArtHub, ArtroomAI, Civitai, DaVinciFace, DiffusionBee, Dream Up (Deviant Art), Dreamlike.art, Fy! Studio, Let’s Enhance, Lexica (more comic style), Libraire, Mage, Neural.love Art Generator, NightCafe Studio, PicSo, Playground AI, Super Prompt, Wombo, Clipdrop, Daft Art, Openart
Even more image generators include Aragon – Image Generation, Artssy, Canva Text to Image, Craiyon, Diffusion Land, Getalpaca, Getimg.ai, Go Charlie, Imgcreator, Nijijourney, Pollinations, RocketAI, Roll Art Die, Soreal.AI Studio, Stable Horde, Stock AI, Stylized, Dreamer, Enterpix, Xno.ai
If your need is more into AI supported image editing, see AI. Image Enlarger, Bg.Eraser, Bria, Erase.bg, Evoto AI, Green Screen AI, Hama – Image Editing, Magic Eraser, Nostalgia Photo, Palette.fm, Perfectly Clear Video, Photoroom, QuickTools by Picsart, Remove.bg, RestorePhotos, Topaz Photo AI, Visio Studio, Radiant Photo.
Prompt to copywriting: Create new or edit existing copy
Use with caution: Before using copy-generating AI tools and publishing the content to the web, be aware that Google’s webmaster guidelines state that AI-generated content is considered spam if it is written for better search engine rankings (SEO) instead of user benefits.
In his study, Matthew Woodward compares the «human» writing performance of AI copywriters and whether or not their output can be recognized as having been generated by AI. He also discloses which content detection tools he used.
ChatGPT and Rytr, among others, performed worst.
Frase and Jasper passed most of the AI detection tests.
Create marketing copy that drives conversions. WordPress plug-in available. It crashed my WordPress instance, so I disabled it.
Absolute must-try. Outstanding results!
The more context you give the chatbot for the question, the better the results.
BUT – ChatGPT copy is easily detected as generated by AI and doesn’t pass plagiarism tests. Use it for ideation, concepts, coding, debugging. Try other tools for copy creation.
Copy writing for marketing. In my short test I got less good results than with Deepl Write.
Generates content, copy and images with AI. The trial comes with 1.500 words for free. Comes with templates for different copy purposes, e.g. a great title and article outline generator as well as very useful copy creator.
The image generator is less powerful than Midjourney’s. Comes with its own chatbot.
Lowest subscription tier comes at $6 and 15.000 words per month.
Correct copy or rewrite it. The tool is just as convincing as its translating counterpart Deepl Translate. Very useful!
Copy writing for SEO and image generation.
Ink
Copy writing and art image creation based on numerous business templates. Jasper passes AI and plagiarism tests.
Kafkai
Copy writing for SEO. Fails plagiarism tests.
All-in-one AI marketing support tool for landing pages, banners, videos, logos, etc.
Offers free trial. The onboarding mail sequence comes across as somewhat spammy. But the content of their funnel recommendations is correct. Skip the salesy part.
AI based copy writing in German.
Ocoya
Create & schedule social media content.
Generate engagement-driven promos for ads. Starts at $99/month, 7 day free trial, credit card required.
Perplexity
Rytr
Fails to pass AI detection and plagiarism tests.
Expand on a text fragment to get your full copy.
Smartwriter
Writes personalized emails to prospects.
Texta
Search-optimized blog posts.
Summarize copy in a click. In my quick test I didn’t get the quality I expected.
Create better ad hooks. The site was offline when I tried it at the end of January 2023.
Rewrite copy for max impact. The tool lists sources for its proposals.
Writesonic
Copy writing with SEO features.
Much like ChatGPT, YouChat provides copy and code. But it offers better availability as it is less well known. Discloses sources for its answers. Offers Chrome plugin.
ZD Net compiled a helpful comparison of different AI writers.
Content at Scale offers an AI content detector. It scores this article as 100% human content despite two chapters stemming from ChatGPT. With a few tweaks of mine, that is.
Copymatic published an interesting article on the coming content hyperinflation stemming from AI writing tools.
Further tools in the copywriting category include Adcreative.ai, Anyword, Botowski, Contents, CopyMonkey, Copysmith, Cowriter, Creator AI, Daydrm.ai, Digital First AI, Easy-Peasy.AI, Hypotenuse ai, Lek, Peppertype.ai, Simplified, unbounce, Unbound, VEG3, WiziShop, Ocoya, texti
AI tools specializing in SEO include AI-Writer, BlogNLP, Closers Copy, Compar, CTRify, Eilla AI, Jenni, Letterdrop, LongShot, Mentioned, Neuronwriter, Spinrewriter, Topicmojo, Typli, Word Spinner, Writer, Writey AI, ArticleForge, BrameWork, Growthbar, Katteb, Moonbeam, Scalenut, Thundercontent, Wordhero.
If you need a virtual email assistant, check out ChatGPT Writer, Creatext, DraftLab, Ellie, Instantly, Ipso AI, Luna, Magicreach, MateAI, Ortto, Pipl.ai, PolitePost, Postaga, Quicklines, Robin, SuperReply, Warmer.ai
Other writing assistants include AIDuh, CaliberAI, Compose, Detect GPT, DREAM.page, Elephas, Glasp, Grammarly, HelloScribe, LanguageTool, LuciaAI, Maester.app, nichess, Notion AI, Othersideai, ParagraphAI, Paraphraser, Proposal Genie, Quasi, Quillbot Paraphraser, Redacta.me, Rephrasely, SmartScribe, Sudowrite, Text Generator Plugin, WebCopilot, WordAI, Writely, Writewithlaika, HandyPlugins, Lex, Penelope AI.
For summarizing look for Bearly, ExplainThis, Genei, Otter AI, Summari, Summarize Tech, Summate, Upword, WordfixerBot, GPT-Prompter, SummerEyes.
Text to slides
Text to slides including adaptation of your brand colors.
Text to slides
Text to slides, to logo, video, social media and voiceover.
Presentations
Text to slides, still in Beta.
Text to slides
Text to slides
Text to video or voice and music – compile videos or audio based on text prompts
Here’s my dedicated review of generative AI tools for video creation.
Below is a more comprehensive list of AI video tools from which I will dive into more detail.
Create unique royalty-free music. Their teaser video is not particularly convincing. I haven’t tried the tool just yet.
Create mass personalized videos based on your avatar, copy and a list of contacts (CSV or Zapier intergration).
Animate talking heads based off of an image and your video script. Free trial available, includes small watermark in video. Amazing results!
Clone your voice for text to speech audio productions.
Elai.io
Online video maker offering tools like AI auto subtitle generator, text-to-speech, GIF maker, image background remover, screen recorder, video converter and many more.
Generate personalized videos at scale.
Text to voice.
Text to video. There are amazing examples of Pictory-generated videos out there.
Rephrase.ai
Compile AI-based videos. Very limited free trial. Couldn’t test properly.
Synthesis
Tavus
Programmatic personalized video tool.
Create short-form videos from long-form copy. Trial comes with 1h 15 minutes free processing time. Videos without spoken audio do not seem to work.
More video generator tools involve
Astria, Colossyan, FILM, Fliki, InVideo, Movio, Opus, Peech, Pyttipanna, SpiritMe (Animate talking head of your avatar), Steve AI, Waymark, Wonder Dynamics, WowTo, Xpression Camera, Audiolabs, Hourone, LiveReacting AI, VidIQ.
Other AI video editing tools include
CapCut (multi-functional), Colourlab AI (colour grading synched with Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or Davinci Resolve), Contentfries,
Dubverse, Gling,
Kaiber (produce music videos based on prompts), Munch, Papercup, RunwayML (Everything you need to do anything), Shuffll, Topaz Video AI (video sharpener, local installation, you need powerful graphics hardware or it takes a long time to render the output video. My laptop’s NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 with Max-Q won’t do it.), Type Studio, Unscreen.com.
More audio editing AI tools include
Adobe Podcast, Altered, Audio Strip, Cleanvoice AI, Podcastle, Voicemod.
Text to music tools involve
Aiva, Amper, Boomy, Emergent Drums, Endel, Harmonai, Mubert, Natural Language Playlist, Open Voice OS, Pop2Piano, Riffusion, Songtell, Sonify, Soundful, Splashmusic.
For text to speech try out
Ad Auris, Apple Books, Article.Audio, Audioread, Convai, D-ID, FakeYou, Listnr, Play.ht, Replicastudios, Resemble, Symbl.ai, Wellsaidlabs, Whisper, Coqui, Eleven Labs, Speechify.
Transcriptions are supported by
fireflies.ai, Free Subtitles AI, Supertranslate, Whisper Memos.
Text or 2D image to 3D model
You can ask the chatbot to create models in 3D software tools like Blender or Unity, see my attempt here.
Generate 3D models from text or iPhone.
Mirage
Generate 3D models from text.
Immersive rendering tool that generates 3D models from 2D images.
Opus AI
Generate 3D models from text.
To build 3D environments, neural radiance field (NeRF) is all the rage.
A NeRF is a neural network that can generate novel views of 3D scenes, based on a partial set of 2D images.
Other tools include Masterpiece Studio, G3DAI {Jedi}, Ponzu, PrometheanAI, Leonardo.Ai, Pixela AI, Kaedim, Kinetix, Poly, DeepMotion, Scenario, Plask, GET3D (Nvidia), Imagine 3D.
Prompt to code
ChatGPT / Python & C#
Here’s my own tutorial on how to turn your need (expressed as a text request) into a 3D model in Blender or Unity. They use Python script and C# respectively to enable functionality.
ChatGPT / Dash
Here’s an instruction on how to build a simple web application with GPT-3 and Dash that converts natural language into source code.
More code assistants include AI CLI, Amazon CodeWhisperer, AskCodi, BlackBox AI, Buildt, Cheat Layer, Clippy AI, CodeAssist, CodeGeeX, CodeSquire, Continual, Copilot, Fig AI, Hey, GitHub!, Lookup, Maverick, Mutable, Programminghelper, Spellbox, Tabnine, WhatTheDiff, Codeium, Replit, Stenography
AI developer tools include Chatbotkit, CSM, GptDuck, GPUX.AI, Mintlify, Moonbeam Exchange, Nuclia, Pipeline AI, RTutor, RunPod, Shumai (Meta), SyntheticAIdata, Tinq.ai – NLP API, Valyr, HTTPie AI, Textomap.
Some low-code / no-code AI tools include Axiom, Brancher AI, Browse AI, Build AI, Cogniflow, Debuild, Durable AI, Dust, Felvin, Lightning AI, Liner.ai, Lobe, Monitaur, Mutiny, Nanonets, Neon AI, Riku.ai, Roboflow, Robovision.ai, Seek, Sitekick, Softr Studio, Symanto Text Insights, Teachable Machine, Teleporthq, VWO, Zevi.ai, 10Web, AI Surge Cloud, Retune.
If you need SQL statements, look for AI Data Sidekick, Ai2sql, AIHelperBot, Avanty, Channel.
AI supported productivity tools
Adobe Sensei, Albus, Alfred, Enzyme, Glean, Krisp, Marketplan, Mem.ai, Merlin, Noty.ai, AskOracle, Qatalog, Reclaim AI, Scale, SlidesAI, Supernormal, Typly, Xembly.
Text to brand name & logo
Great for generating initial logo ideas. Some suggestions are good enough for production. The logo templates are editable. There’s a free trial.
Describe your service and Namelix will come up with potential brand names. Extremely useful for brainstorming new brand names.
Find suitable domain names. Works better with a few keywords than with a text prompt.
I found it more helpful than NamingMagic.
Other logo generators include Brandmark, Looka, Make Logo AI, Namecheap Logo Maker.
Further design assistants include AI2image, AIGraphics, Autodraw, Clickable, Designs AI, Diagram, Dimensions, Hotpot.ai, Illustroke, Magician (Figma), Microsoft Designer, Pattern Maker AI, Pictorial, Pinegraph, StockImg AI, Uizard, Vizcom, CandyIcons, Designify, IllostrationAI, Patterned AI.
Education assistants
If you are offering courses and trainings, you might want to check out MindSmith, Quizgecko, TutorAI, WolframAlpha, Yip,

How we got here
For some time now, «smart» systems such as the excellent translation service DeepL or Google Photos have been preparing us for the new possibilities that machine learning and artificial intelligence bring.
When the company Open AI presented its image generator Dall-E in the fall of 2022, the tech world was astonished: The images generated by the AI based on a short text prompt are of excellent nature!
When the next image generator Midjourney also became known, the wave of enthusiasm no longer gripped only tech journalists, but also a broader public: Midjourney’s images are even more creatively valuable, see my header image.
Open AI went on to cause a further sensation in late 2022 when it made its chatbot ChatGPT public: The chatbot was already so good in version 3.5 that millions of users worldwide wanted to experience it for themselves («GPT» stands for «generative, pre-trained transformer).
Within a few weeks (!), first the review columns of tech publications, later also of popular media, were filled with reports about the chatbot’s comprehensive knowledge in all possible fields.
In my very first test, I had ChatGPT program a grid of cubes in two different 3D modeling tools. I had to laugh out loud at the result: it was staggeringly good! See the results in my review.
The race for chatbot supremacy
Since the beginning of 2023, a whole wave of new AI applications has been emerging on a daily basis.
Microsoft’s announcement to integrate the functionality of ChatGPT into their products and their search engine Bing has launched the race for chatbot supremacy: Apparently we won’t be consulting search engines for much longer, but will be getting advice from chatbots.
Much like Hiro Protagonist in Neil Stephenson’s metaverse sci-fi novel «Snow Crash».
If you haven’t already, I recommend this reading: Neal teaches many interesting topics as well as all things Metaverse.
I read the book twice for its Metaverse aspect (Read more about my own forays into the Metaverse).
Google is responding by integrating DeepMind’s AI into their own chatbot, «Sparrow.» They also have the allegedly sentient chatbot «LaMDA» in the pipeline.
In response to Open AI’s success, Google announced 20 new AI tools that will launch in 2023.
I call it the Cambrian Explosion of AI in 2023
With the «Cambrian Explosion» of Artificial Intelligence I refer to the rapid advancement and proliferation of large language models like GPT and the countless services built on top of them.
These models have the ability to generate a wide range of outputs, from creative writing to code, based on a simple text prompt.
One of the main reasons for this explosion is the availability of vast amounts of data and computing power. With more data to train on, models can become more accurate and versatile in their outputs.
Additionally, the development of powerful hardware, such as graphics processing units (GPUs), has made it possible to train these models in a relatively short amount of time.
Another important factor is the open-source nature of many of these models. This means that anyone can access the code and train their own version of the model.
This has led to a proliferation of different versions of GPT, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
The impact of this Cambrian Explosion has been significant: Artificial intelligence services are now able to generate a wide range of outputs, from creative writing to code, that were previously unimaginable.
As of 2023, this has led to a number of exciting new applications, such as the use of GPT to generate poetry, music, art, and even entire comics and books.
In addition to these creative applications, GPT has also been used to generate code, advice, and instructions. This has the potential to greatly improve efficiency in industries such as software development and customer service.

However, it’s also important to note that with the increasing capabilities and availability of these models, it’s crucial to also address concerns around privacy, security, and ethical use.
Even taxation of AI systems may eventually become a topic in order to finance a universal basic income for knowledge workers who lost their jobs to AI automation.
The AI Revolution as predicted in 2015

In 2015, Tim Urban of Wait But Why published a blog post in which he predicted the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, which he referred to as the «AI Revolution.»
Urban argued that developments in AI would accelerate rapidly, leading to a future in which computers would surpass human intelligence.
As of the year 2023, we are now entering the predicted «hyper quick deployment» phase of AI: With ChatGPT leading the way at the end of 2022, in 2023 a plethora of services emerged around large language models.
In summary, the Cambrian Explosion of Artificial Intelligence, represented by the proliferation of large language models like GPT, has led to a wide range of exciting new applications and possibilities.
However, it’s important to also address concerns around the ethical use and implication of these models.
Mankind was not prepared for this, at least not the knowledge workers.

So if you haven’t already, I suggest you get up to speed on the basics of Generative AI as soon as possible.
2 Kommentare
Hi, Walter, I guess I won’t be translating any more of your engaging travel blogs. You and your new AI pal are pretty good, as evidenced by this blog post. I’ll be applying for that basic income for displaced translators!
Best wishes for the brave new world of AI.
Your human pal,
Henry
Dear Henry
Yes, service providers no longer have to offer «conventional» translations.
But you offer very special custom translations, which a machine can’t imitate so easily ;-)