Choosing AI Writing Tools in 2026: General Assistants, Chinese Editing, Marketing Copy, and English Writing
AI writing tools in five groups—general writing, Chinese proofreading and polishing, marketing copy, English writing, and writing inside a knowledge base—covering DeepSeek, ChatGPT, Claude, Kimi, Doubao, Notion AI, Jasper, Grammarly, and DeepL Write, plus the rules on labeling AI-generated content.
Writing tools have split into two kinds. General chat assistants like DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and Claude can take you from outline to finished draft. Specialized tools live inside a specific setting: Notion AI writes from your own notes, Grammarly and DeepL Write fix English, and Jasper manages brand voice for marketing teams. Most people do fine with one general assistant for drafts and one specialized tool for finishing. This page groups tools by scenario instead of ranking them overall.
Who is this for?
Recommended tools (11)
DeepSeek
Long-form Chinese, outlines, and rewrites; usable directly in China
ChatGPT
Flexible style, with web search and deep research; not offered in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau
ClaudeNew
Handles long documents and multi-round rewrites; not offered in mainland China
Kimi
Native 1M-token context, good for source-based summaries
DoubaoNew
Took over Volcano Writing's features after it shut down; works directly in China
Metaso Writing Cat
Real-time error checks and rewrites on the web, a Word add-in, and a browser extension
Notion AI
Generates, rewrites, and answers from your own Notion content
Jasper AI
Brand voice and marketing templates; billed per seat, no free version
Grammarly.
Spelling, grammar, and tone suggestions across browsers and common apps
DeepL
English rewriting and polishing alongside translation; free plan covers 50,000 characters a month
Juyi
A semantic search tool from a Tsinghua University team—describe what you mean to find matching lines
AI writing tools by scenario
| Scenario | Tools | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Chinese writing | DeepSeek / Kimi / Doubao | Free or free tier | Usable directly in China; outlines, drafts, rewrites |
| English and multilingual writing | ChatGPT / Claude | Free tier; paid unlocks more | Not offered in mainland China |
| Chinese proofreading | DeepSeek / Doubao | Free or free tier | Ask it to fix only typos and grammar without changing meaning; Metaso Writing Cat's site has been under maintenance since September 2026 |
| English editing | Grammarly / DeepL Write | Free tier | Grammar, tone, natural phrasing |
| Writing from your own material | Notion AI | Free tier; paid unlocks more | For teams already managing knowledge in Notion |
| Marketing copy teams | Jasper | Paid | Brand-voice management and collaboration |
Free allowances and plans follow each tool's website, checked October 1, 2026.
FAQ
- Q: Can I publish AI-written articles as-is?
- A: Not recommended. AI is good for outlines and first drafts; before publishing, check facts, figures, and citations yourself and add your own experience, examples, and views. China's Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content took effect on September 1, 2025, so AI-generated content published on Chinese platforms must be labeled as each platform requires.
- Q: Can AI writing be detected?
- A: AI text detectors on the market are unreliable—they miss AI text and also flag human writing as AI. Rather than worrying about detection, treat AI as a drafting and editing tool: add first-hand experience and data, and label AI-generated parts according to platform rules. Where schools or journals have their own AI policies, follow those.
- Q: Are free AI writing tools enough?
- A: For everyday writing, yes. DeepSeek's web and mobile apps are free; Kimi, Doubao, and Qwen all have free tiers; ChatGPT and Claude free plans have usage caps. Consider paid tools like Notion AI or Jasper when you need team collaboration, brand-voice management, or writing from large private document sets.