TheBuildBrief 2: Building an AI Writing Assistant SaaS
The AI writing assistant market has absolutely exploded since the rise of AI. While "normal" people (i.e., not you 🙃) might only know ChatGPT, there's actually a massive ecosystem of AI writing tools, and many successful ones are built by indie hackers!
This is now a relatively easy idea to build technically thanks to LLM APIs, but an extremely challenging one to market and differentiate in such a crowded space.
Let's see what we can do 😎
🔍 Market analysis
SEOzast: An SEO-focused content creation tool that helps generate optimized articles and blog posts. Built by an indie hacker, it focuses specifically on search engine optimization rather than general writing assistance. The landing page isn't amazing, but it's a new product and what's is interesting is the pricing: $5.99/month!
Outrank: You've probably already heard of it already. Founded by Tibo, a famous Indie hacker, Outrank is a content optimization platform that combines AI writing with SEO analysis. It claims to be able to replace Ahrefs and Canva, interesting angle 👀.
NestContent: A newer AI writing assistant that seems to focus on simplicity and ease of use. Less feature-heavy than competitors but potentially more approachable for beginners.
BlogBuster: An AI-powered blog writing tool that specializes in long-form content creation. Appears to target bloggers and content creators specifically rather than broader business use cases. Its biggest differentiator is that you can create your own blog directly on the platform.
We're going to use these 4 SaaS as examples throughout this issue, and analyze why they work or don't work, what they could do better, and above all what YOU could do in this market 😊!
Other notable players you might want to know or analyze:
- Jasper (the 800-pound gorilla of AI writing lol)
- Copy.ai (focuses on marketing copy)
- Notion AI
These bigger players dominate general-purpose AI writing, which is exactly why niche positioning becomes crucial for indie hackers.
💡 Differentiation angles and ideas
Some of these products kind of already stand out: they focus on SEO optimization (SEOzast), combine writing with content analysis to replace multiple tools (Outrank), or include platform features like hosting (BlogBuster). But building another "general AI writing assistant" is basically impossible now - the big players have too much funding and market share.
IMO, you won't win by building a generic ChatGPT wrapper with a nice UI: it's way too late, unless you have a huuuge audience for distribution. The market is dominated by well-funded companies with better models and deeper pockets.
From my point of view, you have a few strategic choices:
Go extremely niche: Don't just say "AI for professionals" or things like that. Go laser-focused, like "AI writing for real estate agents", or for legal professionals, or restaurant (focus on social posts), you name it. The deeper the niche, the easier your distribution becomes - you know exactly where your customers hang out. Bonus point if you already know your niche: if you worked at a restaurant before for example, you tick all the boxes 👀.
Build integration-first: Instead of another standalone tool, become the AI writing layer inside existing workflows. Think Zapier integrations, Notion plugins, CRM add-ons, or Slack bots. Users are already spending their day in these tools - meet them there rather than asking them to switch contexts. You could for example build a Slack bot to generate messages?
Master one format completely: Instead of "blog posts and emails and social posts," become THE tool for ONE specific content type. Product descriptions for e-commerce, email sequences for SaaS (I think there's a market there…), LinkedIn posts for B2B, YouTube scripts for creators…. Own the format, not the industry!
Local/compliance focus: Most AI tools ignore regulatory requirements. Build AI writing that understands GDPR for EU marketing, medical compliance for healthcare content, or financial regulations for fintech communications (maybe local first). Boring but probably profitable 👀.
No matter what you build, the key is to differentiate yourself from ChatGPT and your competitors.
📈 Marketing and acquisition strategies
Integration marketplace presence: Get featured in Zapier, Notion's template gallery, Shopify's app store, or HubSpot's marketplace. These platforms have built-in discovery and high buyer intent. Plus, they handle payments and some marketing for you. Depending on your product idea, think about which platform could potentially work!
PSEO for niche keywords: Don't compete on "AI writing tool" - you'll never rank. Instead, target ultra-specific keywords like "AI writing for real estate agents," "legal document AI generator," or "Competitor alternative for niche." Create dedicated landing pages for each use case with actual customized content, not just keyword stuffing. The more specific, the easier to rank and convert.
Free tools that hook users: Build simple, useful tools that naturally lead to your main product. Think "Email subject line generator," "Blog outline creator," "Content idea generator," or "Writing tone analyzer." Host them on subdomains for SEO juice and always include a subtle upgrade path. Many successful AI tools have hidden free tools driving traffic - check their sitemaps! 👀. At this game, the winners are going to be those willing to spend a lot of time researching keywords 😂
Content marketing with your own tool: This is meta but can works incredibly well. Use your AI writing assistant to create blog content, social posts, and newsletters - then show the behind-the-scenes process. "This blog post was written with our tool in 10 minutes" becomes proof of concept AND content marketing.
Affiliate program with high commissions: AI writing tools command $50-200+ monthly prices, making them perfect for affiliates. Offer 40-50% recurring commissions and target productivity YouTubers, influencers in your niche, business coaches etc. They're always looking for tools to recommend to their audiences.
Community infiltration: Join niche communities where your target users hang out. Real estate Facebook groups, legal LinkedIn communities, or industry-specific Slack channels. Provide genuine value first, product mentions second. The key is becoming known as helpful before mentioning your tool of course 😎, a bit like reddit!
The key? Pick 2-3 channels max and execute them really well rather than trying everything at once.
👤 Is This For You?
Technical skills: Frontend/backend development required, API integration experience helpful. You'll need to handle LLM API calls, manage user data, and build responsive interfaces. The good news? You don't need to train models - just integrate existing ones smartly. AI can help with the coding, but I'm not sure this kind of product can be 100% vibe coded atm.
Business development skills: This market is all about partnerships and integrations. You'll need to negotiate with platform owners, build relationships with affiliate partners, and potentially handle enterprise sales if you go B2B. Pure coding won't cut it.
Niche knowledge: If you're going vertical-specific, you better understand that industry deeply. Building "AI for lawyers" when you've never worked with legal professionals is a recipe for building something nobody wants!
Content creation consistency: You'll need to consistently create content to show your tool in action. Blog posts, social media, demos, tutorials. If you hate content marketing, this probably isn't your market 😅.
Ok with the risk: The AI-market is evolving FAST. It's an high-risks high-rewards thing. If you wanna survive, you'll need to evolve and adjust quickly.
The honest truth? I think this is a tough market for first-time SaaS builders. But if you have domain expertise in a specific niche and the patience for a longer game, the opportunities are still there.
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Conclusion
That's it 😊. I hope you liked this second issue. If you have any remark/ideas, about it or for the next one, feel free to reply to this email.
Best,
Thomas from Uneed