Meet Inky! MeetEdgar Leads the Evolution of AI at SureSwift

It was the buzzword of 2023, and it’s continuing to trend upward in 2024. The democratization of artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed the way we interact with the internet. Though still a polarizing subject, generative AI tech has exploded in growth and popularity over the last year. And as business owners begin to capitalize on how AI tools can save time and cut costs, SaaS companies are racing to be the first and the best in AI for content development in 2024. 

Leading the AI charge for SureSwift is portfolio business MeetEdgar, a fast, easy, and affordable social media scheduling tool that specializes in Evergreen content, scheduling based on a category system, effortless automation and an unlimited content library, ideal for small business owners and entrepreneurs. This past January, MeetEdgar announced its newest AI offering: Inky, an all-in-one AI caption generator, equipped with hashtag recommendations and tonal options for users. 

Within the first two hours of being live, Inky received over 500 queries, a strong indicator that users are ready to embrace generative AI within their current Edgar workflows. Read on to find out about MeetEdgar’s journey to premiering Inky, alongside current insights into SureSwift’s future strategy for AI within the world of SaaS.

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Meet Inky, Edgar’s New AI Sidekick

He’s cute, he’s smart, he’s an AI squid! Inky, MeetEdgar’s new AI assistant, is already making a splash with users, thanks to its smart copy features and ease of use. With Inky, users can generate customized AI captions right inside MeetEdgar’s new Content Composer, making for faster, easier content scheduling. 

Acquired by SureSwift in January of 2022, MeetEdgar helps automate the social media content creation process, ensuring a continuous and consistent online presence without requiring constant input from the user. The application also helps customize content to different social media channels, effectively adapting it to suit the tone of each platform. 

Other key features include:

• the automation of repurposed and scheduled evergreen content
• an unlimited content library where users can store images and videos
• an engagement dashboard for monitoring performance data, including link tracking and A/B testing features

Now, Inky adds tailored AI writing tools to the feature list, making it even easier for entrepreneurs to run their own social media channels. With Inky, customers can choose from a dropdown menu of tonal styles, including Professional, Academic, Contemplative, Colloquial, and Optimistic. Inky also generates relevant hashtags for creators who may be less confident with hashtag strategy. 

Though Inky offers customers tonal flexibility, the AI was developed to assist, not replace, organic copy. While the tool offers a range of tonal styles to assist creators, MeetEdgar also intends for it to be a starting point, knowing that organic and authentic communication is a cornerstone for the MeetEdgar community. Inky’s primary objective is to speed up the creative process by helping with initial inspiration. 

MeetEdgar Product Manager BarathRam Rajendran told us that this newly-developed AI content creation tool marks a new chapter for the company: “Inky is the future of MeetEdgar. We’re no longer merely a social media scheduling platform. With this new generative AI feature, we’ve stepped into the future of social media content creation, proudly providing our customers with advanced tools for crafting their online channels.”

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Customers on MeetEdgar’s Eddie and Edgar plans receive complimentary access to Inky via a monthly credits system. Customers subscribed to the Edgar plan receive 50 free credits each month, while those on the Eddie plan are allotted 15 free credits monthly. And if customers use up their monthly credits, they can buy additional ones at a rate of $2.50 for 100 credits. MeetEdgar legacy customers can access recent features releases, such as the new Content Composer and Inky by converting to a current Eddie or Edgar plan.

Inking Inky: the journey to developing an AI-powered content generator 

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As an app designed specifically to help entrepreneurs run their social channels on autopilot, MeetEdgar quickly saw how integrating OpenAI's generative AI technology would be a huge benefit to its pool of users. But the journey to this conclusion wasn’t immediate. The process started with the MeetEdgar team examining the underlying causes of the company's current churn rates to identify ways to improve customer satisfaction.

Several variables were considered – product value, customer service, resources – as they examined how they could offer stronger support to their users. After conducting thorough competitive analysis and market research, the team reached the consensus that the key to product growth and customer acquisition would be adding AI-generated content features.

Though this conclusion might seem like an inevitable one, the team was careful not to hop on the proverbial AI bandwagon too quickly. They wanted to ensure that adding AI to the MeetEdgar product would be a strong value-add for their specific user base – entrepreneurs invested in promoting an organic and authentic online presence for their audiences. So the MeetEdgar team spent time polling and surveying their customer base about AI-driven content creation. After receiving a resounding yes from users about offering AI features within the platform, they felt that there was enough intel to confidently move forward. In September of 2023, the MeetEdgar Dev team began planning the V1 model for Inky, and following the launch of a brand new content composer interface in December, Inky made its debut at the end of January. It  garnered an enthusiastic response from the MeetEdgar user base and is better positioning Edgar as a top-performer in the social media tool industry.

Bigger than the internet: embracing AI advancements in 2024

The impact of introducing generative AI technology has been likened by some to the advent of the internet itself. AI models have already brought a cultural shift to the modern day workforce. According to Goldman Sachs, AI investment is expected to grow to $200 billion globally by 2025. With 83% of organizations worldwide calling AI a top priority for their business operations, there’s no time like the present for SaaS businesses to invest in creating AI systems within their applications. 

SSC Director of Operations Jac Stark shares that SureSwift has already been exploring how AI can benefit every business within the portfolio: "In the spirit of our Exceptional Operator Framework, many portfolio businesses at SureSwift Capital are pioneering efforts to investigate the opportunities that artificial intelligence could bring to customers.” It’s a timely decision, as an increasing number of SaaS companies are integrating AI into their business strategies. Now there’s an AI solution for just about every step of the customer experience, including:

• AI-powered chatbots for customer support
• AI algorithm-led predictive analytics for strengthening user experience
• AI marketing tools that personalize recommendations and tailor customer preferences
• AI-driven cybersecurity that uses machine learning to identify fraudulent activity and protect customer data
• AI-led search engine optimization (SEO) for better-targeted product and web copy
• AI-based HR and recruitment processes for employee management and development
• AI-optimized logistics and supply chain management
• AI-automated sales, CRM, and data entry tools for administrative task automation

The list of AI use cases goes on and on. Clearly, by integrating AI into current business processes, SaaS companies achieve a greater ability to maintain teams that are efficient, adaptable, and sustainable. 

Necessity breeds innovation: why SaaS businesses should invest  in AI development right now

A recent report by MIT revealed that AI can boost business productivity by up to 40%. With its ability to personalize customer experiences, offer predictive analytics for better decision-making, and automate routine tasks, AI tools are already showcasing how impressively they can enhance day-to-day operations. Investing in AI development is not just about keeping up with technological advancements; it's a strategic move towards ensuring long-term business resilience and success in an increasingly AI-centric world. This is particularly cogent for SaaS companies, where AI can strengthen each customer interaction, optimize service offerings, and streamline operations. Here are three key reasons we advocate for investing in AI development in 2024:

AI directly benefits the product-led growth model

The shift to Product-Led Growth (PLG) within the marketplace has been a notable one. Rather than relying solely on marketing and sales for growth, many SaaS businesses have moved to a PLG model approach, making their product the primary driver of customer acquisition, expansion, and retention. AI makes it easier for businesses to utilize the PLG model by providing the following:

• ‍Personalized User Experience to boost customer engagement‍
• Data-Driven Analytics to help achieve growth through meaningful and organized user data‍
• Tailored Onboarding to decrease churn and smooth frequent frustration points for new customers‍
• 24/7 Customer Support to respond to common questions and direct customers to human support when needed‍
• Continuous Feedback to gather customer assessments and usage data with regularity, allowing for greater product advancements

AI simplifies and elevates the process of moving toward a PLG model, allowing SaaS businesses to benefit from the proven values of this business strategy.  

AI enhances economic scalability

AI can be immensely valuable when it comes to scaling a business. It automates repetitive tasks like common customer inquiries, data entry and organization, and inventory management, reducing the need for a large workforce. It can also quickly gather data and make predictions, allowing businesses to invest in products and services more wisely. And with more accurate predictions and analyses, AI reduces the uncertainty and risk associated with scaling. Companies can then enact stronger data-driven decisions about when and how to scale, preventing costly missteps.

AI helps businesses boost agility, flexibility, and overall productivity

When SaaS businesses utilize AI tools to improve their products and services, they can more quickly adapt to changes within the marketplace. Whether it’s in response to quickly-evolving customer preferences or market trends, AI data analysis helps boost overall agility for businesses of all sizes. And with AI-powered systems in place for automating mundane and repetitive tasks, businesses can save on time and employee costs as well. 

Small businesses that integrate AI can boost their overall productivity to match that of larger businesses by automating tasks that traditionally require manual effort. With time-consuming manual tasks being handled with AI, employees then have the freedom to spend their energies on more creative endeavors, boosting productivity business-wide. 

By investing in AI development now, SaaS companies gain a competitive edge that may prove to be a game-changer over time. Along with the immediate benefits from saving on costs, boosting productivity, and elevating efficiency across the board, prioritizing AI technology within your SaaS business may also lead to uniquely profitable technological advancements in the future.

Setting our sights on the future of AI for SaaS businesses

With 77% of SaaS businesses already using or exploring AI, it’s clear that in order to compete, it will be essential for SaaS companies within the marketplace to invest significant time and resources into developing AI-powered solutions for their businesses. Though MeetEdgar is the first business in the SureSwift portfolio to launch an AI tool, many of the other portfolio businesses are currently developing their own AI features. Since many of SureSwift's SaaS products simplify workflows using data and task automation processes, the move towards AI is a logical next step. 

But it’s not just the tech itself that amplifies SureSwift as a leader in the SaaS industry. SSC Director of Operations Jac Stark imparts that it’s the mindset behind each SaaS product within the portfolio: “In addition to investigating the power of AI to enhance technological capabilities and expand offerings, our team is forging a culture where curiosity drives progress and where every step forward is built upon the foundation of knowledge acquired through exploration.” Stark explains that SureSwift’s true superpower lies in the collaborative methods that make up the Exceptional Operator Framework. “As our teams venture into the realms of AI, they contribute to a collective intelligence, flavoring the secret sauce that is our framework." 

While AI may be out-tasking the fastest manual worker, Stark highlights one essential piece of the puzzle that SureSwift leaders have keyed into: there’s no replacement for human collaboration. Just as Inky doesn’t supplant the voices of the business owners and entrepreneurs who use it, SureSwift will continue to lean most heavily on the expertise and creativity of the people who form the core of its businesses.

Conclusion

The integration of AI into SaaS business models represents not just a trend, but a complete shift in how these companies operate and compete in the marketplace. By investing in artificial intelligence, businesses can streamline operations, strengthen customer satisfaction, provide valuable insights, and drive innovation. For SaaS businesses looking to stand at the forefront of the tech industry, embracing AI is no longer optional—it's essential. And as SureSwift takes its place within the bold world of AI-driven innovation with its introduction of MeetEdgar’s new AI tool, combining human collaboration with AI-powered assistance is the clear step forward. 

The future of SaaS is undeniably intertwined with AI, and the benefits for those who recognize and act on this synergy are certain to be substantial. SureSwift looks forward to sharing the upcoming releases of more AI-powered tools from our portfolio and the advancements that come from AI-led technological excellence and industry leadership.

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