The 5 Best AI Tools for Community Builders in 2027 (and where I draw the line on AI use)

TL; DR

• Use AI in your online community where it gives you your time back: summarizing calls, first drafts, resizing graphics and repurposing recordings.

• Draw the line at connection. Welcome messages, live sessions, check-ins and replies to members stay human.

• My five best AI tools for community builders: Claude, Canva AI, Fathom, Descript and Tiiny Host.

• In the age of AI, what sets your community apart is how human it feels, and in a world where AI can generate text in your tone of voice in seconds, video is the best way to stand out.

As you may have guessed from the title of this article, we’re diving into AI tools for community builders. But, before we do, it’s worth mentioning that there is (or should be) a line when it comes to using AI in your online community.

I use AI in my day-to-day, and no doubt it helps me become more productive and reduce the busy work that often eats up my time. But I draw the line at human interaction.

Community, at its heart, is about connection. It’s about humans learning together and supporting each other. It feels counter-intuitive for bots to suddenly be interacting with members instead of an actual person. Is that really what members join a community for? Or do they join it for the human connection? If I just wanted a chat with a bot, I already pay for a Claude subscription - why would I join a community?

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Use AI to reduce busywork but keep interactions human

So here’s where I would use AI inside a community

• To summarize a call 

• To draft a first version of an announcement

• Resizing or creating graphics, or

• Repurposing a live events into short form content that can be used across social media, or

• To help create websites, landing pages and other materials - and get them online as quickly as possible

• If I’ve been procrastinating on something for a couple of hours and need help to get unstuck

All of these are perfectly valid uses of AI inside a community.

But if you start using AI for interactions, you risk your community starting to feel less human - and that is something you cannot afford to happen.

That’s also why communities who use video for interactions are increasingly standing out. ChatGPT can write a text post with your tone of voice in three seconds. What it can’t replace is you, on camera, welcoming a new member, giving them feedback or reassuring them. In an era where content is becoming more standardized and polished, the unpolished human version is what people crave. They crave the authenticity behind it. A real human. 

I’m not saying you have to use video for every interaction, but it makes a big difference to use it in key moments. For example, a personalized welcome message when a new member joins, live sessions where members connect face-to-face or using it to check in on members who’ve been more quiet. These are the interactions at the heart of a community, and I’m a firm believer that they should stay human.

But with that in mind, yes, AI certainly has its uses and it can make the community building journey much easier by freeing up your time to focus on what actually matters - building connections with your members.

So here’s a quick overview of my favourite AI tools that can take over the busy work and help you do just.

1. Claude - best AI tool for thinking and planning

If this list didn’t include Claude, I’m not sure it could be trusted.

Claude is becoming the swiss army knife of the AI world. It’s like a quick-thinking colleague who’s always available. It’s also the one I would start with, because it’s so versatile and helps with so much of the behind-the-scenes of your community.

My favorite features:

• Brainstorm a month of discussion prompts or outline a live session

• Turn rough notes into a clear announcement that you then tweak into your own voice

• Tell it what you're trying to do and where you're blocked, and ask for options

• Helps with a wide variety of tasks, which is my favorite thing about it

Cost: Free plan, then from $17/month (annual plan)

2. Canva AI - best AI tools for community visuals

Canva is the design tool many of us already know but its AI features give it quite the uplevel. You can describe the visual you want, give it your brand guidelines and Canva’s AI will give you a starting design that you can edit. You can use it to create graphics for your community or even for your social media.

My favorite features:

• Create event graphics, cover images and post visuals

• Resize a design for different formats, translate it and remove the background

• A professional, consistent image for your brand without relying on a designer or learning advanced design skills

Cost: Free plan (with strict limits on AI features), then from $12/month (annual) 

It’s worth noting that Claude also has a design feature. However, I’m still going with Canva for the time being. My problem with Claude design is that you can tell it was created by Claude. People are tired of seeing the same things time and time again, and knowing they were generated by AI.

3. Fathom AI - best AI tool for meeting notes

Fathom is an AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarises your calls and lets you pull out key moments. I use it for all my calls nowadays - it makes life just so much simpler. You can use it for discovery calls with prospects, case studies, coaching sessions. Fathom focuses on recording and notetaking whilst you can focus on what matters most, which is, being present.

My favorite features:

• Share the recording after the call, including a summary with key action points

• Use the transcript to find other content opportunities: you can upload it to Claude and ask for key themes and strong points of view

• Focus on the call while Fathom runs the notes and recordings in the background

Cost: Their free plan covers a lot (unlimited recordings and transcriptions), but if you need more advanced features, those start at $16/month (annual plan)

4. Descript - best AI tool for repurposing video content

Creating content can feel like an overwhelming part of building an online community, but it’s also a necessary one. The trick is to make it as easy as possible for yourself and a great way to do that is to look at content you’re already producing and repurposing it.

That 1 hour live session you ran inside your community the other day? Perfect content opportunity. Take the recording, upload it to Descript and it will pull short clips that you can upload to your community and / or your social media. I’m not a video editor, but Descript makes that whole process much easier. 

I personally use Descript to create clips from interviews or Youtube videos and find it very easy to use even as a beginner. Their AI assistant also helps you with any more complex edits although you can easily burn through all your AI credits if you just rely on it consistently.

My favorite features:

• Pull short clips from interviews and live sessions, turning one long recording into 5-10 pieces of content

• Tidy up your video - remove filler words and pauses by editing the transcript

• Simple video editor that allows you to make your videos more dynamic and captivating without needing advanced editing skills (I speak very much from personal experience on this one)

Cost: There is a free plan but I found you can’t do much with it. I used it just to test the platform and then upgraded onto the next plan which costs $16/month (annual plan)

5. Tiiny Host - best AI tool for creating and publishing static websites and landing pages

Before I found out about Tiiny Host, I drastically overcomplicated creating my website - and spent far too much time on it. Your website shouldn’t be where you spend weeks of your time - it should be up and running as quickly as possible so you can spend your time on what matters, which is bringing in new members and managing your community. 

Tiiny Host already made it super simple to get online - allowing you to get your website live in seconds (literally), but their AI feature has taken it a step further by allowing you to actually create the website directly with them. You brief the AI on what you want to build, it asks a couple of question, and it generates the site in just a few minutes,

My favorite features:

• An AI editor to make changes

• Publish your site directly with Tiiny Host with a custom domain

• Simplicity: you can get something online in minutes, if not seconds

Cost: Their free plan allows you to host one project but it doesn’t give you access to more advanced features like custom domain and AI editing - that starts from just $13/month (annual plan)

Final advice: claim back your time so you can spend it on your members

What these tools all have in common is that they help you claim back your time. They take the behind-the-scenes work off your plate so you can put your energy where it matters most, which is building connections with your members.

Try Swarm for free

Thousands of experts and coaches are already building human communities that last on Swarm. Try out Swarm free for 14 days. No credit card required.

FAQ about using AI for online communities

What are the best AI tools for community builders?

The best AI tools for community builders are Claude, Canva AI, Fathom AI, Descript and Tiiny Host. Claude for thinking and planning, Canva AI for visuals, Fathom for meeting notes, Descript for turning calls into content, and Tiny Host for getting a website online quickly. What they have in common is that they take behind-the-scenes work off your plate and give you your time back.

How do you use AI in an online community without making it feel less human?

Use AI for work your members never see, and keep it away from interactions. If you start using AI for interactions, your community can feel less human, and that's the one thing you can't afford. Draw the line at connection and human interaction, and let AI handle summaries, first drafts, graphics and repurposing.

What should community managers never hand over to AI?

Never hand over connection and human interaction: a personalized welcome message when a new member joins, showing up in live sessions, checking in on members and replying to their messages. These are the interactions at the heart of a community, and they should stay human.

Why does video matter for online communities in the age of AI?

AI can write a polished text post in your tone of voice in seconds, but it can't replace you on camera: your expertise, your guidance and your support. Video has real intention behind it, and members connect with you on a much deeper level than any text message allows. That makes video a big differentiator.

Can you trust AI-generated content for your community?

Not without checking it. Read everything AI gives you and challenge its assumptions, because AI lies a lot. Use it for a rough first draft or a few ideas, then tweak the result into your own voice before it reaches your members.