Notion AI, explained: How the generative AI tool makes note-taking easier

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

Notion AI is like a robot that has read and analyzed the entire internet. Its training enables it to make detailed suggestions based on millions of documents it has studied. It’s basically a prediction engine guessing what words will work best based on a prompt or text you’ve written. The capacity to draw instantly on billions of insights makes it a powerful digital assistant.

Is Notion AI similar to ChatGPT?

Yes, because both are powered by Open AI’s algorithms.

• A difference: Notion AI is a built-in editing feature—not formatted as a chat.
• A benefit: Whatever you generate lives inside an editable project page.
• A limitation: Without the chat structure, it’s not as easy to make a series of revisions to previous prompts or to guide an iterative conversation.

What can Notion AI generate?

• Writing: Blog or social media posts, essays, poems, or fictional stories
• Work: Meeting agendas, job descriptions, report summaries
• Outreach: Sales or recruiting emails, pro-and-con lists
• Other: Explore Writing for Renegades for more ideas on cowriting with AI

As an example: I created this page with Notion AI. I asked it to generate a lesson plan, to detail five aspects of AI-powered document tools, and to generate a meeting agenda focused on how to use AI to cut down on mundane team tasks.

How can you use it for editing?

If you have text on a page, you can activate the AI and ask it to summarize text, explain it, translate it, or suggest edits. It can offer up a more concise version of what you’ve written, or an expanded one. Or it can rewrite text in a different tone, making it more professional, casual, confident, or friendly.

5 things to try with Notion AI

Here are some ideas for making the most of your 20 free AI requests:

• Generate blog or LinkedIn ideas on a specific topic. (Tip: Add specific details to your prompt to yield relevant & useful ideas.)
• Try one of 9 new AI-enhanced Notion templates. Write a sales email, plan a trip with your own criteria, or draft a meal plan based on your preferences.
• Summarize a lengthy note or memo. Short summaries make it easier for your future self to reference past discussions and follow up on key decisions.
• Draft a video or podcast script. Notion works well for content planning. It’s easy to create early drafts with AI assistance.
• Use this stellar ChatGPT prompt collection to draft a detailed prompt for good Notion AI results. Or train yourself with this prompt-writing guide.

How does it work?

Summon Notion AI by tapping the space bar on any new line in the desktop, web, or mobile version of Notion. In the prompt box, type a quick prompt or a detailed instruction, such as:

“Draft a detailed lesson plan for a two-hour class session on the history of journalism, focusing on key developments in news gathering and the production, distribution and monetization of news. Include a mix of presentation material, discussion topics and activities. Include a brief case study and a section focused on international differences in news consumption and monetization.”

What do you get free? How much is unlimited access?

It’s free to try. Notion’s AI features are free to use 20 times per member in your workspace. It’s then $10/month for unlimited usage or $8 if you’re already on a paid annual plan. That launch promotion apparently lasts until April 5, 2023. The pricing makes it more costly for now than other AI writing services.

How does free access compare across AI writing services?

• Canva Docs Magic Write is free for 25 uses on its free plan.
• Craft’s AI assistant just doubled its offering to 100 uses on its free plan.
• Lex.page is free during the current beta phase.
• ChatGPT has a free plan available intermittently and a new $20/month unlimited plan.

Caveats and Observations

• $10 a month for AI features means a big price increase for Notion when added on to the monthly fees for paid accounts, which range from $8 to $15 per month per user. There is still a free intro plan as well as a free offering for students and teachers.
• Like other AI services, Notion AI sometimes provides information that seems factual but isn’t. This is a concept known as AI “hallucinating.”
• I was initially excited about how templates for applying Notion AI could capitalize on Notion’s database and design features, but the templates I’ve tried so far have been underwhelming. I expect subsequent templates will open up new ways to use AI creatively within project pages.

Why is Notion so popular?

Since launching in 2013, Notion has grown into a $10+ billion company with $43 million in revenue from tens of millions of global users. Even without its AI features, Notion is a terrific tool for organizing notes and managing projects.

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90879041/notion-ai-explained?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss