What is Notion AI? How Does It differ from other AI Assistants?

Notion AI is an AI assistant and AI assistants are now a dime a dozen.

In this FastLinky blog post, we’ll discover whether it is just an also-ran AI assistant or has something unique to offer.

We’ll also uncover its ugliness, if any, that Notion may be trying to hide under heavy makeup.

What is Notion AI?

Developed by Notion Labs, Inc, a California-based and privately-held IT company, Notion AI is an AI-powered assistant that streamlines Notion’s web-based workspace by offering users multiple services like–

• Rewriting, summarising, creating better notes and documents.
• Supplying ideas, information, knowledge and answering the users’ queries.
• Providing an AI-driven organised to-do list for meetings etc.
• Offering spelling and grammar checking services.
• Providing templates for better management of meetings, schedules, recruitment process etc.

This AI assistant is integrated into Notion Workspace and promises to make it more user-friendly and efficient by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

What is Notion Workspace

Remember one thing, this AI assistant is not a standalone tool like its nearest rival ChatGPT but an add-on kind of thing to make Notion Workspace work better.

So to understand Notion AI, an understanding of Notion Workspace is imperative. So here’s a lowdown on it.

What is Notion Workspace?

Notion Workspace is a digital workspace where you sit down with your computer, open Notion and do official work like organising meetings, schedule tasks, share documents and files with others, create and manage documents–the works.

A virtual workspace like Notion offers many tools to help you seamlessly do these tasks for better time management and enhanced efficiency.

Features that Help Notion AI Stand Out

While in Notion AI Workspace, you can do the following tasks seamlessly. 

Write More Effectively

With features like rewriting, summarising and grammar or spell checking–all assisted by AI technology–Notion’s AI assistant will now help you create more forceful written copies.

This feature will be especially helpful for digital marketers, copywriters or email marketers who are required to write high-pressure sales copies for targeted audiences. 

Useful writing and editing tools like spell checker, grammar checker, rewriting tool, summarising tool, rephraser can be accessed easily while composing your written documents. 

After you have finished reviewing and editing what you have written, you can easily pick up where you left off and continue writing.

You can even change the tone and length of your copy according to your preference.

Remove Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is something every writer faces once in a while. Ideas take a vacation, thinking powers go into a coma–you’re just stalled and don’t know what to write and how to write it.

If you are in such a quandary, the drafting tools of Notion AI will activate its massive datasets and AI efficiency to help you brainstorm fresh ideas. 

You can also select what type of piece you want to write and the software will produce an appropriate and customisable template which will give you the necessary push to go over your writer’s block.

Streamline What You Do

The summarise option in this AI-powered assistant will help you make a concise but effective summary of what you have done so far. 

Utilising this tool, you can organise your day’s work into short readable chunks for easy comprehension.

Chart Action Course

The ‘find action items’ in the ‘generate from page’ section will let you draw an actionable plan to execute the idea you’ve come up with after a brainstorming session. 

There are also tools to let you translate texts and understand tough technical terms in this section of this AI assistant on Notion.

Keep in Touch Real Time

You can synchronise your workspace with other team members’ in real time across all devices. 

This feature will help you keep updated on what your team is doing and take appropriate measures based on updated information.

Utilising this feature you can save valuable time and make your actions more effective and always aligned with the objectives of each action.

Collaborate in Real Time

You can add new members to your team and collaborate with them in real time on Notion AI. 

There is an option to create team space where every member of your team can collaborate with other members and access shared documents.

Every team space works almost like a miniature Notion Workspace and provides a virtual office environment created specifically for the success of the teamwork to achieve a specific target. 

You can even create a domain to collaborate with your team members in real time and every member will know about the latest update on the project on hand.

Technology Behind Notion AI

Notion AI primarily leverages Generative AI technology’s Large Language Model (LLM) and its sidekicks like GPT, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing.

Please bring your nose closer to your screen now. 

A clear understanding of this section will help you when I’ll discuss the pros and cons of this AI-driven virtual workspace later in this post.

Generative AI

Generative AI is a field of artificial intelligence that aims to make machines that can generate content like text, image, videos on demand.

For example, Generative AI allows Notion to do stuff like creating, translating and summarising texts and documents.

Large Language Model (LLM)

Shorn of all non-essentials, LLM is the type of Generative AI that can perform tasks like creating, translating and summarising texts in natural languages used by human beings.

The LLM model is pre-trained on a large amount of text and can recognise language patterns and respond to human requests made in natural language.

LLM can understand the intent of a query made by a user and come up with appropriate words, sentences or entire documents to satisfy that query. 

To do it, LLM utilises the following AI Models.

Machine Learning (ML)

Machine Learning is a field of AI used to make ‘intelligent’ machines. The machine is provided with a large amount of training data and artificial neural networks.

When asked to do or tell something, the machine uses ML and understands the requests and produces coherent responses like generating an essay or a blog post or an email body text.

Machine learning also helps machines learn and improve without elaborate programming by human beings.

Deep Learning (DL)

DL is an ML component that provides machines with artificial neural networks so they can process data like human brains and mimic human thought processes. 

Using this model, Notion AI can ‘think’ like a human being and produce responses that closely resemble human responses.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is a type of Machine Learning technique that allows machines, like a computer, to understand and respond to requests made in human language.

Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT)

GPT is a type of LLM developed by OpenAI that helps machines utilise DL and produce texts, articles or even conversation that closely resembles human language.

Notion AI is primarily powered by this GPT framework (it actually uses GPT 4 version).

This GPT can help machines perform the following tasks.

• Create texts, images or videos.
• Answer questions in a conversational manner in real time.
• Translate texts.
• Summarise Texts.
• Paraphrase texts and documents.
• Summarise Texts and documents.
• Develop software.

Pros of Notion AI

Powered by these latest AI models and algorithms, Notion AI yields many benefits including:

Comprehensive Searching

You can find answers to your queries by utilising the power of not only Notion, but also Google drive, slack etc. 

This helps you find comprehensive answers to your queries gleaned from top online sources.

Write Better Copies

Utilising the spelling and grammar checkers integrated in this workspace, you can improve your writing by removing embarrassing grammatical and spelling errors from it.

Translate Content

Using the translator tool, you can translate documents into English and the other way round.

Brainstorm Ideas

If you are stuck for ideas for your write-up, this AI assistant will help you remove the writer’s block and get ideas through brainstorming.

It will also provide you with templates that are appropriate to fully express your ideas. You can even customise the templates to your preference. 

Summarise and Rewrite Documents

You can summarise and rewrite your write-ups for better alignment with your needs and target audiences. 

Facilitates Collaboration

Notion AI lets team members on a project collaborate with each other in real time, track the project’s progress and share relevant documents.

Cons of Notion AI

Notion AI has some serious drawbacks ranging from practical applications to ethical practices. Some of its major disadvantages are discussed below.

It Depends Entirely on Dataset

AI itself is a new technology with lots of loopholes to plug. Consequently, any tool powered by it is bound to reflect those weaknesses. Notion AI is no different.

The main problem of using these tools powered by generative AI is their performance depends entirely on the quantity and quality of training data they are fed with.

If the training data is poor in quality or inadequate, the responses from these tools will also be of poor quality and inadequate.

It Lacks Creativity

In its present state, AI is miles and miles away from being as creative as a human being. 

It will probably never get there at all. 

That’s why Notion AI produces stuff that lacks creative elements. They may serve some official purposes, but can never provide you with the joy of enjoying a copy written by a creative genius.

For the same reason, it cannot generate novel ideas and produce the effects of humour and emotions in its responses. 

It Gives Incorrect Biased Responses

If the trainer infuses his prejudices into the machine he trains, the machine will produce output that will have those biases.

Also, this AI assistant, like all other tools like it, often produces outputs containing incorrect information. This may be dangerous in some cases.

It May Be Misused

Some irresponsible people may use this tool to steal other people’s content and pass it as their own.

Students may use it to avoid study, which in the long run will gravely harm their cognitive development.

It May Cause Unemployment

Companies may decide to use such tools more and more which will render hundreds of honest hard-working employees redundant.

To cut costs, businesses may decide to get rid of those employees, who will suddenly lose the jobs they need and deserve.

It Needs Human Monitoring

AI-driven platforms like Notion AI need constant monitoring by human beings so they do what they are supposed to do. 

So much for Machine Learning!

Conclusion

Notion AI was created so it can closely resemble human beings in its thinking and acting. 

Far from it, it requires constant human monitoring or else.

It is true, it has some serious merits that can save time and make matters easier for busy multitasking executives, but you can never relax while using it, especially for some creative projects.

Besides, it may encourage unethical people to duplicate others’ writings and palm them off as their own. It can also trigger an unemployment pandemic.

The bottom line: Use it cautiously and ethically.

FAQs.

Q. What is Notion AI?

A. Notion AI is a virtual workplace powered by artificial intelligence technology.

Q. Who developed Notion AI?

A. California-based Notion Labs, Inc developed Notion AI.

Q. Is Notion AI free?

A. Yes, it has a free version with limited facilities.

Q. Is Notion AI good?

A. Yes, if you use it judiciously and cautiously.