Notion AI: Is It Worth It? Complete Guide and Honest Review

I've been using Notion AI daily for six months. After initially thinking it was just ChatGPT with a Notion skin, I've changed my view. It's different - sometimes better, sometimes not.

Here's my honest take on whether that $10/month is worth it.

What Notion AI Actually Does

Notion AI is an add-on that brings AI capabilities directly into your Notion workspace. Instead of copying text to ChatGPT and back, you work with AI inside your documents, databases, and pages.

The core features:

Writing Assistance

• Generate first drafts from prompts
• Expand or summarize existing content
• Fix grammar and improve clarity
• Change tone (formal, casual, technical)
• Translate to other languages

Content Operations

• Summarize long documents
• Extract action items from meeting notes
• Generate tables from text
• Create outlines from ideas
• Turn bullet points into prose

Q&A (Notion AI Search)

• Ask questions about your workspace
• Find information across all your pages
• Get answers with source citations

Database Features

• Auto-fill properties with AI
• Generate content for database entries
• Summarize linked databases

How to Use Notion AI

Access AI features in several ways:

Quick Access

• Press Space at the start of an empty line
• Type /ai anywhere
• Highlight text and press Ctrl/Cmd + J

In Databases

• Click the AI button in property settings
• Use AI-generated summaries in database views

Ask AI

• Use the search bar and select "Ask AI"
• Type natural language questions about your content

What Works Well

After extensive use, these features deliver real value:

1. Meeting Notes to Action Items

I record meetings and dump transcripts into Notion. One click extracts:

• Key decisions made
• Action items with owners
• Follow-up questions

This alone saves me 15-20 minutes per meeting.

2. First Drafts

When I'm staring at a blank page, Notion AI gets words flowing:

"Write a project brief for migrating our database to PostgreSQL. Include goals, timeline considerations, and risks."

I rewrite 60% of what it generates, but that's still faster than starting from zero.

3. Summarizing Long Documents

I keep research documents, article collections, and reference materials in Notion. Asking AI to summarize a 20-page document before diving in helps me decide if it's worth reading fully.

4. Tone Adjustments

Converting casual notes into professional documentation:

• Draft an email in my casual voice
• Highlight and ask AI to "make this more professional"
• Light editing and send

5. Workspace Q&A

"What did we decide about the API rate limits in last month's architecture discussion?"

Instead of searching through pages, AI finds and summarizes the relevant information. This feature has improved significantly since launch.

What Doesn't Work Well

Honest assessment of the limitations:

1. Creative Writing

Notion AI writes generic, safe content. For marketing copy, blog posts, or anything requiring personality, the output needs heavy editing. Claude or ChatGPT produce better creative content.

2. Complex Analysis

Ask it to analyze trends in your project data or draw insights from multiple documents - results are superficial. It summarizes but doesn't truly analyze.

3. Database Automation

AI-generated database properties sound great in theory. In practice:

• Takes a few seconds per cell
• Inconsistent formatting
• Often needs manual correction

For large databases, this is too slow and unreliable.

4. Accuracy

Like all AI, Notion AI makes things up. I've seen it:

• Cite meetings that didn't happen
• Attribute quotes to wrong people
• Generate plausible but incorrect summaries

Always verify important information.

Notion AI vs. ChatGPT

The obvious comparison. Here's how they differ:

Use Notion AI when:

• Working within Notion documents
• Need quick edits and summaries
• Want to query your workspace
• Value convenience over capability

Use ChatGPT when:

• Need research and web access
• Working on complex reasoning
• Creating content outside Notion
• Budget is tight (free tier)

Many people use both. I query my Notion workspace with Notion AI, but use ChatGPT or alternatives for broader tasks.

Pricing Breakdown

Notion AI costs:

• $10/month per member (monthly billing)
• $8/month per member (annual billing)

This is on top of your Notion subscription:

• Free plan: $0 + $10 for AI
• Plus plan: $10 + $10 for AI
• Business plan: $18 + $10 for AI

For teams, costs add up quickly. A 10-person team on Plus with AI: $200/month.

Is It Worth the Price?

Worth it if you:

• Use Notion as your primary workspace (30+ hours/month)
• Take meeting notes frequently
• Manage documentation for a team
• Need workspace-wide search and Q&A

Not worth it if you:

• Use Notion casually
• Already pay for ChatGPT Plus
• Mainly use Notion for personal tasks
• Can spend 30 seconds copying to ChatGPT

For heavy Notion users, the convenience justifies the cost. For casual users, ChatGPT free tier does similar things.

Tips for Getting More Value

If you're paying for Notion AI, maximize your investment:

1. Build Prompt Templates

Create a page with your common prompts:

• Meeting summary template
• Project brief structure
• Email response formats

Copy these instead of writing prompts from scratch.

2. Use AI in Templates

Add AI blocks to your recurring templates:

• Meeting notes template with "Extract action items" prompt ready
• Project page template with "Generate timeline" block
• Documentation template with "Summarize for executives" section

3. Create AI-Enhanced Databases

Set up database properties that generate automatically:

• Summary field for long-form content
• Category suggestions
• Next steps extraction

4. Leverage Q&A for Onboarding

New team members can ask AI about processes:

• "How do we handle customer refunds?"
• "What's our release process?"
• "Where are the brand guidelines?"

This requires good documentation, but makes onboarding faster.

5. Combine with Other Tools

Notion AI + other tools:

• Dump meeting transcripts from Otter.ai → Notion AI summarizes
• Import research from Perplexity → Notion AI organizes
• Generate ideas in ChatGPT → Notion AI integrates into projects

Common Use Cases

Real workflows from Notion AI users:

Product Management

• Sprint planning notes → Notion AI extracts tickets
• User research dumps → AI summarizes themes
• PRD drafts → AI generates from bullet points

Content Creation

• Article outlines → AI expands into first drafts
• Research collection → AI summarizes sources
• Editorial calendar → AI suggests topics

Team Operations

• Meeting recordings → AI creates notes and action items
• Policy documents → AI makes employee FAQs
• Project updates → AI formats stakeholder reports

Personal Knowledge

• Book notes → AI extracts key insights
• Article clippings → AI summarizes and categorizes
• Learning logs → AI identifies patterns and gaps

Should You Subscribe?

My recommendation:

Try the free responses first. Use them for meeting summaries and document generation. If you find yourself wanting more, the $10/month is reasonable for heavy Notion users.

If you're on a team, calculate the real cost. At 10 users, that's $100/month for AI - consider whether ChatGPT Team ($25/user but more capable) might serve better.

For personal use on budget, the free AI tools available - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - handle most tasks. Notion AI's value is convenience and integration, not unique capability.

The Bottom Line

Notion AI is a solid productivity tool for people who live in Notion. It's not revolutionary - it's convenience. The AI isn't smarter than ChatGPT (it uses similar underlying technology), but having it integrated into your workspace eliminates friction.

Worth $10/month? For power users who save 2+ hours monthly from integration convenience, yes. For everyone else, the free alternatives work fine.

Related Reading

• Best AI tools for productivity
• ChatGPT alternatives compared
• How to use AI for work
• AI meeting notes tools