- What Notion AI is meant to do for you
- Three ways to start using Notion AI
- Drafting a page with Notion AI from an empty line
- Editing your own writing with Notion AI
- Jobs Notion says its AI can handle
- Checking Notion AI output before you share it
- Who can use Notion AI and what it needs
- If Notion AI isn't working the way you expect
- Frequently asked questions
To use Notion AI, open the Notion agent from the sidebar, select text and choose Edit with AI, or press the space key on an empty line and type a prompt. @-mention pages or people for context. Always check the draft before sharing it.
I like AI tools best when they sit inside the place where I already work, because there's no copying and pasting between tabs. Notion has done that with its built-in assistant, which can draft, tidy and summarise right on the page where your notes, proposals and client projects already live.
Notion changes its menus and names quite often, so I've stuck to what Notion's own help says right now. Where the exact wording may differ in your workspace, I'll say so rather than guess.
What Notion AI is meant to do for you
Notion describes its AI as a connected assistant that helps you write, edit, summarise and find answers. It draws on context from your page, your workspace, connected apps and the web, which is the main difference from a blank chatbot window.
One safeguard worth knowing about: Notion says its AI won't generate content or answer based on resources you don't have access to. So a teammate asking a question can't see more than their own permissions allow.
Three ways to start using Notion AI
Notion's guide points to three places to begin, and each suits a different job.
- The Notion agent, from the sidebar or the bottom corner. Open it to ask questions, search across Notion and connected tools, or run a multi-step task.
- Highlighted text. Select a passage and choose Edit with AI to revise it, for example fixing grammar, shortening it or changing the tone.
- An empty line. Press the space key on a blank line and type a prompt, and the agent drafts new text straight onto the page.
If you can't see one of these, your version or workspace may name things differently. Menus vary, so look for an AI or agent button near the page and check Notion's help centre.
Drafting a page with Notion AI from an empty line
This is the quickest way to feel what it does. Open a blank page, put your cursor on an empty line and press the space key. Then type what you need in plain English.
Notion says you can @-mention pages, people and dates in the prompt to give the agent context. For a small business owner, that might mean pointing it at a meeting note and asking for a follow-up email draft, or at a project page and asking for a short status summary.
A good prompt is specific about who it's for and what the result should look like. Compare 'write something about our launch' with 'draft three short paragraphs announcing our launch to existing clients, friendly tone, ending with the next step'. The second gives the agent something to work with.
Editing your own writing with Notion AI
Highlight text and choose Edit with AI. Notion lists fixing grammar, shortening the text and changing the tone as examples. It's useful when you've written a rough paragraph and want it sounding more professional without rewriting it by hand.
I'd always read the result against your original. AI edits can drop a detail you cared about or smooth away your personality, and your clients hire you, not a template. Keep what sounds like you and discard the rest.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Jobs Notion says its AI can handle
Notion's guide gives a list of tasks. Each one comes with a small-business job:
| What Notion lists | How you might use it |
|---|---|
| Drafting paragraphs or polished text from bullet points | Turn rough call notes into a client recap |
| Pulling out key takeaways, bullet summaries or tables | Condense a long research page into the three things you need |
| Finding patterns, themes or repeated requests in large amounts of text | Scan customer feedback for what people keep asking |
| Adjusting tone | Make a blunt internal note suitable for a customer |
| Translating between languages | Draft a first version for a client who prefers another language |
| Suggesting synonyms and defining words | Vary wording in a page that repeats itself |
Checking Notion AI output before you share it
Treat everything the assistant writes as a first draft. Check names, dates and claims against your own records, especially on anything a client will see. It's quick, and it's the difference between a tool that helps and one that quietly embarrasses you.
It's also sensible to keep sensitive material out of prompts unless you've read Notion's security and privacy information. Notion says that by default it and its AI providers don't use customer data to train models, but your own policies and your clients' expectations still apply. If you're curious how AI fits into a wider routine, my piece on using AI tools to boost personal productivity covers what's worked for me and what hasn't.
Who can use Notion AI and what it needs
Notion's guide page doesn't state which plan or add-on you need, and Notion refers readers to its help centre for plan details. Because that can change, I won't name one here. If the AI options aren't showing, check with whoever owns your workspace, or Notion's help, before assuming you've done something wrong.
If you're weighing up where to keep your notes and projects in the first place, my guide to Notion alternatives for notes, docs and projects is a useful comparison.
If Notion AI isn't working the way you expect
- Try the other starting points: the agent, Edit with AI on highlighted text and the space key on an empty line.
- Make the prompt more specific about audience, length and tone.
- @-mention the page or person you want it to use for context.
- Check you have access to the pages you're asking about, since Notion says it won't respond based on content you can't open.
- Update the app or reload the browser tab, then try again.
- If the option is missing altogether, contact Notion through its help centre.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start using Notion AI?
Open the Notion agent from the sidebar or bottom corner, select text and choose Edit with AI, or press the space key on an empty line and type a prompt. Menus vary by version.
What can Notion AI do?
Notion lists drafting from bullet points, pulling out takeaways or tables, finding themes in large amounts of text, changing tone, translating and suggesting synonyms.
Can Notion AI see pages I don't have access to?
Notion says its AI won't generate content or respond based on resources a user doesn't have access to.
Does Notion use my content to train its AI?
Notion states that by default it and its AI providers don't use customer data to train models. Read its security and privacy page for the detail that applies to you.
Do I need a particular plan to use Notion AI?
Notion's guide doesn't say, and points to its help centre for plan details. Check with your workspace owner or Notion's help.
