The game-changer we'd all been waiting for (whether we knew it or not) is finally here: Notion AI will bring you the power of GPT-3, directly into your Notion pages. Having used a third-party plug-in to achieve this up until now (shoutout to Webcopilot!), I already know how transformative this is going to be for daily Notion usage.

So, where to start?

Here's the high view of where we'll go in this post:

1. What is Notion AI?
2. What can you use it for?
3. How do you actually use Notion AI?
4. And where do you go to get access to activate Notion AI in your workspace?

Let's dive in.

(Watch the official intro video from Notion, above)

What is Notion AI?

In Notion's own words, "Leverage the limitless power of AI in any Notion page. Write faster, think bigger, and augment creativity."

That's a little bit too vague for my liking, so let's break down what's really going on.

First thing's first: have you heard about GPT-3?

I'm not going to pretend to be an AI expert, but I've used enough AI writing tools to know what it's capable of and the basics of how it works.

GPT-3 is the third generation of an open-source AI platform called General Pre-trained Transformer 3. This natural language processing platform was created by OpenAI, a non-profit research company devoted to advancing artificial intelligence in a responsible way.

It lets you 'prompt' the model with a phrase, which will then spit out a remarkably sensible response.

For example.

Prompt: "Write a paragraph explaining the basics of marketing a new product."

GPT-3 response: "When marketing a new product, the first step is to ensure that the product is appealing to the target audience. This can be done through market research and surveys. Once the target audience has been determined, the next step is to create a marketing plan. This plan should include objectives, strategies, and tactics. After the marketing plan is in place, the next step is to implement it. This can be done through various channels such as advertising, public relations, and social media. Finally, it is important to monitor the results of the marketing campaign and make changes if necessary."

In Notion's case, they've taken this technology and used it to create an AI assistant that lives inside your Notion pages.

This means that, whenever you're stuck on something or need a little help, you can simply type in a question or prompt and NotionAI will give you a response.

For example:

"How do I create a table?"

"What is the difference between a page and a block?"

"How do I embed a YouTube video?"

The NotionAI team is still working on expanding the capabilities and features of the tool, but this is a huge first step. Not only does it make Notion even more user-friendly and approachable, but it also has the potential to speed up your workflow; like, a lot 👀

How to use Notion AI

1. First of all, activate Notion AI in your workspace Settings > navigate to 'Plans' > enable 'Notion AI' (as of recently, Notion AI is now $10/month as an addon);
2. Head back to any Notion page, and click into or type 'Enter' to create a new empty block;
3. Type the space key on an empty block to bring up the Notion AI blocks, or type '/' and search for the AI prompt blocks;
4. Select the most appropriate AI block for your command;
5. Type your prompt (e.g. 'Create a table of Week dates for 2023');
6. Hit 'Enter' and watch Notion AI do its work;
7. Then, you have the option to 'Insert' or 'Try Again'.

Some ideas for how to use Notion AI

To get an idea of some of the possibilities, here are a few examples:

Rapidly populate tables with well-known data

Lists of information about well-known things (cities, historical facts, etc.) are something that Notion AI is likely to give good and accurate information on (this can't be said for everything!).

You can prompt Notion AI to create simple tables, and populate them with data by giving a prompt like:

"Create a simple table with a list of 25 major European countries and their capital cities".

After the table is created, you can also edit it, fill in empty cells, or even add new columns. Select the full table, then choose 'Ask AI' and try a prompt like:

"Add a column for 'Notable landmarks' in each city."

Use NotionAI as a research tool

If you're working on a project and need to do some research, you can now use NotionAI as your own personal assistant from within the page itself.

Imagine not needing to go on a Google search expedition, but 'asking' for the answers directly from inside your document.

All you have to do is type in a question or topic and NotionAI will provide you with a summary of the most important information.

This is an incredible time-saver, especially if you're doing a lot of research for a project. Not only will NotionAI save you the time of trawling through different sources, but it can also help you get up to speed on a topic quickly.

Write blog and social media posts

If you're struggling to come up with ideas for blog posts or social media content, Notion AI can help.

Simply type in a prompt like "How to use Notion for project management" or "10 Notion tips for productivity" and Notion AI will provide you with a list of ideas that you can use as the basis for your content.

This is an incredible tool for content creators, as it can help you come up with ideas quickly and easily.

How to get access to Notion AI?

1. Sign up for Notion, here;
2. Access your workspace Setting > Plans > enable 'Notion AI' as an addon;
3. Notion gives you a limited number of AI prompts on the free plan--if you want more intensive usage, you'll need to upgrade to the $10/mo AI add-on;
4. Prompt Notion AI using the space key or typing / and searching for AI blocks;
5. Click on blocks in your existing Notion docs and select 'Ask AI' to process and work with information from that block!
   

And with your new Notion AI superpowers, what exactly will you build?

For some ideas on what's possible in Notion, check out our Notion OS systems like Landmark OS to inspire you next creation.