AI-based services for all: notebooks that deliver more

In the previous installments of the rather chaotic “AI-based services for all” series, we gave you a set of tools enabling you to use Excel like a pro, several image generators great for social media, and a few shopping assistants. This part of the series presents something more personal: notebooks. This accessory has evolved from blocks of paper on which you jot down something important to complex software that can do much more than store stuff for future reference. Artificial intelligence, of course, enhances the experience of using online notebook services even further.

What are the common AI-driven features in notebooks apps?

Summarization. Large language models, which currently are the real constructs behind the label of AI, are very good at summarizing content uploaded to a notebook.

Multi-type input. Good notebook services can read your handwriting, OCR snapped sheets of paper, and transcribe speech, turning everything into legible text.

Advanced search. Heavy users of notebooks develop some information storing patterns that help them navigate through countless folders. AI-powered search simplifies finding the needed nuggets of data even for those who don’t care about such things as categories and tags.

Advanced organization. This one is related to advanced search, but instead of fetching something for you, the feature introduces order to the collection of notes, typically giving you several options of the basis this order should rest upon.

Content generation. Today, AI is commonly used to generate content, be it visual, animated, or textual. Decent notebook apps with artificial intelligence on board can do such tricks, too, taking inputs from some earlier uploaded content or your immediate prompts.

Predictive assistance. Learning from all interactions with you, over time, notebooks start suggesting reminders, routine purchases, formats for your texts, words and phrases, etc.

Text tools. Spellchecking has been around for decades, and it doesn’t need an AI; tone adjustment does, and notebooks can do this job for you.

AI-powered notebook apps

1. Evernote

Evernote homepage. Snapped at evernote.com

Evernote has been around since 2008, which shows that the concept of online notebooks, provided they evolve and stay relevant, is as valid as ever. Currently, Evernote allows creating, organizing, and managing all sorts of content, from text through images to audio and web pages.

In addition, Evernote offers the following:

Integrations with popular tools like Google Calendar, Gmail, and Slack.
Multiplatform availability (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS).
Web clipper to save web pages to notebooks (minus the ads and any other unneeded content).
Document scanning for neat images of business cards, receipts, or handwritten notes (all can be OCRed, too).
Audio notes, voice memos saved and transcribed.

There is a free plan with certain limitations.

2. Notion

Part of the Notion homepage. Snapped at notion.com

Notion is a productivity platform that starts with note-taking and extends to project management with full-fledged collaboration capabilities. It may feel like overkill if you just need a notebook accessible across all your devices, but you never know when those currently-unneeded features will come in handy. Plus, the intuitive interface leaning on the drag-and-drop mechanics is addictively comfortable.

Some features of Notion (apart from those described above):

Personalized page layouts (yes, drag and drop) for unforgettable notes.
AI-driven translation into and from multiple languages.
Knowledge base creation features that allow building and sharing a truly useful resource.
Forms and charts for those cases when visualization works much better than words.
Seamless integrations with Slack, Google Workspace, Trello, and more.

The Free plan is good for starters, and it can actually be enough for many use cases.

3. Google’s NotebookLM

NotebookLM by Google

Google's NotebookLM is positioned as a research assistant, with everything that entails. Note-taking comes first, of course, but the tool was designed to be capable of much more. It was initially launched in 2023 as Project Tailwind; currently, NotebookLM leans heavily on Gemini Pro large language model, and delivers all the common features listed above and more.

Here are some noteworthy features of Google’s NotebookLM.

AI chatbot mode, where you can ask questions, get answers, jot them down, organize, interpret, and follow-up, developing ideas and whole concepts.
Audio Overviews, a new feature that can turn texts into podcast shows with hosts and guests.
AI-driven document structuring, for those cases when you can’t decide between a list and a table.
Suggested actions, eerily similar to mindreading.
Noteboard space, a more or less free-flow note-taking (bits of texts, audio files, images, web page excerpts, AI conversations, etc.).

NotebookLM is ideal for students, writers, researchers, and anyone else in need of an organized approach to information management. It is available to Google users residing in one of the 180+ regions where the Gemini API is supported.

4. Saner.AI

Saner.AI homepage. Snapped at saner.ai

Saner.AI is a lesser-known personal note-taking and knowledge management tool for a reason: it takes pride in being designed specifically for those with ADHD. This focus means more attention to workflows, streamlined and truly intuitive interfaces, and faster interactions. The developers do not rule out other cohorts of users, completing the target audience with entrepreneurs, managers, content creators, researchers and so on.

Key features of Saner.AI:

Integration with several AIs, including ChatGPT-4, Claude3, Gemini Pro, and more.
Intelligent search and note suggestions, which greatly simplify finding information and taking notes when you only have a rather vague idea in your mind.
Focus writing mode, with all distractions banished from the screen.
Built-in browser, which means you don’t have to switch between windows when researching a topic, staying in the zone all the time.
Smart notes organization that takes on the task of ordering the motley notes you may have created and saved.

There is a free plan that works all right, and paid plans are inexpensive and give you much more.

5. Microsoft OneNote

OneNote use case. Snapped at onenote.net

This tool probably needs little introduction. It has been around since 2003, part of the Microsoft Office suite that some neglected and others literally fell in love with. The longevity of OneNote is another confirmation of the actual utility of notebook apps: not often, but Microsoft does kill products that underdeliver.

In its current iteration, OneNote offers the following unique-ish features.

Automatic recording, syncing, transcribing, summarizing of meetings.
Handwritten notes brush-up, making them more polished and legible.
Seamless integration with Microsoft 365 Apps (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams).
Voice notes and web clipping, letting you quickly add ideas and findings.
Real-time collaboration streamlining brainstorming and other similar team activities.

If you do have Microsoft 365 but never gave OneNote a chance, maybe it is time to do that, since you definitely are looking for a notebook app if you’re reading this line.