Notion AI Review: The Overpriced Middleman That's Actually Worth It (Sometimes)
A deep dive into Notion AI.
Let's be real: Most AI writing assistants are glorified autocomplete tools wrapped in marketing hype. You're paying $10-30/month for something that ChatGPT can do for free. But here's the controversial take: Notion AI might be the exception if you're already living in Notion.
I've tested every major AI writing tool on the market. I've wasted hours trying to get Jasper to write something that doesn't sound like corporate nonsense. I've watched Copy.ai generate the same generic headlines 15 times. And I've paid for Grammarly Premium only to realize it's just checking my grammar, not making me a better writer.
Here's what actually matters: Notion AI isn't a standalone product. It's a feature. A $10/month add-on to your existing Notion plan. And that's both its biggest weakness and its killer advantage.
The Meat: Where Notion AI Actually Matters
1. Context Is Everything (And Notion Has It)
Other AI tools work in isolation. You paste some text, get a response, copy-paste it somewhere else. Notion AI works inside your workspace. It can summarize meeting notes that are already in your database. It can rewrite project briefs that reference other pages. It can generate action items from your existing documentation.
I almost lost a client because I used ChatGPT to summarize our kickoff meeting, and it completely missed the budget constraints mentioned in the third paragraph. With Notion AI, I just clicked the page and said "summarize this," and it captured everything because it was already in context.
2. The Integration Trap
Here's my specific rant: The "Ask AI" button in Notion is positioned right where you'd expect a regular text formatting option. I've accidentally clicked it dozens of times when trying to bold text. It opens this modal that blocks your entire workspace, and there's no keyboard shortcut to close it. You have to move your mouse and click the X. In 2024. For a tool that's supposed to save time, this UI decision is trash.
💡 Pro Tip: Don't use Notion AI for long-form content. Use it for what it's good at: summarizing existing notes, generating quick action items, or rewriting paragraphs. For actual blog posts or marketing copy, use a dedicated tool or ChatGPT.
3. The Pricing Reality Check
Notion AI costs $10/month on top of whatever you're already paying for Notion. If you're on the free plan, that's $10/month. If you're on the Plus plan ($8/user/month), that's $18/month total. Compare that to ChatGPT Plus at $20/month or Jasper at $49/month.
The brutal truth: If you're not already using Notion heavily, this is a rip-off. But if you live in Notion like I do (my entire business runs on it), that $10/month starts to make sense because it's eliminating context-switching.
The Data: How It Actually Compares
| Feature | Notion AI | ChatGPT Plus | Jasper | Grammarly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/month | $10 (add-on) | $20 | $49 | $12 |
| Best For | Notion power users | General AI tasks | Marketing teams | Non-native English writers |
| Context Awareness | Excellent (your entire workspace) | Good (conversation history) | Poor (isolated documents) | None |
| Writing Quality | Average | Excellent | Good (for marketing) | Good (for grammar) |
| Integration Depth | Perfect (it's built-in) | Copy-paste | Browser extension | Everywhere |
The Verdict
Buy Notion AI if: You're already paying for Notion Plus or higher, you spend 5+ hours/week in Notion, and you need AI assistance specifically for summarizing, organizing, or lightly editing existing content. The context integration is a legitimate game-changer for Notion power users.
Avoid Notion AI if: You're on Notion's free plan, you only use Notion occasionally, or you need AI primarily for creating original content. In those cases, ChatGPT Plus gives you 10x more capability for double the price of just the AI add-on.
The bottom line: Notion AI isn't the best AI writing tool. It's not even close. But it might be the most useful AI tool for a specific type of person: someone who's already all-in on the Notion ecosystem.
