The note-taking app Goodnotes, which has historically focused on users in the classroom, is launching new features designed for professionals. These additions include a new collaborative whiteboard tool, the ability to create documents, and an AI assistant to help users summarize and create content.
The Goodnotes AI assistant works with various input methods, including handwriting, typing, sketches, and voice. The company states that this assistant can summarize meetings, create visuals like charts and diagrams, proofread text, and design templates for documents and note-taking. This technology is partly powered by an acquisition made last year of a South Korean startup that specialized in meeting and video summaries.
Alongside the AI features, the company is introducing a whiteboard feature that allows multiple users to collaborate on a blank canvas using text and diagrams. Goodnotes is also adding a document creation tool that supports text, images, GIFs, and tables. This move aligns with a broader trend, as other productivity platforms are also encouraging users to create documents within their apps to provide more context for their own AI assistants.
The founder of Goodnotes, Steven Chan, explained that while the app still has a large student user base, the goal is to expand the product’s usefulness to everyone, especially professionals. He noted that text documents are essential in office environments, and whiteboards are ideal for collaborative work. The company aims to become a well-rounded note-taking app for every scenario and every device.
Goodnotes is also introducing two new subscription plans, replacing its previous numbering system. The Essentials plan costs $11.99 per year and provides access to new file formats and AI features for Q&A and math. The Pro plan costs $35.99 per year and includes integration with Google Calendar and OneDrive, private link sharing and collaboration, a desktop AI bot for meeting transcription, and AI-powered content suggestions. The company noted that even the Pro plan has a limit on AI usage, but users can purchase a separate AI pass for $10 per month for unlimited credits. A one-time purchase option for Apple device users remains available for $35.99, though it does not include cloud sync or cross-platform support.
Goodnotes began as an iPad app in 2011 and has since expanded to support iOS, Android, and Windows. The startup reports that it now has more than 25 million monthly active users, an increase from the 21 million users it had in 2023.