Goodnotes collaborative docs and AI assitant to cater to professional users

Goodnotes, the notetaking application that initially focused on educational users, is pivoting towards professionals with a host of new features that were announced today. Among the updates is a collaborative whiteboard tool, document creation capabilities, and an innovative AI assistant designed to aid users in summarizing and generating content. This AI assistant is versatile, accommodating various input methods such as handwriting, typing, sketches, and voice commands. It is designed to provide functionalities like summarizing meetings, generating visual aids such as charts and diagrams, proofreading text, and developing templates for both documents and notes. In a strategic move last year, Goodnotes acquired a South Korean startup specialized in meeting and video summaries, leveraging this technology to enhance its new offerings. The introduction of the whiteboard feature allows users to work together on a blank canvas, utilizing text and diagrams for collaborative projects. In addition to these collaborative tools, Goodnotes is rolling out a document creation feature that integrates text, images, GIFs, and tables. This aligns with a broader trend where productivity platforms like Grammarly and Canva are encouraging users to generate documents within their ecosystems, providing more context for their respective AI assistants. "While we maintain a significant student user base, our goal is to broaden our reach to include professionals as well. Text documents are essential in office environments, and a whiteboard facilitates collaboration with various tools. Our vision is to evolve into a comprehensive notetaking application suitable for any scenario and device," stated GoodNotes founder Steven Chen in a conversation with TechCrunch. The launch also introduces two new subscription plans: Goodnotes Essentials and Goodnotes Pro, replacing the previous numbering system. Essentials is priced at $11.99 annually and includes new file formats, AI for Q&A, and mathematical tools. The Pro plan, available for $35.99 per year, features integration with Google Calendar and OneDrive, private link sharing for collaboration, a desktop AI assistant for meeting transcription, and AI-driven content suggestions. Users should note that there are limits on AI usage, even with the Pro plan, though the company offers an AI pass for $10 per month for unlimited access. A one-time purchase option remains available for Apple users at $35.99, but it does not include cloud sync or cross-platform compatibility. Since its inception as an iPad app in 2011, Goodnotes has expanded its compatibility to iOS, Android, and Windows, boasting over 25 million monthly active users, an increase from 21 million in the previous year.