Notion

What Notion is and what kind of tool it provides

Notion is a workspace from Notion Labs combining documents, notes, wikis, records and project coordination. Its model builds pages from blocks and organises information through databases with different views. It is proprietary software delivered as a service, with free and subscription plans. Containing tables and procedures does not make it a SQL database or a specialised document-control system.

The practical distinction is continuity between structure and explanation. A task can have a date, status and owner while opening as a page with background information. A catalogue can display visual cards while retaining filterable properties. That flexibility helps when work combines knowledge and tracking, provided people understand what each item represents.

Reference documentation: Notion — 100 Million of You · Notion — Writing and editing basics · Notion — Plan options.

Origins, development and growth

Ivan Zhao and Simon Last started Notion in 2013. Akshay Kothari was an early investor and joined the team in 2018; his joining date should not be confused with the start of development. After technical difficulties and a rebuilding period in Kyoto, the first public version appeared in 2016. Notion 2.0 in 2018 consolidated documents, tables, boards and calendars.

• 2020: the block limit for free personal use was removed. Financing that year included a $50 million round, followed by $275 million in 2021. These are historical funding amounts, not revenue or a current valuation.
• 2021–2022: acquisitions of Automate.io and Cron strengthened service integration and the future calendar offering respectively.
• 2023–2024: Notion AI became generally available in February 2023; Notion Calendar arrived in January 2024 and Skiff joined in February.
• 2025: Notion 3.0 introduced an agent able to work within the workspace, expanding AI beyond writing responses.
• 2026: Custom Agents and Developer Platform arrived, followed by version 3.8 in October with context, property permissions and history improvements.

In September 2024 the company announced it had passed 100 million users. This reported adoption figure is neither daily active users nor evidence of effectiveness in a particular organisation. The evolution shows a move from organising information to allowing people and agents to act on it.

Reference documentation: Notion — 100 Million of You · Akshay Kothari — First-person interview · Nira — Notion development history · Notion — Personal free plan, May 2020 · Forbes — Notion company profile, April 2024 · Notion — Automate.io acquisition · Notion — Cron acquisition · Notion — Skiff acquisition · Notion — Notion AI release · Notion — Calendar release · Notion — 3.0 Agents · Notion — Custom Agents release · Notion — Developer Platform · Notion — 3.8 Context for agents.

Documentation and records in one workspace

Notion combines content pages with databases whose items can also open as pages. A record can therefore have structured properties, such as an owner or review date, alongside a detailed explanation. Distinguish information that needs filtering and sorting from information that needs reading to understand a decision.

The structure can support a working library, but it needs a clear hierarchy. A procedure page, meeting note and unresolved question do not have the same documentary status. Identifying content type, owner and status prevents a search result from presenting a draft as a current instruction. Easy editing makes maintenance rules more important rather than unnecessary. Decide what counts as the authoritative source when several pages discuss the same subject.

Reference documentation: Notion Help — Intro to databases.

Blocks, properties, relations and views

A block is a piece of content, such as text, an image, list, file or embedded item. Pages can nest content and combine explanations with references. A property instead describes a database item in a structured way. A review date written only in a paragraph is not equivalent to a reliable date property for sorting outstanding reviews.

Relations connect items across databases. A rollup aggregates information from related records, such as counting resources linked to an activity. Copying the activity title into every resource is unnecessary: maintaining the relation reduces discrepancies, although selecting the correct related record still matters.

Consider a library of activities and materials. “Working at height” may link to three guides, but that does not establish that they cover three distinct hazards or that all remain current. The count reflects the defined structure. Before treating an aggregation as an indicator, explain what is counted, excluded and represented by each record.

Views provide different ways of working with shared information. Views organised by owner and date should not create two copies of a task. This distinction maintains a single reference while allowing teams different perspectives.

Reference documentation: Notion — Writing and editing basics · Notion — Relations and rollups.

Wikis, templates and publishing knowledge

Wikis add knowledge-oriented organisation, page owners and verification in supported plans. Verification can expire. The badge represents a maintenance decision within the workspace; it does not by itself establish technical correctness, legal validation or implementation of an instruction.

Marketplace provides free and paid templates. A template supplies an initial structure, rather than workplace-specific knowledge. Remove irrelevant fields, define statuses and check formulas before adoption. Keeping a template because it contains many components can increase recordkeeping without improving decisions.

Notion Sites publishes pages to the web. Subpages can also be published by default, so review the entire hierarchy. A safety library’s public materials and internal notes need distinct destinations and permissions. Publishing a guide, sharing a link and enabling search discovery are separate operations.

A useful landing page explains what readers will find, who it is for and where the current reference sits. It need not reproduce the whole database or expose the internal editorial process.

Reference documentation: Notion — Wikis and verified pages · Notion — Template Marketplace · Notion — Sites publishing.

Page, record and property permissions

Assess access in layers: workspace, teamspace, page and database rules. Page-level access can restrict records; property permissions, available in Business and Enterprise, control columns and values. A view filter hiding rows does not replace these permissions.

People with full database access retain full access to its properties, so testing only as an administrator can mislead. A column rule also does not grant access to an otherwise inaccessible page. Broader access obtained through another route still matters.

A library can be tested with three roles: reader, editor and publishing owner. Readers find current materials, editors propose changes, and publishing owners review content and update its status. Check permissions using those identities and direct links rather than only the usual view.

Including personal information also requires checking titles, related properties and attachments. Hiding a sensitive column achieves little if the same information appears in the title or an accessible screenshot.

Reference documentation: Notion Help — Sharing and permissions · Notion — 3.0 Agents · Notion — Database property access.

Forms, automation and the developer platform

Forms connect questions to database properties, collecting requests without requiring respondents to edit the structure. Automations react to triggers and perform actions, with conditions and chaining limitations that need checking. Receiving a response and accepting its content are different states.

Developer Platform, announced in May 2026, added Workers for running code, external-data synchronisation and agent connections. Workers were introduced in beta for Business and Enterprise. This differs from configuring a visual rule: someone must maintain code, source access and error handling.

A simple OSH workflow might collect requests to update a guide. Inputs identify the affected resource, reason and evidence; the output is a request with an identifier and owner. If the same report arrives twice, link it to the existing case instead of counting two improvements. Automation can flag an overdue review, but should not approve content merely because its deadline passed.

Test a complete request, one missing required information and a duplicate. This establishes whether the workflow preserves information and handles exceptions, beyond merely producing a notification.

Reference documentation: Notion — Forms · Notion — Database automations · Notion — Developer Platform.

Notion AI, Custom Agents and connected context

Notion AI evolved from summarising, writing and translation assistance into agents acting on pages and databases. Custom Agents, introduced in February 2026, support recurring work. Version 3.8 expanded context through MCP and shared skills. Not every task needs an agent: a stable rule is often easier to verify when a condition and action suffice.

Workspace-based answers depend on accessible content and permissions. The provider states that customer data is not used by default to train its or its providers’ models. Retention varies by plan and model; “not training” does not mean “not processing” or “not retaining”. External agents have separate controls.

Consumption matters too: agents use credits and budgets. A recurring automation needs frequency, scope and ownership as well as instructions. In a safety library, an agent might identify overdue pages and prepare a change summary, while approval rests on sources and the defined review criteria.

A persuasive answer may combine withdrawn and current guidance if the information is poorly maintained. Useful verification asks for resource identifier, version, date and the supporting passage. Where a source lacks the answer, the correct output identifies the gap and routes the question to its owner.

Reference documentation: Notion — Notion AI release · Notion — 3.0 Agents · Notion — Custom Agents release · Notion — 3.8 Context for agents · Notion — AI privacy and security · Notion — Custom Agent credits.

Offline work, synchronisation and export

Desktop and mobile applications support offline work with downloaded pages; browsers do not provide the same mode. Availability is prepared per device. Downloading a page does not automatically download every subpage, and a database initially includes the first 50 rows of its first view. Check that the required material is actually available.

A visit to a site with unreliable connectivity requires a rehearsal: open the guide, appendices and necessary records with connectivity disabled. Elements relying on online services may not work. Test important content rather than only the successfully cached landing page.

Changes synchronise when connectivity returns. Two edits to a non-text property can conflict, so review the result, particularly for statuses and dates. “Saved on the device” and “visible to the rest of the team” are different stages.

Notion can export content in formats such as HTML, Markdown, CSV and PDF depending on the object. Export helps preserve or migrate information, but should not be assumed to recreate permissions, relations, automations and the interactive experience identically. Open a sample export and check what remains usable.

Reference documentation: Notion — Offline pages reference · Notion — Offline workflow guide · Notion — Export content.

Notion Calendar and the evolution of Notion Mail

Notion Calendar originated in Cron and is a calendar application connected to the workspace. It connects calendars and displays dated database items. Reviewed documentation supports Google, iCloud and Microsoft Outlook, while mobile Outlook support is still listed as forthcoming. A task deadline and a meeting invitation remain objects with different purposes.

For material reviews, the calendar can display deadlines alongside meetings. Distinguish planned dates, confirmed appointments and completed reviews: moving a calendar item does not establish that its content was reviewed.

Notion Mail launched in April 2025 as a Gmail-connected client. Notion Mail: closed on 22 September 2026. Its trajectory illustrates why product status needs checking instead of assuming that launch documentation describes the current catalogue.

Reference documentation: Notion — Cron acquisition · Notion — Calendar release · Notion — Calendar account and providers · Notion — Mail launch, historical · Engadget — Notion Mail shutdown.

Editions and sustainable adoption

The offering distinguishes Free, Plus, Business and Enterprise, although plan availability may vary by workspace. Beyond per-member pricing, consider guests, history, permissions, integrations and AI consumption. Business and Enterprise include Standard and Select credit mechanisms; describing all AI usage as unlimited would be misleading.

Organisational cost also includes designing and maintaining the structure. Before moving a whole library, a pilot can use ten materials, two owners and three real queries. Measure whether users find the correct version, reviews have owners and withdrawal makes the replacement clear.

An excessively customised workspace may depend on one person. Document fields, relations and rules with short examples, then check that another member can maintain them. The right template makes work clear; an attractive board without owners or closure criteria does not solve tracking.

Reference documentation: Notion — Plan options · Notion — Custom Agent credits · Notion — Template Marketplace.

Uses centred on preventive knowledge

• Resource libraries: classify approved materials by activity, language and audience, linking to their reference version rather than scattering copies.
• Meeting preparation: collect background, questions and agreements with links to the register where actions are carried out, distinguishing discussion from decision.
• Learning from experience: document what was observed, which explanation was investigated and which changes were agreed, without turning an anecdote into a general rule.

These are Sabentis proposals for organising knowledge. Publishing text on an internal Notion page does not make it an approved procedure. The organisation must decide who reviews content and where the applicable version is retained.

Worked example: a library of current instructions

Hypothetical example. A team wants site managers to find the correct awareness material without reusing withdrawn versions.

1. Create a resource database with title, activity, language, owner, status and planned review date. Explain the intended use on each page and link to the authorised source.
2. Define separate draft, under-review, approved and withdrawn states. Establish who can change each state and what verification supports approval.
3. Prepare a current-resource view for readers and a pending-review view for editors. Check actual permissions rather than relying on the displayed view.
4. Test searches using workers’ vocabulary, not only internal document names. Check that similar pages are distinguishable by version and purpose.
5. Simulate replacing a material: update the reference, identify places linking to it and check that the withdrawn resource is not presented as current.

Acceptance means finding the right version, understanding its purpose and knowing where to raise a question. The library must preserve the distinction between useful historical information and content that can be applied today. Include an explicit route for reporting an obsolete or contradictory page.

Verifiable result: the pilot holds 12 materials: eight current, two under review and two withdrawn. The reader view shows eight current items while the editorial inventory retains all 12. Two current items are replaced with new versions and their links checked from three pages. There are still eight current resources despite additional historical versions. A reader-role test must find the new version and recognise the old link’s status. Deleting withdrawn rows merely to tidy the board loses the replacement history; retain the record, status and replacement relation instead.

Reference documentation: Notion Help — Intro to databases · Notion Help — Sharing and permissions.

Permissions and knowledge currency

Notion provides viewing, commenting and editing access levels, with specific options for database content. Its documentation states that the broadest access granted to a person takes precedence. Restricting one page is insufficient if that person receives wider access through another route. Review members, guests, spaces and public links.

A library can become obsolete while remaining easy to search. Assign review owners and avoid duplicating text already maintained in a controlled source. Before adding accounts of events, images or personal information, decide what detail is necessary and who may read it. Do not present a collaborative note as a completed investigation or as proof that everyone has read an instruction. Keep unresolved interpretations clearly labelled.

Reference documentation: Notion Help — Sharing and permissions.

When to choose Notion

Notion fits a need to combine explanations, context and lightweight records in a workspace the team will maintain. It may be insufficient on its own where the process requires document controls, signatures, retention or access separation that have not been verified in the subscribed configuration.

Compare Airtable when relationships between records are central. Miro can complement a visual discussion before a conclusion is written. Decide which tool holds the final reference so two apparently official versions are not created.

Frequently asked questions about Notion in OSH

Is a Notion database only a table?

No. Its items can be content pages as well as having properties. This combines structured records with explanations and related documents.

Does a filtered view prevent access to other records?

Do not assume so. Access depends on configured permissions and the plan, not simply on the view’s filter.

How can an old answer be kept from becoming an instruction?

Identify status, owner, context and review date, and link to the current version. Withdrawing an instruction also requires reviewing links that still present it as valid.

Reference documentation: Notion Help — Intro to databases · Notion Help — Sharing and permissions.