Evernote V11 adds OpenAI search features at $130 annual price

Evernote has released Version 11, its first major update since being acquired by Italian company Bending Spoons in 2023, introducing AI-powered search and transcription features developed with OpenAI. The update focuses on helping users better organize and find information within their existing notes rather than generating new content, positioning the service as a “second brain” for personal knowledge management.

What you should know: Evernote’s AI assistant emphasizes search and organization over content generation, taking a different approach than many AI-powered writing tools.

• The AI assistant uses conversational chat to help users find relevant notes through natural language queries, combining Evernote’s search capabilities with OpenAI’s technology.
• Users can ask follow-up questions to extract specific details like confirmation numbers or travel information from their stored notes.
• The assistant can also summarize notes and compile them into new documents, though demonstrations showed some limitations in generating varied content.

Key upgrades: Version 11 introduces semantic search and enhanced transcription capabilities that make the service more competitive with other AI note-taking tools.

• Semantic search allows users to find relevant notes without using exact keywords, improving the overall search experience.
• AI Transcribe now automatically adds formatting like boldface headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to transcriptions, addressing a previous weakness.
• Transcription remains limited to one-hour recordings processed in the cloud, with some accuracy issues noted during demonstrations.

The pricing reality: Evernote maintains its premium pricing structure despite competitive pressure from free alternatives.

• Personal plans cost $129.99 annually ($10.83/month) for 10GB monthly uploads, while Professional plans run $169.99 yearly ($14.16/month) with 20GB and Adobe Acrobat Standard.
• The free tier remains severely limited to one notebook with 50 notes since late 2023.
• Product lead Federico Simionato says pricing will remain constant for V11 but hints at potential changes to better differentiate the two paid tiers.

What they’re saying: Evernote’s leadership emphasizes a user-driven development approach rather than chasing AI trends.

• “We haven’t been as focused on text generation,” Simionato explains. “We tried to follow a bottom-up approach where we just asked people and we built what people needed rather than trying to develop something and see if it sticks.”
• “Customer retention on Evernote has never been higher,” he adds. “It’s a very healthy business now.”
• Regarding Bending Spoons’ acquisition strategy: “We’re not trying to capture, like, hundreds of millions of free users. We are very happy to serve a few million customers.”

The bigger picture: Bending Spoons has stabilized Evernote after years of neglect and is pursuing a focused acquisition strategy in the productivity software space.

• The Italian company has acquired multiple services including WeTransfer, Meetup, and Streamyard since purchasing Evernote.
• Simionato acknowledges initial user skepticism about the acquisition but says the company has focused on rebuilding trust through consistent improvements.