Notion · Product sense · Entry · 45 to 60 minutes

Which email problem should Notion solve first

Notion is a workspace app used to write, organize information, and collaborate across docs, projects, and knowledge. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

user empathy
prioritization
product strategy
MVP scoping
metrics

The situation

Notion is exploring a new email product. The founders believe email is still a core internet tool, even for younger users, but people feel overwhelmed because every message looks equally important and inbox workflows have grown cluttered over decades. You are the PM helping decide what the first AI driven experience should be before public launch. Internal debate is split. One camp wants advanced drafting and reply automation, arguing that AI can make writing much faster. Another camp thinks the bigger pain is understanding and organizing the inbox, especially because many people open email mainly to read, prioritize, and find context, not to compose. The team also wants the product to feel familiar enough that people will trust it on day one, while still being opinionated enough to improve behavior. Assume the first release can include only one major AI workflow. Recommend which problem Notion should solve first, who it should solve it for, and how the first version should work.

What to produce

A 1 page product strategy memo, 500 to 700 words.

Your answer must

Name the primary target user segment and the main job they hire email to do.
Compare at least two plausible first bets for AI in email, then choose one and explain why.
Describe the MVP experience clearly enough to understand the first time user flow, what the AI does, and what the user must confirm or control.
Define 3 success metrics and 1 guardrail metric for the first 90 days after launch.
Identify the biggest adoption or trust risk and how you would test or reduce it before broad rollout.

Constraints

The experience must work within a familiar inbox model, not require users to learn a totally new communication system.
The first release can include only one major AI workflow.
The proposal should create value for a broad set of day to day email users, not only expert or power users.
Do not rely on heavy manual setup such as complex rules or a large amount of user training upfront.

Format

Use sections titled User, Problem, Options, Recommendation, MVP, Metrics, and Risks.

How Notion actually played it

Notion Mail's founders explain why they rebuilt email from scratch, noting that 94 percent of Gen Z uses email and that most users on a given day may only want to read. The Q&A covers why existing email falls short and what an AI-organized inbox changes. Useful for PMs studying how to reinvent an entrenched category.

Entrenched categories can still be rebuilt around new context.
Check the actual daily job: reading, not managing.
Use data to challenge the idea that a category is dead.

Built from Email wasn't designed for modern work, so we started from scratch: A Q&A with Notion Mail founders by Notion.