AI that reads only your notebook
Write down the goal, answer a few questions, put the sources in, and get a result document instead of the last message in a chat.
Ihor is 34. He has made coffee in other people’s cafés for eight years and wants a roastery of his own. Over the winter he collected six chats with AI, a spreadsheet of roaster prices, photos of a unit in an industrial estate and a voice message from a green-bean supplier he knows. Every chat started from scratch: “I want to open a roastery, here are my conditions…”
By March he realised he had asked the same question three times and got three different answers. Not because the AI was bad. Because no single chat had seen the whole picture.
Explain once what you want
In Kartoteq Ihor made a notebook and described the goal in one sentence. Then AI asked and he answered, sometimes with “I don’t know”. It took ten minutes and never had to be repeated: every later question was asked inside that context.
The best part was not the answers. It was that the question “what do I actually know” now had a place to look.
An argument with yourself, by the rules
Wholesale or retail: Ihor had been having that argument with his wife over dinner for three weeks. In the notebook he split it into two branches and gave each its own numbers. It turned out they were not arguing about a sales model at all, but about how many hours a day he was willing to work alone.
Once the argument had criteria, it was over in an evening.
A document you do not have to rebuild
In April Ihor showed the bank a four-page business plan. Every figure in it led back to the price list, the spreadsheet or the conversation it came from. The manager asked about the bean price, and Ihor opened the source right there in the meeting.
How it works, step by step
Write the goal in one sentenceAnswer the questions, skip what you do not knowPut the sources into the sectionsDiscuss in one place, keep the result in anotherRun two branches side by sideCollect the chosen pieces into one documentInvite the team and keep an eye on the pointsWrite the goal in one sentence
Create a notebook and switch AI on in it. The first thing it asks is what you want to end up with. Ihor, who wants to open a small coffee roastery, writes: “Work out whether roasting pays off in a town of 200,000 people.”
A notebook without a goal works like an ordinary collection and spends no points. The goal can be changed later: the sections and sources stay.
Answer the questions, skip what you do not know
AI asks a few questions: who the result is for, what is already known, what the constraints are, when the answer is needed. Ihor knows his budget and the premises but not the demand. He writes “I don’t know”, and that becomes an open question of the notebook.
Then AI proposes sections: equipment, green beans, sales, financial model. Rename them, delete them or add your own. It does not go deeper than two levels, so it does not breed folders.
Put the sources into the sections
Into “Equipment” Ihor drops a PDF with roaster prices and a screenshot from an AI chat where he discussed capacity. Into “Sales” goes a spreadsheet of the town’s coffee shops and a link to an article about wholesale prices. Each source gets a line: where it came from and why it matters.
AI reads only what is in this notebook and available to you. If a file could not be parsed, you see that, instead of guessing from a strange answer. One source may be needed by two sections: link to it, do not copy it.
Discuss in one place, keep the result in another
Every section has a discussion and a result document. In the discussion Ihor asks: “Which roaster is enough for 300 kg a month?” AI answers from the section’s sources and marks where a fact comes from the price list and where it is making an assumption.
When the answer is good enough, AI proposes an edit to the result: a paragraph with the roaster choice and a link to the price list. Ihor accepts or rejects it. The document changes only that way. A new conversation does not quietly rewrite what was agreed.
Run two branches side by side
In the “Sales” section Ihor is not sure: sell wholesale to coffee shops, or retail through a website. He creates two branches. Each has its own sources, its own discussion and its own draft result.
The branches are compared by shared criteria: starting investment, time to first revenue, workload for one person. The good parts of each branch he marks with the “Keep” button.
Collect the chosen pieces into one document
AI gathers everything marked “Keep” into a consolidated document. Next to each paragraph is a link to the branch and version it came from. If two branches contradict each other, say on the price per kilogram, AI shows that, and you decide.
An accepted consolidated document does not rewrite itself when a branch changes. Instead you see a mark: the source has been updated, worth reviewing. Old versions remain.
Invite the team and keep an eye on the points
Notebook access applies to AI as well: it will not show a person a source that is closed to them. Ihor opened only the notes of the “Financial model” section to his accountant, and AI answers the accountant from those notes alone.
AI work is paid for with the plan’s points. Before an expensive operation, say a comparison of branches with forty sources, you see an estimate and confirm it. Storing files and manual work spend no points. When the points run out, AI stops and the notes stay.
Where to go next
A country house: from plot photos to a brief for the architectA note-taking system you can actually maintain
Start with one notebook.
The Personal plan is free: notes, files and search. AI and shared notebooks can be added later, when a project needs them.
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