I threw my messy notes at Mem, and it turned them into something I'd actually use

At a glance:

• Mem's AI can turn a wall of text into a structured note with headings, bullet points, and comparison tables.
• The app offers a one-click "clean up" tool that previews changes before applying them.
• Free tier limited to 25 notes/month; paid plan costs $12/month.

From chaos to clarity in one click

I've lost count of how many times I've created notes and kept putting off opening them because they were so messy. They weren't formatted, and I couldn't tell which was a heading and which was copy. That's when I decided to give one of those AI note-taking apps a try and see what it could do. I went with Mem, and what it did with my notes was more than I expected.

I threw a wall of text at Mem just to see what would happen. It came back with sections, bold terms, and a comparison table. I wanted to create a note about what dogs can and can't eat. So I asked Gemini to put something together. When I pasted it into Mem, I ended up with a wall of text. Then I saw a broom icon with sparkles around it, and when I hovered over it, it said, "Clean up notes in a single click." Mem added things such as headings, bullet points, and a preview of what it added and removed. The app also added a comparison table about which foods were safe and which ones weren't.

In the preview, I could see the suggested fixes without removing what I had. My notes were in blue, and Mem's suggestions were in red. If there was a suggestion I didn't agree with, I could click Refine to adjust the suggested fixes. Even then, it didn't fix anything until it showed me one more preview with the latest changes. That's when I could click Accept to make them permanent.

Voice notes that clean themselves

I didn't feel like typing, so I just told Mem what to write. I could see the note take shape and catch anything I missed. After a long day of typing, my fingers can get cramped. So, when I need to add something to a note, I use the voice recording feature to get all my thoughts out in a single brain-dump. Mem shows me what I've added, making it easier to review, since I can see if I missed anything.

Mem treats each phrase as a new line, but the recording doesn't pause when I stop talking. I can see how much time I'm spending creating the recording, but it won't stop until I click Done. After that, I can see how Mem asks me to edit my notes with the new information and shows me a preview of what it added and what it'll remove. If I'm happy with the changes, I can click Done.

Chat that knows your notes

I asked Chat to check my notes, and it caught what I missed. It stopped me from adding information that was already in my notes. I wasn't too sure if I had added a section on what human foods can be used as treats for dogs. To make sure, without reading the entire note again, I asked Mem's chat if that section was in my notes. After searching for a few seconds, it told me that I already had a section on that.

The chat showed the name of the section, Safe & Healthy "Human Food" Treats. It showed me the information with formatting, emojis, and why those foods make great treats. That made it easier to skim through the information and find the part of the note I wanted. It also included a small note at the end about the 10% rule, which recommends that treats make up no more than that amount of my dog's daily calories.

The limits that hold it back

I haven't hit the limit yet, but 25 notes a month isn't much. $12 a month is steep when my other note apps are free. I'm not too fond of the 25 notes a month you can create on the free tier. I haven't reached the limit just yet, but I know I'll get there eventually. I don't want another subscription to pay for. I have other apps I can use for free to paste my notes, such as Obsidian and Google Keep. They won't clean up my notes like Mem, but at least they're free.

I'll only run into the limit if I start treating Mem like a storage app. I don't need to keep every note, just the ones I need to clean up. I don't keep my notes for very long. I've only kept them a few weeks. After a while, I ended up clearing my notes and getting the space I needed. I'm not going to worry about the 25 note limit, I'll erase the ones I don't need anymore. Mem has already cleaned them up for me, so I can copy them and paste them elsewhere.

Final verdict

My notes are finally readable, and that's all I needed. I already have my go-to note-taking app, but I wanted to give Mem a try. I wasn't disappointed by what it could do, but I wasn't too happy with its limits. I'm still getting things done with the free version, and that's all that matters at the moment. I already have a plan set up for when I reach the limit, and it doesn't include paying the monthly subscription.