I'm Thomas "Toma." Reuben, Omar and I are back with something new.
When we first launched Echo here last October, our goal was simple: make it feel natural to capture ideas the moment they strike by talking to yourself, not typing into a blank page.
Since then, we've learned something crucial: Capturing your thoughts is just the beginning. The real challenge is developing them.
That’s why today we’re launching Echo Projects, a new way to turn your raw notes into structured outlines you can actually use.
Whether you're working on a blog post, a pitch, a product idea, or just trying to get clear on something… Echo helps you get started with what you already have: your own messy, unfinished thoughts.
Here’s how I use it:
Record thoughts while walking
Have Echo ask me questions to fill in the gaps in my thinking
Discover patterns across my rambling notes
Create an outline I can actually use
The magic is that it's entirely grounded in YOUR words and YOUR thinking — not generic AI content. It saves me about 30 minutes each time I'm working on an article, presentation, or investor memo.
If you've ever stared at a blank page thinking "I know I have the pieces somewhere in my head..." then Echo Projects is for you.
We're a small team building in public, and your feedback means everything to us. We'll be here all day answering questions!
Really excited about this feature! I like that I'm able to chat with Echo to revise the outline that's generated and accept/reject individual revisions. I also like the focus on preserving my voice by simply suggesting what's missing instead of automatically filling something in on its own. Could you share a bit more about how Echo ensures behind the scenes that generated outlines are based only on my notes?
@simlee Yeah that was a key focus for us! Without going into too much detail, we use examples to help the LLM understand that everything in the outline should be sourced from the user's notes and not outside info. However, we're constantly tweaking how everything works to make it as accurate as possible so would love your feedback on how well it works for you!
I like the idea of just going from thought to note and being able to expand upon it to turn into outlines. Does you product allow you to create notes and store them into like a note collection or categorize them / like backend database to store notes to use across devices or do you have to export your ideas into an AI application right away. Would be super useful to keep iterating directly from within the app so user doesn't have to leave your app at all else they might just get stuck using Claude or ChatGPT thereafter. I can see the potential for sure. Good luck on your launch!
@larrystefanjr Hey! Our core product is designed to allow you to create notes and store them into a collection, automatically organizing your notes into topics so you can get value from minimal friction idea capture. You can query your notes with an LLM. We also provide follow up questions to each note as inspiration for you to think further about things. Our goal is to make the product more useful the more notes you put in (kinda the opposite of something like Apple Notes).
Love how Echo is evolving from just capturing thoughts to helping shape them into something useful. Echo Projects feels like the missing link between brainstorming and actual creation, especially for those of us who think better out loud. How does Echo decide which parts of my voice notes to turn into outline points? Can users guide or fine-tune that process?
@shahriarthm So you specify an "idea" for a project (e.g. think of it like a thesis/direction for a written piece), and then we search through your notes for relevant parts to that idea and then help you identify what might be missing. You can then guide or fine-tune the result using the prompting mechanism, or by adding more notes (which will get automatically added to the project when relevant).
Love using echo - it really helps take a lot of my thoughts and make them organized! I blab to it sometimes when my thoughts come. Takes a little getting used to (the concept of talking to yourself, not echo) but once you get over that hump it's very satisfying
@brent_shulman Same! I'm a lifelong pen & paper journaler and it wasn't immediately natural for me to speak my thoughts out loud. But I quickly came to find this my preferred method of capturing ideas. Creativity is unlocked in me when I let myself ramble in sprawling voice notes. Thank you for checking out Echo!
Tthe “ideas → outline” flow feels like having a calm editor sitting beside me. This is somewhat every creative needs in order to brainstorm efficiently.
A few thoughts bubbling up my overthinking mind:
Export hooks: One-click push to Notion or Google Docs would let teams move from outline to draft, without copy-paste friction.
Focus mode: A distraction-free canvas that hides the AI sidebar until I’m ready for feedback could help keep the initial ideation raw.
Version diff: Seeing how the outline evolves over time (AI edits vs. my tweaks) would be gold for retros and content audits.
Finally, I love the stance of “AI as co-pilot, not ghost-writer.” Keep the iterations coming! 🚀
Focus mode: Fun fact -- you can collapse both left and right sidebars (click the left/right icons).
Version diff: Yes, we need to do this.
Thank you for noticing how we're framing the use of AI. We're big believers in the difference between asking AI to do your thinking for you, and using it to enhance your own thinking process.
@tomaofficer Appreciate the heads-up on the collapsible sidebars—just tried it and the focused white canvas vibe is spot-on. 🙌 Pumped that version diff is on the radar as well: seeing AI vs. human edits side-by-side will be a killer feature for Echo, I think. And I'm totally aligned on your AI philosophy: let it nudge our thoughts, never hijack.
@gianmaria_caltagirone Thank you for all the super helpful feedback! We actually have been building out version diff in the backend, though it's not visible to users just yet (hopefully soon). For the export hooks, would you expect that "button" to open a new document with the outline there?
@rabraham As I said to @tomaofficer, it's great to hear that version diff is already brewing under the hood! For export, my ideal flow is a single button that spins up a new Notion or Google Doc, pre-filled with the outline (headings mapped to H1/H2, bullet hierarchy preserved). Bonus points if the doc keeps a backlink to the original Echo project so users can bounce back for iterations. Eager to test it when live! 🚀
I can’t tell you how many “ideas” I have in my Apple Notes. A sentence or two about something that has come to mind, only to never be revisited again. I’m super excited to try this out
@sebastian_lozano We started Echo in part because of our frustration with traditional note-taking tools like Apple Notes. We felt it was wrong for a notebook to lose value as it gained more notes (ideas get lost). As an idea development notebook, Echo grows in value with each note you take. Once you've built up a couple notes, I recommend checking out our /prompts page to see a list of some of the most popular questions others ask their Echo notes: https://www.echonotes.ai/prompts
Excited to try out this feature! I always have so many ideas for side-projects / app improvements that go into my apple notes app and then promptly disappear forever from my memory. I'm hoping that using Echo Projects to turn these quick ideas into something more structured will help me determine which ideas are actually worth pursuing. Would love if it could function as my own personal product manager!
@mongy Helping you determine which ideas are worth pursuing is definitely something we want to help with. After simply helping you to capture thoughts, we see Echo as providing two primary functions: exploring those thoughts and shaping them into writing.
What a great tangible use of AI. I see this being incredibly useful across so many verticals. Actually my immediate thought was how useful this could be for comedians/comedy writers who often have a vague joke idea, but need help refining it into a full story and have lengthy editing processes.
Curious how the Echo team is thinking about capturing insights from collaboration? I'd love to have Echo "listen in" on my whiteboarding sessions (hosted live, or over video chat/phone calls) and then work its magic from there. Right now, I use Granola for this, but it struggles with identifying gaps or summarizing complex discussions. Echo feels like it could really shine in this use case.
@katierovelstad Good question. To the extent that we see Echo as useful for capturing insights from collaboration, it's in capturing YOUR reflections throughout the collaborative process. This is because Echo is designed to capture your thoughts, your ideas. We have users who capture Echo notes after meetings or after meeting someone at a conference. Used in this manner, Echo enhances the notes captured by a Fathom or Granola. Please let us know how you end up using Echo. Thank you for checking us out!
@katierovelstad Interesting idea! We've so far been focused on personal use cases, but you're not the only one to ask for more collaboration focused features - looks like something we have to build!
Been using Echo Projects for a bit now and honestly loving it. The UI is super clean, and it’s made tracking and organizing all my side projects way easier than I expected. I really like how simple it is to switch between different projects without getting overwhelmed. It actually makes me want to stay on top of things. Excited to see how it evolves!
@pawan_kaur This means a lot. As you may know, we're a tiny team. In directly opposite proportion to our size is our ambition to create the best idea development tool, and feedback like this is like fuel on the fire. Thanks for checking us out!
At work, I’m completely structured in my thinking, but in my personal life I find it so taxing to just even stay on top of my thoughts - I love the simple organization by projects so I can just come back to an idea when I’m reading to start adding to it and then I can jump around on different projects easily.
Might be cool if it could auto-detect for any given note, if it relates to an existing project and suggest appending it to that project or topic. That way when you open the app you can just record and it will auto-organize
@dev_patel47 Yes! For any given note, if it relates to an active project, Echo will use to automatically update that project. Thanks for checking us out!
Excited by Echo Projects! I've used Echo as a way to capture fleeting ideas when I am on the go, Projects allows me to also use it to generate outlines and develop the idea further. I like that Echo provides suggestions for what may be missing as that can kickstart new lines of thought. How would Echo determine what to include in the outline? Does the app synthesize and organize only the text in my note or does it also search the web for additional information/similar outlines on the topic of interest?
I really love that it organizes my sometimes unorganized thoughts. Been super helpful capturing thoughts on a recent conversation or experience. Then going back in at a later date and reviewing these ideas that I may have lost track of. Stoked to see where you take this! Cheers
Replies
Echo | Voice Notes
Hey Product Hunt! 👋
I'm Thomas "Toma." Reuben, Omar and I are back with something new.
When we first launched Echo here last October, our goal was simple: make it feel natural to capture ideas the moment they strike by talking to yourself, not typing into a blank page.
Since then, we've learned something crucial: Capturing your thoughts is just the beginning. The real challenge is developing them.
That’s why today we’re launching Echo Projects, a new way to turn your raw notes into structured outlines you can actually use.
Whether you're working on a blog post, a pitch, a product idea, or just trying to get clear on something… Echo helps you get started with what you already have: your own messy, unfinished thoughts.
Here’s how I use it:
Record thoughts while walking
Have Echo ask me questions to fill in the gaps in my thinking
Discover patterns across my rambling notes
Create an outline I can actually use
The magic is that it's entirely grounded in YOUR words and YOUR thinking — not generic AI content. It saves me about 30 minutes each time I'm working on an article, presentation, or investor memo.
If you've ever stared at a blank page thinking "I know I have the pieces somewhere in my head..." then Echo Projects is for you.
We're a small team building in public, and your feedback means everything to us. We'll be here all day answering questions!
Thanks for checking us out 🙏
Echo | Voice Notes
Hey everyone! I'm Reuben Thanks for supporting Echo Projects.
FAQs
How is Echo different from ChatGPT and other AI chatbots?
You don't talk to AI, you talk to yourself
Echo project outputs have missing sections - grounded in your thinking, not AI slop
What makes Echo different from other note-taking apps?
It's not for capturing everything, it's specifically designed for developing ideas
Is Echo just for voice notes?
No
What platforms is Echo available on?
iOS, web, Apple Watch, and Chrome
Is my data private?
Absolutely. Private and secure.
What does Echo cost?
Free for casual use. Upgrade to get serious.
How can I give feedback or get involved?
Comment here, join our discord, or email us directly
Laudspeaker
@rabraham Really excited about the web extension!
Echo Projects feels like having a smart assistant gently organizing my scattered ideas without taking over.
Echo | Voice Notes
@supa_l thank you for the support! Yes, that's exactly the idea. We want Echo to help bring the best out of your ideas, not filling them in for you.
Really excited about this feature! I like that I'm able to chat with Echo to revise the outline that's generated and accept/reject individual revisions. I also like the focus on preserving my voice by simply suggesting what's missing instead of automatically filling something in on its own. Could you share a bit more about how Echo ensures behind the scenes that generated outlines are based only on my notes?
Echo | Voice Notes
@simlee Yeah that was a key focus for us! Without going into too much detail, we use examples to help the LLM understand that everything in the outline should be sourced from the user's notes and not outside info. However, we're constantly tweaking how everything works to make it as accurate as possible so would love your feedback on how well it works for you!
I like the idea of just going from thought to note and being able to expand upon it to turn into outlines. Does you product allow you to create notes and store them into like a note collection or categorize them / like backend database to store notes to use across devices or do you have to export your ideas into an AI application right away. Would be super useful to keep iterating directly from within the app so user doesn't have to leave your app at all else they might just get stuck using Claude or ChatGPT thereafter. I can see the potential for sure. Good luck on your launch!
Echo | Voice Notes
@larrystefanjr Hey! Our core product is designed to allow you to create notes and store them into a collection, automatically organizing your notes into topics so you can get value from minimal friction idea capture. You can query your notes with an LLM. We also provide follow up questions to each note as inspiration for you to think further about things. Our goal is to make the product more useful the more notes you put in (kinda the opposite of something like Apple Notes).
Love how Echo is evolving from just capturing thoughts to helping shape them into something useful. Echo Projects feels like the missing link between brainstorming and actual creation, especially for those of us who think better out loud. How does Echo decide which parts of my voice notes to turn into outline points? Can users guide or fine-tune that process?
Echo | Voice Notes
@shahriarthm So you specify an "idea" for a project (e.g. think of it like a thesis/direction for a written piece), and then we search through your notes for relevant parts to that idea and then help you identify what might be missing. You can then guide or fine-tune the result using the prompting mechanism, or by adding more notes (which will get automatically added to the project when relevant).
Echo | Voice Notes
@whiletruelearn Thank you!
Echo | Voice Notes
@whiletruelearn thank you very much!
Love using echo - it really helps take a lot of my thoughts and make them organized! I blab to it sometimes when my thoughts come. Takes a little getting used to (the concept of talking to yourself, not echo) but once you get over that hump it's very satisfying
Echo | Voice Notes
@brent_shulman Same! I'm a lifelong pen & paper journaler and it wasn't immediately natural for me to speak my thoughts out loud. But I quickly came to find this my preferred method of capturing ideas. Creativity is unlocked in me when I let myself ramble in sprawling voice notes. Thank you for checking out Echo!
Echo | Voice Notes
@brent_shulman Thank you for the support!
Tthe “ideas → outline” flow feels like having a calm editor sitting beside me. This is somewhat every creative needs in order to brainstorm efficiently.
A few thoughts bubbling up my overthinking mind:
Export hooks: One-click push to Notion or Google Docs would let teams move from outline to draft, without copy-paste friction.
Focus mode: A distraction-free canvas that hides the AI sidebar until I’m ready for feedback could help keep the initial ideation raw.
Version diff: Seeing how the outline evolves over time (AI edits vs. my tweaks) would be gold for retros and content audits.
Finally, I love the stance of “AI as co-pilot, not ghost-writer.” Keep the iterations coming! 🚀
Echo | Voice Notes
@gianmaria_caltagirone Excellent feedback!
Export hooks: Yes, great idea.
Focus mode: Fun fact -- you can collapse both left and right sidebars (click the left/right icons).
Version diff: Yes, we need to do this.
Thank you for noticing how we're framing the use of AI. We're big believers in the difference between asking AI to do your thinking for you, and using it to enhance your own thinking process.
@tomaofficer Appreciate the heads-up on the collapsible sidebars—just tried it and the focused white canvas vibe is spot-on. 🙌 Pumped that version diff is on the radar as well: seeing AI vs. human edits side-by-side will be a killer feature for Echo, I think. And I'm totally aligned on your AI philosophy: let it nudge our thoughts, never hijack.
Echo | Voice Notes
@gianmaria_caltagirone Thank you for all the super helpful feedback! We actually have been building out version diff in the backend, though it's not visible to users just yet (hopefully soon). For the export hooks, would you expect that "button" to open a new document with the outline there?
@rabraham As I said to @tomaofficer, it's great to hear that version diff is already brewing under the hood! For export, my ideal flow is a single button that spins up a new Notion or Google Doc, pre-filled with the outline (headings mapped to H1/H2, bullet hierarchy preserved). Bonus points if the doc keeps a backlink to the original Echo project so users can bounce back for iterations. Eager to test it when live! 🚀
I can’t tell you how many “ideas” I have in my Apple Notes. A sentence or two about something that has come to mind, only to never be revisited again. I’m super excited to try this out
Echo | Voice Notes
@sebastian_lozano We started Echo in part because of our frustration with traditional note-taking tools like Apple Notes. We felt it was wrong for a notebook to lose value as it gained more notes (ideas get lost). As an idea development notebook, Echo grows in value with each note you take. Once you've built up a couple notes, I recommend checking out our /prompts page to see a list of some of the most popular questions others ask their Echo notes: https://www.echonotes.ai/prompts
Echo | Voice Notes
@sebastian_lozano Thank you for the support!
Excited to try out this feature! I always have so many ideas for side-projects / app improvements that go into my apple notes app and then promptly disappear forever from my memory. I'm hoping that using Echo Projects to turn these quick ideas into something more structured will help me determine which ideas are actually worth pursuing. Would love if it could function as my own personal product manager!
Echo | Voice Notes
@mongy Helping you determine which ideas are worth pursuing is definitely something we want to help with. After simply helping you to capture thoughts, we see Echo as providing two primary functions: exploring those thoughts and shaping them into writing.
What a great tangible use of AI. I see this being incredibly useful across so many verticals. Actually my immediate thought was how useful this could be for comedians/comedy writers who often have a vague joke idea, but need help refining it into a full story and have lengthy editing processes.
Echo | Voice Notes
@connor_esraelian Funny, you're not the first person to mention writing jokes with Echo. I love this use-case. Thank you for checking us out!
Echo | Voice Notes
@connor_esraelian Definitely! Please send over any jokes you make with Echo's help :)
Curious how the Echo team is thinking about capturing insights from collaboration? I'd love to have Echo "listen in" on my whiteboarding sessions (hosted live, or over video chat/phone calls) and then work its magic from there. Right now, I use Granola for this, but it struggles with identifying gaps or summarizing complex discussions. Echo feels like it could really shine in this use case.
Echo | Voice Notes
@katierovelstad Good question. To the extent that we see Echo as useful for capturing insights from collaboration, it's in capturing YOUR reflections throughout the collaborative process. This is because Echo is designed to capture your thoughts, your ideas. We have users who capture Echo notes after meetings or after meeting someone at a conference. Used in this manner, Echo enhances the notes captured by a Fathom or Granola. Please let us know how you end up using Echo. Thank you for checking us out!
Echo | Voice Notes
@katierovelstad Interesting idea! We've so far been focused on personal use cases, but you're not the only one to ask for more collaboration focused features - looks like something we have to build!
Been using Echo Projects for a bit now and honestly loving it. The UI is super clean, and it’s made tracking and organizing all my side projects way easier than I expected. I really like how simple it is to switch between different projects without getting overwhelmed. It actually makes me want to stay on top of things. Excited to see how it evolves!
Echo | Voice Notes
@pawan_kaur This means a lot. As you may know, we're a tiny team. In directly opposite proportion to our size is our ambition to create the best idea development tool, and feedback like this is like fuel on the fire. Thanks for checking us out!
Echo | Voice Notes
@pawan_kaur Thank you for the support!
At work, I’m completely structured in my thinking, but in my personal life I find it so taxing to just even stay on top of my thoughts - I love the simple organization by projects so I can just come back to an idea when I’m reading to start adding to it and then I can jump around on different projects easily.
Might be cool if it could auto-detect for any given note, if it relates to an existing project and suggest appending it to that project or topic. That way when you open the app you can just record and it will auto-organize
Echo | Voice Notes
@dev_patel47 Yes! For any given note, if it relates to an active project, Echo will use to automatically update that project. Thanks for checking us out!
Echo | Voice Notes
@dev_patel47 It should be doing that actually! Did it not work reliably for you?
Laudspeaker
Love the web extension, having one product for thoughts across platform is a great development
Echo | Voice Notes
@abe_basu Thank you!
Excited by Echo Projects! I've used Echo as a way to capture fleeting ideas when I am on the go, Projects allows me to also use it to generate outlines and develop the idea further. I like that Echo provides suggestions for what may be missing as that can kickstart new lines of thought. How would Echo determine what to include in the outline? Does the app synthesize and organize only the text in my note or does it also search the web for additional information/similar outlines on the topic of interest?
I really love that it organizes my sometimes unorganized thoughts. Been super helpful capturing thoughts on a recent conversation or experience. Then going back in at a later date and reviewing these ideas that I may have lost track of. Stoked to see where you take this! Cheers
I'm so over AI slop. Excited for this one.