Xmind AI offers a radically expanded toolset [REVIEW]

Xmind AI has made some giant strides forward in its integration of its namesake technology into its features. Generating complete mind maps from text inputs. Intelligently parsing documents and web pages into mind maps. AI generated task lists. An AI-powered explainer tool. And much more.

What I wasn’t prepared for was how easy it would be to use, the level of attention given to creating practical workflows around it and the quality of the AI output.

In this review, we’ll take a closer look at its expanded AI toolset, with an eye for what adds the greatest value to the average user and what may still need some improvement.

Getting started with Xmind AI

The opening screen of Xmind AI contains access to the usual array of getting started resources – recent mind maps, shared maps, a “create map” button (for those times you don’t want to use AI to start the mind mapping process), a button for creating and managing teams and a prominent “Create with AI” button.

That leads you to a “generate mind map with AI” dialog box, which contains 3 tabs: text, link and file.

• The first option, “text,” enables you to enter text to briefly describe the topic of your mind map, up to 360 characters. That’s enough for a short paragraph of 3 sentences, but not enough to input a really detailed prompt. That’s OK. For the average user, it’s adequate.
• The second tab, “link,” lets you copy and paste a URL so the AI can parse and mind map the contents of a web page. It also contains a text input box where you can give the AI tool a bit more context. This helps it generate a better mind map. Nice!
• The final tab, “file,” enable you to upload a file that you’d like the AI agent to parse into a mind map.

Centralizing all these tools into one place makes a lot of sense from a usability standpoint. It makes XMind AI’s artificial intelligence toolset easy and intuitive to use.

First, I tried out the text tool with the prompt, “Give me a list of effective account-based marketing tactics.” Xmind AI quickly generated a detailed mind map with 10 first-level topics and subtopics extending 2 levels deeper – surprisingly detailed.

I selected this prompt because it represents a marketing strategy we’re going to be starting to use at my full-time job as a content strategist for a contract manufacturer. I know a little bit about ABM, but the mind map that Xmind AI generated contained some surprisingly useful tactics!

Next, I selected a lengthy but well-structured web page from my employer’s website that’s focused on an industrial manufacturing process called CNC machining. Within about 30 seconds, Xmind generated a nicely formatted and detailed mind map that perfectly captured its content in an attractive mind map. Nicely done!

The only thing I’d love for the AI to do is embed a link to the source web page. Of course, it’s easy enough to add that manually to the mind map. A minor complaint.

Finally, I tried the generate mind map from file tool. It’s dominated by a large box entitled “File.” It contains icons for Word docs, Excel files, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, PowerPoint presentations and more. I picked a report on best practices for online writing that’s 76 pages long. Xmind AI actually parsed the entire document, but didn’t structure it quite the way I had in mind.

For example, under the “22 laws of digital writing” topic, it placed the first law in that topic, and then created a new level of sub-topics for the other 21 laws in the form of a very tall, right-facing, mind map.

Not only that, it did an odd job of grouping the laws of digital writing, as you can see from the screenshot below. Ideally, only the laws should have appeared at this level of the map, with details of each rule placed as child topics. Perhaps this happened because the document summarization tool is still undergoing beta testing. I hope the developers get the bugs worked out, because this is one of the most valuable, time-saving uses of AI in my opinion.

Grow your ideas with AI

In addition to generating entire mind maps with AI, Xmind AI enables you to call on it to expand any topic of your map. You can do this via a star-shaped AI button in the application’s toolbar or via a right-click command.

It gives you two options: “On demand” or “auto.” There doesn’t seem to be a help file with Xmind AI, so I had to experiment with them to figure out what they do:

• “On demand” displays a text dialog box where you can give the AI agent some direction or context to help it focus its output.
• “Auto” just starts adding topics to your map without any user input.

I used the “auto” setting to build out one of the first-level topics in my ABM marketing map. The subtopics it added were relevant and helpful. I like the fact that “on demand” gives you the option to give the AI some input on what you’re looking for. Nice!

XMind AI also gives you the option to use AI to reorganize your map’s topics. Once again, there are sub-options to either do it automatically or “on demand,” which gives you the opportunity to give the AI agent some input on HOW they should be reorganized.

Xmind AI’s brainstorming hub

Another tool in Xmind AI’s extensive AI toolbox is something called the “brainstorming hub.” The dialog box for this tool consists of a text box where you can input a list of ideas you’ve already come up with. XMind then gives you five options to focus its creative output:

• Direct
• Association
• Analogy
• Synthesis
• Inquiry

Hovering over each of these options displays a tooltip that explains what each option does.

I entered the prompt, “Provide me with ideas for improved team collaboration” and selected “inquiry” as the AI option. It uses the 5W’s and H (who, what, when, where, why and how) to help you explore deeper layers of your challenge.

Xmind AI didn’t immediately create a mind map of the AI output, which is what I would have expected. Instead, it displayed a set of 6 relevant questions, each contained within a large box. According to the developer, the next step in using the Brainstorming Hub is to share this page with others on your team. You can also use it for solo brainstorming. They can enter ideas into each of these boxes. In essence, the questions become categories within which you and your team can capture your collective ideas.

Once you’ve completed this brainstorming process, you can then generate a mind map from it. One minor complaint here:  I couldn’t figure out how to add MY ideas, at least not at first. I couldn’t add ideas directly to a box. But by playing around, I figured out that if I highlighted a question box and used the Direct option in the AI brainstorming box, I could then add my own ideas to it, one at a time. It didn’t seem possible to select any of the other AI options to have it automatically add ideas to these question boxes.

Apparently, this feature is still in beta testing, so it’s fair to assume that Xmind is still working the bugs out of it. But I like the way they’ve created a workflow around the brainstorming process, complete with the ability to focus on specific types of ideas, team brainstorming and then gathering everyone’s ideas into a mind map. I just wish the user interfae provided a bit more guidance – that the input box from step one of this workflow is also used to add ideas during step two.

AI-generated task lists

In addition to the other AI tools we’ve already reviewed, Xmind AI contains a tool called Copilot. This appears to be a leftover from a previous version of Xmind AI called Xmind Copilot (read my review of it here: https://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/xmind-copilot-review/). Its dialog box looks similar to the others, except with a few new options. Chief among those are the ability to automatically generate to-do lists by inputting your ideas into a text-based dialog box. Xmind AI then generates a categorized list of tasks that you can use as a starting point for your project.

AI Explain helps you explore ideas

As the Xmind AI website, explains, you can use AI explain to “highlight any text or topic, and the AI will provide detailed insights. This feature is perfect for research, analysis, or exploring new ideas.”

To try it out, I selected one first-level topic of my ABM marketing mind map – “account-based nurturing.” I accessed the AI Explain tool using the application’s context-sensitive right-click menu. Xmind AI immediately popped up a definition of it in a separate window overlaid on the mind map. It then gave me the options to copy it or add it to that topic as a note. That’s a very intelligent workflow! You want to know what a term means, and you may want to store it for future reference. A topic note is a perfect place for that.

Pricing

You can evaluate Xmind.ai for yourself for free. This version offers 10 AI credits for trial use. If you like what you see, Xmind.ai premium will cost you US$15 a month, a bargain for all it offers. It includes 500 credits for AI queries. Finally, the Teamwork plan includes 800 credits, advanced team management controls and centralized billing and user administration. Its cost is US$18 per seat per month. Learn more about Xmind.ai’s pricing plans here.

Summary

Xmind’s AI initiative has come a long way. I’m impressed by the thought its developers have given to creating workflows that make sense, giving users input to help shape the AI’s output. As a result, it delivers above average output. At times, I wish the application gave a bit more guidance on what to do – in brainstorming mode, for example.

Each of the tools I tried in Xmind AI delivered surprisingly good AI-generated output that I could use as a starting point for my own thinking. Its refreshing to see that a mind mapping tool developer has designed a toolset that doesn’t just add topics to a mind map, but includes intelligent workflows that employ it to deliver greater value to users.

A great example is the brainstorming mode, which first displays the AI output in a set of boxes. You and your collaborators can brainstorm ideas about each of them. Once that process is complete, only THEN do you convert all of your ideas into a mind map. Smart!

The document summarization tool could be really valuable, once it completes beta testing. AI explain is also quite interesting. I love the way the application gives you the choice of adding the explanation to the selected topic as a note.

Fore more details about this multifaceted mind mapping tool and to try it out for free, visit the Xmind AI website.

In conclusion, I’m very impressed with Xmind AI and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

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