NotebookLM is a game-changer AI tool powered by Gemini for students and researchers. It allows you to add various types of content such as files, text, and URLs to the database. Now ask questions and it will fetch answers directly from the sources you added—perfect for getting accurate insights from your textbooks or research materials.
However, that’s not impressive. What truly got me going was the option to create an AI-generated podcast from the uploaded files and other sources with natural, human-like voices. Yes, two AI voices communicate with one another in a human voice asking questions and answering them like in a talk show.
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What Is Google’s NotebookLM
NotebookLM is an AI chatbot app that uses Google’s latest Gemini 1.5 Pro as its language model. The app is marked as Experimental which means it may be scrapped if it fails to get enough traction. But we feel that won’t happen because it is so cool.
Unlike other AI tools that generate answers from their internal dataset or the internet, NotebookLM lets you upload files add text, and URLs. It will then pull answers directly from your source instead of the internet or its own database. It’s like a note-taking app with an AI. Supported file types include PDFs, documents, images, slides, text files, and markdown files. No need to say you can attach Google Drive files like Docs, Sheets, and Forms too. You can also add links for the model to fetch data from specific web pages or simply paste text as a source.
With the sources added, you can ask questions and generate summaries, FAQs, briefing documents, and more. Additionally, there are two standout features worth highlighting.
First, NotebookLM studies all the sources and provides a timeline view that combines data from all the sources. Second, it can create an AI-generated podcast where two AI voices discuss the information from your uploaded content in a remarkably humane tone and flow. The podcast feature makes it a unique and engaging way to learn by listening to a podcast created from your content.
How to Use Google’s NotebookLM
To take advantage of the NotebookLM, here’s how you can get started and use it:
Visit notebooklm.google.com and log in with your Google account—no special subscription is needed. On the homepage, click the Create button (when getting started) or click on the Plus button to create a new notebook.
Once the notebook is created, upload your sources (images, documents, slides, etc.) or add URLs to use webpages as sources. You can add up to 50 sources in total and each source can contain up to 500,000 words which should be enough for most users.
NotebookLM takes a few minutes to process your uploaded data. Make the most of this time by naming your notebook at the top of the page.
Now, you can ask questions, and NotebookLM will generate an answer from your sources. All answers will contain citations beside each sentence for reference. Click on it to find or verify information in the source files.
Click on Notebook Guide at the bottom right to see suggested questions, shortcuts for creating FAQs, study guides, timelines, and more.
You can save generated answers as notes for later reference, which are available on the notebook’s homepage.
You can also manually create new notes, combine multiple notes, or create study guides or outlines for the selected notes, etc. In each notebook, you can create up to 1,000 notes.
On the Notebook Guide page, below the Audio Overview option on the right side, you get an option to create an AI-generated podcast with two AI voices discussing your content. For example, I uploaded two articles about Apple Intelligence features and it generated a 14-minute podcast. Here are the first 2-mins of that generated podcast.
As you can hear, not only do the voices sound human, but the service also manages to make the podcast engaging with some filter words as humans talk. However, remember that this is not a comprehensive discussion of the entire topic but a short podcast that touches on all the information available in the sources.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of NotebookLM
- NotebookLM isn’t built to perform calculations. It accurately pulls numbers from your sources, just like it handles words and ideas. But if you ask it to do actual math, things might get a bit messy. So, while it’s great for questions like, “What was the Q3 marketing budget?” it might struggle with something like, “What will the Q3 marketing budget be in 2027 if it increases by 25% each year?”
- Citations are also answers. Whenever NotebookLM responds to a question using your sources, it provides the most relevant excerpts as citations. Often, these original quotes are more valuable than an AI-generated summary and are free from errors or hallucinations. You can click on each citation to view it in its original context within the parent source.
- Don’t restrict yourself to text. NotebookLM works with images in Slides and Docs in Google Drive too, so you can ask about visual details in photos, charts, graphs, diagrams, and more. It will also provide images as citations when they hold relevant information.
- You can collaborate with others. Click on the Share button at the top right to share the notebook along with the sources, saved notes, etc. They can be either just a viewer or even an editor.
NotebookLM – Useful or Gimmick Tool?
Overall, NotebookLM is undoubtedly a useful AI tool for anyone looking to make their learning or research smoother and smarter. With its ability to handle diverse content types, generate unique AI podcasts, and provide real-time citations from your sources, the service offers everything you need to enhance your learning experience. Plus, since it’s free, you can give it a try and see how it can supercharge your learning journey.
