In the last two years, Google has launched one AI tool after the other. Some made news while some just got lost in the AI race. One tool by Google that has steadily improved and made its way into our workflows is NotebookLM. It is Google’s generative AI take on traditional notebooks that can take text, images, audio, and even videos and help you gain insights from them. Everyday uses of NotebookLM go much beyond text summarization, FAQ, or podcast, or guide generation to something that can truly simplify our complex tasks. In this blog, we will explore all about the latest features of NotebookLM and explore some unique uses of NotebookLM that you probably didn’t know before.
Table of contents
What is NotebookLM?
NotebookLM is a closed-source, proprietary AI tool developed and launched by Google in 2023. It was previously just an AI note-taking app that has now transformed into an AI research assistant powered by the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro multimodal LLM. It can interact with multiple sources of information at once. All its responses are grounded in the information sources that you provide, thus, making its responses much more reliable compared to other AI chatbots.
Essentially, you can think of NotebookLM as a RAG-based AI assistant for your information sources. These sources can be PDFs, YouTube videos, documents, websites, audio files, websites, and even PPTs. All you have to do is either upload, drag-n-drop, or simply copy-paste the source that you wish to work with, and you can then use it however you want to.
It is available both on desktop and mobile phones; infact recently it ranked as the #2 productivity app in the App Store. If Similar Web is to be believed, the craze of NotebookLM is on a high and only increasingly and rightfully so!
Key Features of NotebookLM
Some of the key features of NotebookLM are:
- It can generate instant insights for tasks like: creating a study guide, summaries a document, creating timelines, generating summaries, etc.
- It can generate audio podcasts around your topic so you can listen to it as you do your other tasks. In fact you can also customize the length of the podcast to short (~ 5 min) or long (~20 min) or let it be at its default length (~10 min). You can also prompt the podcast to focus on a certain topic.
- It allows you to interact with the audio podcast by joining it and getting answers to your queries in the discussion.
- It makes it possible to work with over 50 + sources which can be a mix of YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, slides, PPTs, and more. It can easily deal with resource-intensive tasks and provide information quickly.
- It also provides you with useful prompts based on your sources to get you started.
- It can search for relevant resources which can be videos, research papers, and other PDFs based on the resources that you upload on NotebookLM.
- It will soon be able to provide small video summaries from your PDFs, photos, and more.
7 NotebookLM Uses You Didn’t Know
Now that we have covered all the features of NotebookLM in the last section, let’s explore 5 cool tasks we can do with NotebookLM.
1. Prepare for an Interview
NotebookLM generates a podcast consisting of two people discussing the topic based on their selected sources. Now, using NotebookLM’s “interactive mode,” you can also join that discussion and ask questions that you want answers for, and also gain insights from the LLM experts through the conversation. This can be very helpful for preparing for an interview, an important meeting, or even a viva.
Suppose you want to prepare for the interview for the role of “Senior Data Scientist”, you can submit your resume, the requirements for the role, and books or documents that you want to revise. The audio podcast will consist of a meaningful conversation focusing on key points where you will be able to join the conversation of experts and ask the questions that you want to prepare for and hear their answers.
Also Read: How to Prepare for a Job Interview with ChatGPT?
2. Extract Actions out of Meeting Notes
Add all your meeting notes, transcriptions, and PPTs, and ask NotebookLM to extract meaningful insights and action items and share them with the attendees, set up deadlines. This can be a useful hack to stay on top of all the discussion points and streamline the entire workflow.
Suppose you had a quarterly meeting where key points regarding the roles and responsibilities of each team and team members were discussed. Rather than racking your brain regarding the points that were discussed, you can use NotebookLM to extract those key points and then use NotebookLM to list down detailed actions using suitable prompts.
Check out other note-taking options:
3. Get your Research Done
NotebookLM has a new “discover” feature that can help you find resources relevant to your added sources. For this, all you have to do is click on the “discover” feature. Then you can describe the topic that you want to explore, or just click on “I’m feeling curious”. This can be a quick way to research any topic that you are working on and then extract key information from it.
For example you want to supplement your research or maybe you need a point from where you can start your research then you can use NotebookLM. It will not require any additional prompts or unnecessary copy-pasting. You would find suitable content from the “discover section” which you can export directly to your “notebook”. Then depending on your task you can quickly summarize it, add notes, or make it into a study guide.
Also Read: OpenAI vs Google: Who Does Deep Research Better?
4. Structure your Content
Information overload can be taxing. Sometimes all we have are resources and yet no ideas on how to explain it simply. In NotebookLM you can add those resources and simply generate a mindmap for it. The mindmap will break down your content and structure it in a way that is simple to digest every aspect of your content.
For example, if you wish to understand a concept, just add the link to that blog or upload a PDF or the link to any video, and within seconds, NotebookLM will create a mindmap for your content. This mindmap makes it super easy to get an idea of the entire scope of the content in just a few seconds.
5. Compare and Compile Information
You can make your shopping, learning, or even investment decisions using NotebookLM. Just add the resources that you wish to compare and it will break down the details of all your choices and present the information in key points helping you to process the information easily.
For example, you wish to invest your money in buying real estate. You can add brochures regarding all possible choices in NotebookLM and let it break down the complex jargon into key points. Such points will help you track the nuances regarding the prices, dimensions, and amenities that each property has to offer. A simple, laid-out comparison can make the decision-making process easier for you.
6. Research on the Go
NotebookLM is now available on the phone making it super easy to access it. Like on the desktop; it allows you to work with multiple sources and generate summaries and audio podcasts based on it.
For example, you have to prepare for a meeting or a viva- all you have to do is add all your sources in your NotebookLM app on your phone and you can use its summary to revise all your points. Infact you can also hear the audio podcast on the go to stay on top of all the discussions.
7. Create Social Media Content
NotebookLM is powered by multimodal LLM. it can both – read and generate multimodal content. Infact yery soon NotebookLM is going to add a feature that will allow you to convert your information sources like PDFs, PPTs, or Documents into short video summaries – all with just a click of a button.
For example, if you wish to convert a script into an Instagram or TikTok reel or even a YouTube video, now all you have to do is upload the document or pdf consisting of the information and NotebookLM will make the video ready for you.
These are only a few of the many possible tasks that you can do with NotebookLM. It can help you create content from content, like converting YouTube videos into LinkedIn or Twitter posts, or vice versa. It can analyze customer feedback, provide you with key insights on customer behavior, and generate reports from researched material etc.
Conclusion
NotebookLM uses are limitless, but these were the best ones according to me. You can say, it is like a one-stop tool. It can help you manage your content in a way that it appears less formidable. Unlike other Chatbots that struggle with excessive information, this RAG-like tool makes it super simple to manage multiple sources. It is quick and efficient with handling all the queries and the cherry on top is its audio overview feature. You can not only hear your information in a way that is more relevant but also get to be part of that discussion around a given topic. It can read through images, process video, and audio files, and deliver a solid end-to-end guide for your content.
How are you using NotebookLM? Let me know in the comment section below.
Anu Madan is an expert in instructional design, content writing, and B2B marketing, with a talent for transforming complex ideas into impactful narratives. With her focus on Generative AI, she crafts insightful, innovative content that educates, inspires, and drives meaningful engagement.
