NotebookLM by Google is my new favourite AI research assistant. Powered by Google’s Gemini 1.5, NotebookLM does an amazing job summarizing research papers, synthesizing information across difference sources, and generating concise reports.
NotebookLM even offers an audio overview feature which summarizes the content of uploaded sources in the form of audio podcast hosted by two AI agents. This feature offers a fresh and engaging way to absorb complex information, perfect for multitasking or passive learning.
Unlike other AI assistants that rely on web browsing to generate responses, NotebookLM focuses exclusively on your uploaded documents. It provides answers and insights based on the content of the documents you upload to it. NotebookLM also supports over 35 languages.
As of writing these lines, NotebookLM supports the following sources: PDFs, Google Docs, Google Slides, Web URLs, copy-pasted text, audio files (e.g., MP3, WAV, etc), and Youtube URLs of public videos.
Another important feature that caught my attention is the fact that NotebookLM, as per their disclaimer, do no use users data including your uploads to train their language model which is a huge step towards protecting users privacy.
“While we work hard to make NotebookLM accurate and helpful”, Google stated, “it may sometimes provide inaccurate information, which doesn’t represent Google’s views. Always consult with a qualified professional for medical, legal, or financial advice.”
The purpose of this post is to introduce to NotebookLM, talk about its main features, and share with you tips on how to use it to enhance your research.
NotebokkLM Features
Notebook offers a wide variety of powerful features to help enhance you research. But before we talk about these features, let me show you how it works first:
To start using NotebookLM, head over to notebooklm.google and login using your Google account. Next, upload a source material like a document, a YouTube video, Google Docs, Google Slides, or a web URL. You can upload multiple sources at once.
You can easily organize your materials into notebooks. In NotebookLM, notebooks function as your primary way to organize projects, much like folders organize files on a computer. Each notebook is entirely independent, meaning NotebookLM cannot access or combine information across multiple notebooks simultaneously.
Now that you have uploaded your source material, let’s talk about the different features you can use to interact with your material.
1. Auto-generated Summaries
When you first upload a source, NotebookLM automatically generates a summary of the document. It also provides relevant topics and questions to ask about the uploaded source. You do have the choice to generate a specific summary focusing, for instance, on specific areas in the uploaded source. Simply type in your prompt in chat box and clearly identify the key points or insights you want included and NotebookLM will do the rest.
An important thing to keep in mind when prompting for specific summaries is to ask specific questions about the information you are searching. “If you have multiple sources selected, try including source names in your query to help NotebookLM narrow down the search. For example, instead of “Summarize this source,” try “Summarize key findings about dog training from the source document titled Dog Training 101.”
2. FAQ
When you click on the ‘FAQ’ button, NotebookLM will instantly generate a list of frequently asked questions based on the content of the uploaded source. FAQs can help you quickly identify important themes, clarify complex ideas, and pinpoint areas that may need further exploration or review. This feature is particularly useful for studying or summarizing dense material.
3. Study Guide
NotebookLM allows you to generate study guides based on the content of the uploaded source. For instance, the study guide NotebookLM generated for me when I uploaded a PDF on blended learning contains the following information: a list of short questions with their answer key, essay questions, and glossary of key terms. The Study guide feature is a great way to help you focus on key concepts and retain critical information effectively.
4. Briefing Doc
The Briefing Doc in NotebookLM is a powerful tool that helps capture the essential information from the uploaded source and provided them in an easily digestible format. Depending on the source you upload, for a research paper, for instance, the briefing doc contains a full citation of the source, a concise overview of the main themes, a section featuring main ideas from the source document, and a section summarizing the key takeaways. Briefing doc is particularly helpful for quickly grasping the essence of a document and preparing for discussions, presentations, or deeper study.
5. Table of Contents
When you click on the Table of Content button, NotebookLM generates a structured overview of the document, allowing you to navigate quickly to specific sections. It’s especially helpful for lengthy sources, as it saves time and helps you focus on the parts most relevant to your needs.
6. Timeline
The Timeline feature is only works with documents that include sequences of events or dates. Timeline organizes these events into a clear, chronological order, making it easy for you to track progressions, trends, or historical developments within the document. This is particularly useful for studying history, project plans, or any content where timing is crucial.
7. Audio Overview
Audio Overviews is a feature in NotebookLM which generates audio discussions between two AI hosts who summarize key ideas and topics from your uploaded source. This is a great way to absorb information passively, especially when multitasking or on the go.
The conversational format makes complex ideas more engaging and easier to understand, offering a fresh perspective on the content. As of right now, audio overviews are only available in English.
Related: Elicit AI – A Powerful Research Assistant
Ways to Use NotebookLM
NotebookLM is actually a versatile AI assistant that can benefit a wide range of users, but I find it especially valuable for researchers and here are some ways to use it to enhance your research:
1. Literature reviews
When doing a lit review especially during the initial phase, you will need to go through endless piles of research papers to determine the relevant papers to read and use to build your review. This process can be unnecessarily long and exhausting, NotebookLM can be of great help here. It can quickly generate summaries and help you determine relevance in second.
2. Citations
NotebookLM can also help you extract key quotes and citations from research papers you upload. You can then use these quotes in your draft to backup your ideas and arguments.However, always double check the accuracy of the quotes generated and ensure proper page referencing to maintain credibility.
3. Annotated Bibliographies
NotebookLM is one of the few AI tools that can help you generate quick annotated bibliographies. Use the Briefing Doc feature to extract concise overviews, key themes, and takeaways from your sources. This allows you to create well-organized annotations that summarize the relevance and contribution of each source to your research.
4. Extract Insights from YouTube Videos
YouTube is the second largest search engine online and i an invaluable resource for researchers. NotebookLM will help you summarize the content of the video and will also enable you to interact with this content, ask questions about it, and many more. This applies to other forms of content such as Webpages, audio files, PDFs, Google Docs, and Google Slides. With a single click, NotebookLM can extract key insights and themes from these resources and present them in an easily digestible format.
5. Explain Difficult Concepts
Another way to use NotebookLM in your research is to get it to help you with difficult concepts you come across while reading the literature. Simply upload the paper or papers containing the concepts, and in the chat box ask NotebookLM to explain them in detail. You can further enhance your understanding of the concepts by asking NotebookLM to generate study guides around them.
6. Audio Overviews
Audio Overview is a unique feature in NotebookLM which I did not find anywhere else. As a researcher, you can use it to generate audio overviews of research papers that you can listen to while, for instance, jogging or driving. This feature transforms passive moments into productive research time and offers a convenient way to stay engaged with your work.
How Much Does NotebookLM cost?
As of writing these lines, Google states that NotebookLM is still in the early testing phase and therefore is provided for free at this time.
Watch this video I created explaining how to use NotebookLM in your research:
Final thoughts
So, if you are a researcher you should definitely try out NotebookLM. I will save you a lot of time and effort and will provide you with powerful AI features that are completely free. You can use NotebookLM to generate quick summaries of research papers, create audio notes from uploaded materials, design study guides, extract insights and key themes from content on YouTube and the web and many more. Give NotebookLM a try and share with us your feedback on our social media profiles.
