NotebookLM

NotebookLM is Google's AI research notebook, currently presented on its site as Gemini Notebook. You gather sources into a notebook, then ask questions and receive answers grounded in that material with in-line citations. The appeal is the closed loop: answers come from the sources in your notebook, not from whatever the model remembers, and each points back to the passage it used. From the same notebook you can also produce audio and video overviews, mind maps, reports, flashcards, quizzes, infographics, and slide decks. The old NotebookLM address redirects to the current Gemini Notebook site, which is where the product now lives.

Key Features

• Source-grounded chat with in-line citations, so answers can be traced to the documents you added.
• Support for PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, and Google Slides as sources.
• Studio-style outputs, including audio overviews, video overviews, mind maps, reports, infographics, and slide decks.
• Study tools that generate flashcards and quizzes from notebook material.
• Notes you can create and keep alongside your sources.
• Public and featured notebooks for sharing material or browsing what others have published.
• A mobile app and connected apps, plus settings for mode and output language.

Who is it for

• Students who need to work through lecture slides, readings, and recordings before an exam.
• Researchers and analysts who want to compare a set of papers or reports and pull out the main findings.
• Knowledge workers who must turn long documents into briefings, summaries, or presentations.
• Teachers and trainers who build study material and explainers from their own course sources.
• Teams that want a shared notebook of project documents instead of scattered files.

What can you do with NotebookLM

• Upload a stack of PDFs and ask for a summary with citations you can check.
• Turn a long document into an audio overview you can listen to while commuting.
• Map the structure of a topic with a mind map built from your sources.
• Generate a slide deck or report from the same material instead of rewriting it by hand.
• Create flashcards and quizzes to test yourself on the source content.
• Share a notebook publicly or explore featured notebooks created by other people.

How does NotebookLM work

• Sign in with a Google Account that has access to the product.
• Create a notebook and give it a name that matches the project or course.
• Add your own sources, or use the discovery options to find new material, then wait for the notebook to index them.
• Ask questions in the chat; the notebook looks through the sources and answers with citations.
• Generate the output you need, such as an audio overview, mind map, report, or set of flashcards.
• Add notes as you read, and share the notebook when you want others to work from the same material.

Pricing

• A free Standard tier is available with a Google Account and includes 100 notebooks and 50 sources per notebook.
• Higher limits come through Google AI plans (AI Plus, AI Pro, and Ultra) or qualifying work and school accounts.
• Check the official website for current pricing and plan details.

FAQ

Is NotebookLM free?

Yes, there is a free Standard tier for personal Google Accounts. It allows 100 notebooks and up to 50 sources per notebook, with higher limits on paid Google AI plans.

What sources can I add?

The help center lists PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, and Google Slides. You can also discover new sources from inside the notebook.

Are the answers based only on my sources?

The notebook answers from the material you add and includes in-line citations so you can check each claim against the original passage.

What can I generate besides chat answers?

Audio and video overviews, mind maps, reports, flashcards, quizzes, infographics, and slide decks are all generated from the notebook's sources.

Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook?

Yes. Google now presents the product as Gemini Notebook, and the NotebookLM address redirects to that site. The notebook workflow and source-grounded answers are the same.