Google touts new genAI features for its NotebookLM

Google is adding more features to its NotebookLM software — the targeted workspace where users can gather information on specific subjects, understand it, and use generative AI (genAI) to analyze reference documents, brainstorm ideas and generate summaries.

Users can load complex reference documents into Google’s NotebookLM and now generate AI video summaries from documents. Before, users could only create audio or text summaries. The new feature is targeted at those who prefer viewing slideshows or video snippets.

“You can think of these as a visual alternative to Audio Overviews: the AI host creates new visuals to help illustrate points while also pulling in images, diagrams, quotes and numbers from your documents,” Google said in a blog post detailing the new feature.

The initial video summaries will yield narrated slides and only in the English language. Google said it plans to continue adding new forms of video generation beyond slideshows.

NotebookLM, which Google introduced in 2023, also has a new user interface designed to make it easier to generate multiple types of summaries from reference files. Previously, only one summary was allowed.

Google isn’t the only company working to beef up its notebook platform. Microsoft last month added Copilot Notebooks to OneNote, the company’s popular note-taking tool. With Copilot Notebooks, users can “gather content easily, understand complex topics with context, and create smarter content based on the context of your notebook,” Microsoft said in a blog post at the time.

The Copilot Notebook feature is available to users with Copilot licenses.