Google’s NotebookLM permits you to experiment with an AI chat system targeted on sources you choose. The software leverages Google Gemini, a extremely succesful AI system, not solely to generate chat responses primarily based in your sources but additionally that can assist you arrange and discover the content material inside your sources.
For instance, you could add a number of strains to a pocket book, then use NotebookLM to generate a custom-made examine information primarily based on a selected collection of these notes.
In September 2024, NotebookLM added an choice to create an audio overview, which builds a podcast-style dialog drawn out of your sources. This mixture of AI instruments, together with chat and notes-related options, makes NotebookLM one of the efficient instruments for exploring concepts present in a targeted set of sources.
Customers of NotebookLM should:
- Be at the very least 18 years outdated.
- Have a Google account.
- Be in one of many 180 areas the place the Gemini API is obtainable.
NotebookLM is free to make use of, and Google doesn’t use your information to coach NotebookLM. Nonetheless, NotebookLM is experimental and, like most AI providers, might generally present incorrect data. 5 core capabilities of Google’s NotebookLM — as of September 2024 — are lined under. Go to NotebookLM and check in with a Google account to get began.
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How do you utilize Google’s NotebookLM?
Whereas Google emphasizes chat and different AI-powered options of NotebookLM, the flexibility to work with notes alongside sources will also be helpful. It additionally has the flexibility to create an audio overview, offering a special solution to course of your content material.
Add sources
After creating a brand new pocket book and naming it, you could add as much as 50 sources. These sources can embrace varied content material, together with Google Docs, Google Slides, texts, PDFs, and net hyperlinks. Nonetheless, every supply should be not more than 500,000 phrases lengthy. For context, that’s practically the mixed phrase rely of the three “Lord of the Rings” books by J.R.R. Tolkein. Subsequently, file size doubtless is not going to be a priority for many enterprise or faculty makes use of.
Moreover, NotebookLM consists of picture understanding, which implies it could possibly course of and analyze data in photographs included in your sources.
Entry a supply abstract
Choose any supply from the left-side listing, and NotebookLM will show two AI-generated sections — a abstract and key subjects — above the supply content material. The abstract seeks to seize the core ideas of the supply in a number of sentences. In distinction, the important thing subjects may be seen as auto-generated prompts: Choose a key subject from the listing, and NotebookLM begins a brand new chat. For instance, a click on on a key subject of “Collaborative tools” begins a chat with a “Discuss collaborative tools” immediate.
Chat together with your sources
NotebookLM generates chat responses primarily based in your sources, making it an efficient software to interrogate a set of paperwork, slides, and hyperlinks. Ask a query, and the generated response might embrace data out of your sources, with numbered citations within the response that hyperlink on to the associated content material.
Undecided what to ask? Choose any of the advised prompts that show above the immediate field. Need to edit a response for later use? Choose the copy button within the decrease left, then paste the response in any normal textual content subject elsewhere — however please observe that citations are omitted once you copy-and-paste a response on this method. You additionally might save a response to a observe.
Make notes
There are two methods so as to add notes in NotebookLM:
- To make a brand new observe manually, choose the “Add note” icon, after which add your textual content. As soon as saved, you could later choose and edit the title and contents of any manually created observe.
- To avoid wasting any AI generated chat response to a observe, choose the “Save to note” button within the decrease nook of a chat response. Notes created from an AI chat response could also be chosen and seen later, however the system received’t allow you to edit the generated content material within the observe.
Creating and managing notes alongside supply content material provides a functionality that many college students, writers, and researchers would possibly discover useful. Choose the checkbox within the upper-right nook of a number of notes, and NotebookLM shows text-buttons with actions to tackle the notes.
The observe motion buttons can:
- Summarize the chosen notes.
- Counsel associated concepts.
- Create a examine information.
- Create a top level view.
- Mix the chosen notes right into a single observe.
Generate guides — together with audio!
The Pocket book information possibility — situated within the lower-right space of the show — supplies entry to a abstract of all sources, together with choices to generate a number of varieties of paperwork or an audio overview of your sources. The varieties of paperwork that NotebookLM can create are much like the observe actions: FAQ, Examine Information, Desk of Contents, Timeline, and a Briefing Doc. When you choose one in every of these, the system generates a brand new observe that incorporates the kind of content material requested.
Choose the “audio overview” possibility for the system to create a podcast-style dialogue with simulated voices about your content material. The overview might take a while to generate. After requesting it, you’ll be able to shut your browser and proceed with different duties. Even when an audio overview is prepared, it takes a little bit of time to load the generated audio. The generated audio does a formidable job of portraying hosts conversing about your content material.
Audio overview selectively focuses on parts of your content material. Consider it as a small sampler of your sources somewhat than complete protection of each element. For instance, in one in every of my checks involving 4 paperwork and two shows, the generated audio overview ran for greater than 9 minutes. The dialog captured at the very least three main elements of the content material but additionally lined some minor particulars {that a} human editor doubtless would have omitted.
