Google enhances functionality of note-taking AI NotebookLM

Google introduced its note-taking app, NotebookLM, last year, catering to researchers, students, and individuals seeking to organize collected information. The app now allows users to upload Google Slides and web URLs as sources in addition to Google Docs, PDFs, and text files. The updated Notebook Guide can create study guides, FAQs, or briefings from sources within NotebookLM, with the ability to include up to 50 sources per project with a limit of 500,000 words per source. Previously, users were limited to five sources.

Users also have the option to ask questions regarding charts, images, and diagrams uploaded to the platform, as NotebookLM runs on Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, the latest language model behind the paid version of the Gemini chatbot. Raiza Martin, a senior product manager at Google Labs, emphasized during a briefing that NotebookLM operates within a closed system and will not conduct web searches beyond analyzing user-uploaded content. The app draws responses only from the user’s corpus of information inputted into the platform.

Journalists were given an opportunity to test out the new features of NotebookLM, such as the Notebook Guide, which provides summarized information in formats like FAQs and study guides. While the Notebook Guide was not available for testing, journalists were able to add new data sources, generate online citations, and have Gemini 1.5 Pro interpret charts. Despite encountering issues with web URL feeds in demos, where links failed to appear in the feed list after being pasted, journalists were able to effectively utilize the app for research purposes.

Google showcased various ways in which NotebookLM has been utilized, including author Walter Isaacson’s use of the platform to analyze Marie Curie’s diaries for an upcoming book. Nonprofits have also employed NotebookLM to identify community needs and organize data for grant proposals. Martin highlighted that while NotebookLM caters primarily to researchers, students, and writers, it has found popularity among other demographics, citing an example of a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master utilizing the app for campaign preparation.

Currently available in over 200 countries and territories and supporting more than 100 languages, NotebookLM is positioned as a versatile tool for organizing and analyzing information across different fields and applications. With its expanded capabilities and user-friendly interface, NotebookLM continues to serve as a valuable resource for individuals seeking to streamline their research and data organization processes.

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/6/24172422/google-notebooklm-ai-gemini-pro-chatbot