The battle between ChatGPT and Gemini may have captured most of our attention over the last year, but we can’t forget about one of the most innovative releases in the generative AI sector, and one that more people should know about. We are talking about NotebookLM, an ideal AI for students and workers that helps us with all types of tasks.
NotebookLM is the evolution of note apps; In fact, it is more of an app to help research and study topics, with features that many projects should copy (if they can). NotebookLM’s AI is capable of processing texts in all types of formats and creating summaries and presentations of the included data; accepts everything from PDF files to web pages or Google Docs documents. It is even capable of analyzing YouTube videos and presenting the information in a direct and easy-to-understand way.
But without a doubt, the star function of NotebookLM is ‘Audio Overview’, which is capable of create a podcast with virtual hostsbased on the information we have provided; so we can listen to it anywhere and without having to pay attention to a screen. Today, Google has announced several new features for NotebookLM, and the most surprising affects precisely this function.
From now on, the ‘podcasts’ created by NotebookLM are interactive; in other words, we can talk to the ‘presenter’ with a voice call and ask questions related to the topic you are presenting. It sounds like science fiction, but basically what you’re doing is starting a Gemini session based on the data that the audio is based on. When it is available in Spain, we can simply press the “join” button, and the virtual presenter will ‘call’ us and we can ask our questions.
This new function comes from the hand of a change in NotebookLM interface; This redesign is divided into three sections, which can change size depending on the importance they have at any given time. The sources section includes all the information that matters in our project, the chat section allows us to discuss that information with a virtual assistant, and the Studio panel allows us to generate new creations from our sources.
Google has also taken the opportunity to present a subscription plan, called NotebookLM Pluswhich allows access to a series of advantages such as a greater number of audio generations, greater customization and the possibility of sharing our work with other people. It will be part of Google One for consumers throughout 2025.
