Before you start
Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on 16 July 2026, calling it the same standalone product. The help center has switched to the new name. Most people still search for the old one, and both mean the same notebook.
You need a Google Account, personal, work or school, and a browser. On a work or school account, an admin has to turn access on first.
A source is a file, web page or video you add to a notebook. A citation is the marker in an answer that points back to the passage it came from. Those two ideas carry the whole lesson.
Your first notebook in five steps
Start with three documents you already know well, such as last quarter's meeting notes. Because you know the answers, you can judge the notebook's. The questions below are our own.
What did we decide about the delivery schedule, and in which meeting?
List every open action item with the person who owns it.
Where do these notes disagree with each other?- Create a notebook. Go to notebook.google.com and select Create new notebook.
- Upload your sources. In the pop-up window, select Upload a source and pick your files. Add more later with + Add in the Sources panel.
- Read the summary. The Chat panel opens with a generated summary of all your sources.
- Ask, then check the citation. Type a question. Hover over a citation to see the quoted text, and select it to jump to that passage in context.
- Keep what you need. Select Save to note to pin a reply. The note keeps its tables and its clickable citations.
What you can add, and what it reads
A notebook takes PDF, Word, text, Markdown, CSV and PowerPoint files, Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, web links, YouTube links, audio files, images and pasted text. What it reads from each is narrower than that list suggests.
A YouTube video comes in as its transcript only, so it must be public and have captions. A web page brings its text, without images or embedded video, and paywalled pages are not supported. Audio is transcribed when you import it. Files from Google Drive sync on their own every few minutes, and one you lose access to stops working as a source.
No files yet? When you add sources, type a question in the search box, choose Web or Drive, and import the results you pick. The research lesson shows how to judge what a search brings back before you trust it.
To keep a question to some sources, untick the others in the Sources panel. On the free plan, a notebook holds up to 50 sources.
500,000
words in one source at most
Source: Google: Add or discover new sources for your notebook (read November 5, 2026)
200 MB
for one uploaded file at most
Source: Google: Add or discover new sources for your notebook (read November 5, 2026)
Turn sources into audio, video and mind maps
The Studio panel holds what the notebook makes from your sources.
An Audio Overview is a spoken summary by AI hosts. Select Audio Overview in the Studio panel and set your preferences. The default is a two-host conversation that goes into depth. The Brief has one speaker covering the key points in under two minutes, The Critique gives feedback on a draft, and The Debate argues both sides. Choose Shorter, Default or Longer (Longer is English only), and type a focus such as "explain it for a new hire". It generates in the background and may take a couple of minutes. While it plays, select Join to ask the hosts a question by voice, in English.
A Video Overview turns the sources into a narrated video. Select Video Overview, pick a format (Cinematic, Explainer, or Short at about 60 seconds), a visual style such as Whiteboard or Watercolor, and a focus. Then choose Generate now or Generate later, since it can take more than 30 minutes. Cinematic is for users 18 and over and narrates in English only.
A mind map draws your sources as a branching diagram of topics. Select the Mind Map chip in the chat, and the map appears as a note in the Studio panel. Select any branch to ask the chat about that topic.
Google labels every one of these AI-generated and says they may contain inaccuracies. Listen to an overview on the train, and look up a figure in its source before it goes into a report.
What the Gemini Notebook team posted about its audio formats
The notebook's own account on X, then still called NotebookLM, announced new Audio Overview formats on 2 September 2025. The two-host default stayed, and Brief, Critique and Debate joined it. The account later took the Gemini Notebook name, as the product did.
Pick the format by what comes next. Brief fits a short walk to a meeting. When the source is your own draft, Critique earns its place, because it gives feedback on the material instead of a summary. When your sources disagree and you have to choose between them, Debate sets out both sides before you decide.
Critique: an expert review, offering constructive feedback on your material
A screenshot of X's own embed of the post, taken on 5 November 2026, with the time in UTC. Select it to open the post on X.
Common mistakes
- Mixing two projects in one notebook. Answers draw on every source you leave ticked, so unrelated files muddy them.
- Adding a YouTube video with no captions. Only the transcript comes in, and a video without speech is not supported.
- Pasting a link to a paywalled article. The notebook cannot read it, so upload a copy you have the rights to instead.
- Quoting an Audio Overview in a report. It is a summary, so quote the document it summarizes.
Try it yourself
- Make a notebook from three documents you know well, ask a question you can already answer, and open the citation.
- Untick one source and ask the same question again. Note what changed.
- Generate The Brief and pick out one claim to check against the source.
- Make a mind map and select the branch you understand least.
Next: Gemini
A whole notebook can serve as background for a Gem, the saved set of instructions in Google's Gemini app. How to use Gemini builds one, then moves into Gmail and Docs.
Check yourself
A YouTube video you added to a notebook adds nothing to the answers. What is the likely cause?
Show answer
B. Only the transcript comes in, and this video has no captions or speech The notebook imports a YouTube video's transcript only, so it needs captions, and a video without speech is not supported.
How do you check where a figure in a chat answer came from?
Show answer
A. Select its citation to jump to the passage Selecting a citation takes you to the quoted passage in context, and hovering shows the quoted text.
You want one speaker to cover a document's key points in under two minutes. Which Audio Overview format fits?
Show answer
C. The Brief The Brief is the single-speaker format that delivers the key takeaways in under two minutes.
A question should ignore two of your five sources. What do you do?
Show answer
D. Untick them in the Sources panel You choose which sources the chat uses by ticking or unticking them, and the files stay in the notebook.
Frequently asked questions
Is NotebookLM free?
Yes, with standard usage limits. Google AI Plus doubles them, Google AI Pro quadruples them, and AI Ultra gives 5 or 20 times Pro's. The quota refreshes every 5 hours until you reach a weekly limit.
Does NotebookLM use my files to train its AI?
Not unless you send feedback, Google says. For Workspace and Workspace for Education accounts, uploads, questions and answers are neither reviewed by people nor used for AI training.
Can NotebookLM answer from outside my sources?
No. When the facts are not in a source, the notebook may say it cannot answer. Add a source that has them, or search the web from the source window and import what you find.
Can I use NotebookLM on my phone?
Yes, in the mobile app, though some features are limited there. Mind maps are not supported in it yet, and live voice chat there needs you to be 18 or older.
Can I share a notebook or an Audio Overview?
Yes. Share the notebook and others find its overviews in the Studio panel, or download an overview and send the file. Public links work only on consumer accounts, not Workspace Enterprise or Education.
Sources
- Google: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/
- Google: Learn about Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16164461?hl=en
- Google: Create a notebook in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16206563?hl=en
- Google: Add or discover new sources for your notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16215270?hl=en
- Google: Use chat in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16179559?hl=en
- Google: Generate an Audio Overview in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16212820?hl=en
- Google: Generate Video Overviews in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16454555?hl=en
- Google: Use Mind Maps in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16212283?hl=en
- Google: Manage usage limits in Gemini Notebook https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/17670842?hl=en
- Gemini Notebook (@Gemini_Notebook) on X: new Audio Overview formats https://x.com/Gemini_Notebook/status/1962949985546187120