Laptop screen with text

NotebookLM: AI-Powered Research and Learning Assistance

Introduction

NotebookLM, from Google, is an AI-powered tool designed to make your research and note-taking a lot smoother. Think of it as your personal assistant for understanding and organizing information. You simply upload your own documents, like lecture notes, research papers, or even web articles and videos.

Overview

NotebookLM, developed by Google, is an AI-powered research and note-taking platform designed to enhance the academic workflow by facilitating the analysis and synthesis of user-provided information. Operating on the Gemini model, it allows users to upload their own documents, lecture notes, research papers, and other materials. The system then processes these sources to generate summaries, extract key insights, and answer specific questions, grounding all responses directly in the provided content. This adherence to source material mitigates the risk of "hallucinations" often associated with general-purpose AI models. NotebookLM functions as a personalized intelligent agent, assisting in the comprehension of complex subjects, organization of research, and generation of new ideas, thereby supporting students, faculty, and researchers in their academic endeavors.


How to Access the Tool

NotebookLM is primarily a web-based application, with supplementary mobile access. Members of the university community typically access the platform via their institutional Google Workspace accounts.

  1. Access URL: Navigate to notebooklm.google.com.
  2. Authentication: Log in using ASUrite If multiple Google accounts are active, ensure the university account is selected.
  3. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Duo two-factor authentication is generally required to secure access to the platform

Key Features and Capabilities

  • Source Ingestion: Supports the upload and processing of diverse document types, including Google Docs, Google Slides, PDFs, plain text files, web URLs, public YouTube video URLs, and various audio file formats (e.g., MP3, WAV).
  • AI-Powered Querying: Enables users to pose questions directly to their uploaded sources, facilitating the retrieval of contextually relevant answers with precise citations to the original document sections.
  • Analytical Summarization: Generates concise summaries, identifies predominant themes, and highlights interconnections across multiple source documents.
  • Content and Research Aid Generation: Facilitates the creation of structured academic resources such as study guides, key term lists, quiz questions, and essay prompts derived from uploaded materials.
  • Structured Information Extraction: Automates the generation of chronological timelines or succinct briefing documents based on the content of source materials.
  • Podcast Summaries: Converts textual sources into interactive audio overviews, simulating a discussion with AI narrators, allowing for flexible content review.
  • Collaborative Workspaces: Supports shared access to notebooks, enabling collaborative research, collective note-taking, and joint AI-assisted analysis among designated users.

Ready to get started with NotebookLM?

Visit the website

Resources

Getting started with NotebookLM

Official NotebookLM website: the primary portal for direct interaction with the tool and its features.

For additional help: 

  • AI community Slack Channel: #ai
  • ASU Experience Center: (480) 965-6500 or 1-855-278-5080
  • For in-person see the Tech Hubs on each campus

Frequently Asked Questions

NotebookLM supports Google Docs, Google Slides, PDFs, plain text files, copied text, web page URLs, public YouTube video URLs, and audio files (MP3, WAV).

Unlike broad AI models that synthesize information from vast internet datasets, NotebookLM operates exclusively on the information contained within the user's uploaded sources. This specificity ensures that all generated responses are directly attributable to the provided materials, thereby minimizing the occurrence of factual inaccuracies or "hallucinations" and providing direct source citations.

Google asserts that NotebookLM does not utilize personal user data—including uploaded sources, queries, and generated content—for the training of its underlying AI models. When accessed via a university or institutional Google Workspace account, NotebookLM adheres to the established privacy policies governing other Google Workspace applications. 

The standard NotebookLM service permits the creation of up to 100 notebooks, with each notebook accommodating up to 50 sources. Each source can contain a maximum of 500,000 words. Daily operational limits typically include 50 chat queries and 3 audio generations. 

Yes, NotebookLM facilitates collaboration by allowing users to share notebooks. This feature supports real-time group research, shared note-taking, and collective AI-assisted analysis.

  • Yes, NotebookLM can produce code snippets in various programming languages, contingent upon the contextual information present within the uploaded source documents.


NotebookLM vs. Custom GPTs: A Comparative Overview

To assist in determining the most suitable tool for your academic project, consider the following comparison:

To assist in determining the most suitable tool for your academic project, consider the following comparison of their design and functionality:

Feature/AspectNotebookLMCustom GPT

Core Function

Document-centric AI for analysis and synthesis of user-provided sources.

Configurable AI assistant for varied tasks; can be tailored with instructions and custom knowledge.

Information Source

Exclusively uses content from uploaded documents; provides direct citations.

Primarily relies on its broad training data; can be directed to use uploaded files, with varying citation rigor.

Interface & Workflow

Structured around "notebooks" for document organization and integrated analytical features.

Conversational interface within its platform; configuration involves defining instructions and capabilities.

Collaboration

Supports shared notebooks for collaborative research and analysis.

Collaboration typically managed through shared chats; specific shared document context less inherent to the tool's design.

Typical Outputs

Summaries, study aids, timelines, Q&A, and audio summaries derived from sources.

Text generation (creative, code, specific formats), responses to queries, interactive dialogues.

Supported Inputs

Google Docs, PDFs, text files, web URLs, YouTube URLs, audio files.

Primarily text, PDFs, and other common document formats.

Primary Use Cases

In-depth document analysis, personal knowledge base development, research synthesis, academic writing support (source-grounded).

Broad content generation, specialized conversational agents, coding assistance, brainstorming, general information retrieval.

Factual Basis

Responses strictly grounded in user-provided sources. 

Responses based on training data and/or provided files; factual accuracy is contingent on model and prompt design.