Is Notebook LM the new ChatGPT?
There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about a new tool from Google called NotebookLM. I came across it recently and thought it was worth sharing what it does and how it might be useful.
What is NotebookLM?
is an experimental AI-powered note-taking and research assistant being developed by Google. Its main goal is to help users manage and understand complex information by interacting with different documents and sources. Essentially, it acts as a virtual research assistant that can summarise content, generate ideas and answer questions based on the materials you provide. One of NotebookLM's standout features is its source grounding. Unlike traditional AI chatbots that generate answers based on general knowledge, NotebookLM tailors its answers specifically to the documents you upload, such as Google Docs or PDFs. This ensures that the information you receive is directly relevant to your specific content, making it a more personalised and trusted tool.
Before we look at practical use cases, let's take a quick look at what Notebook LM has to offer:
Document Uploading: NotebookLM allows you to upload a wide range of documents, including files from Google Drive, PDFs, and text copied from other applications. Each document can be quite extensive, supporting up to 500,000 words, and you can include up to 50 documents within a single notebook. This makes it easy to centralize all your important materials in one place.
Summarization and Q&A: Once you upload a document, NotebookLM automatically generates summaries and highlights key topics. If you have specific questions about the content, you can ask them directly, and the AI will provide detailed answers. This feature is particularly helpful for quickly understanding lengthy or complex documents without having to read through everything manually.
Idea Generation: NotebookLM can assist in brainstorming by analyzing your uploaded content and suggesting new ideas or perspectives. Whether you’re working on a project, conducting research, or looking for creative inspiration, this feature can help spark innovative thoughts based on the information you’ve provided.
Audio Overview Feature: Recently, NotebookLM introduced an audio overview feature that allows users to generate audio summaries of their uploaded documents. This caters to different learning styles and can be particularly useful for those who prefer listening over reading, enabling you to absorb information while on the move.
Practical Use Cases
After it has been in public use for some time, people have started doing some wild experiments. Here are some of the more recent use cases that have emerged since then (more crazy stuff is sure to come).
Educational Use: For students and educators, NotebookLM offers a way to interact more deeply with educational materials. By uploading textbooks or academic papers, users can ask questions, summarize key points, and clarify doubts easily. This tool can make studying more efficient and help in better understanding complex subjects.
Sales Training and Knowledge Distribution: In professional settings like sales teams, managing extensive training materials can be challenging. NotebookLM helps by creating interactive notebooks from training documents, allowing new team members to access essential information quickly and efficiently. This streamlines the training process and ensures that everyone has access to the necessary knowledge without wading through lengthy manuals.
Personalized Content Creation: Individuals looking to present their professional backgrounds in unique ways can benefit from NotebookLM’s audio overview feature. By transforming resumes or LinkedIn profiles into audio format, users can create engaging and memorable presentations of their professional experiences.
Group Communication: NotebookLM can also be used to manage and revisit group communications. For instance, converting group chat histories into audio summaries allows users to listen to past conversations, making it easier to recall important discussions and moments shared with friends or colleagues.
Data Analysis for Professionals: Professionals dealing with intricate documents, such as those in venture capital, can find NotebookLM invaluable. By uploading confidential information memorandums, users receive concise summaries and analyses, helping them to quickly grasp essential information and make informed decisions without getting bogged down by intricate details.
Looking Ahead
These examples highlight some of the current uses of NotebookLM, demonstrating its versatility in areas as diverse as education, sales, content creation and professional data analysis. However, as AI technology continues to advance, it's likely that even more innovative applications for NotebookLM will emerge, expanding its potential and usefulness.
I'm really excited about the new use cases that will emerge and how they will shape the AI landscape.