All individuals in the United States who are at least 18 years old are now able to utilize Google’s AI note-taking software, as announced by the company on Friday. In an effort to “aid in record comprehension and analysis,” the practical application is also being enhanced with a plethora of new features, harnessing Google’s latest large language model, Gemini Pro.
The NotebookLM application has the capability to generate summaries and suggest follow-up queries regarding the content of the document once it has been uploaded. Unlike conventional chatbots that rely on a plethora of irrelevant data, NotebookLM focuses solely on the files it is provided with.
Google is presently expanding the functionalities of the product beyond just generating reports and posing questions. Users can now structure their customized notes into organized writing projects using the new tools offered by NotebookLM. For instance, users have the option to select a specific set of information and request NotebookLM to create something new, such as an email newsletter, a text format, or a draft for a marketing plan.
Moreover, NotebookLM can offer recommendations based on the user’s current activities. For instance, if a user highlights a passage while reading, NotebookLM will promptly suggest summarizing the selected text or provide assistance in comprehending its content. Similarly, if the user is in the process of writing, NotebookLM may propose editing the narrative or suggest related concepts based on the existing content.
Certificates for images: Facebook
To streamline the process of capturing comments from discussions or personal notes, the tech giant is introducing a new noteboard section. This addition was reportedly requested by users to facilitate the organization of their NotebookLM interactions as notes, according to Google.
Google is also making some minor adjustments to the feature set. Instead of appending to a single notebook, NotebookLM will now create a new note when a user adds one. Furthermore, clicking on a reference number in a chat comment or saved text will now directly lead the user back to the original source.
Users now have the option to hide the source material if they wish to focus solely on note-taking. Additionally, users can select specific groups of sources on their computers through the resource sidebar to enable NotebookLM’s AI to concentrate on those selected sources. With the added support for PDFs and copied text, users can now copy and paste text to create a new source and modify the subject after its creation.
In addition to these new features, Google is expanding the platform’s capabilities, allowing notes to currently accommodate up to 20 sources while capping the supported word count at 200,000 terms.
This announcement comes five months after Google initially made NotebookLM available to a limited audience. Originally unveiled as the “AI notebook for individuals” under the name Project Tailwind at Google I/O earlier this year, the platform was later rebranded as NotebookLM. During its initial introduction, Google highlighted that students could utilize the software to organize their lecture notes and academic materials while completing their coursework.
While NotebookLM shows promise, concerns linger about its longevity, with comparisons drawn to other experimental projects within the Google ecosystem that have met their demise, as noted by Devin Coldeway in a prior TechCrunch article.
