NotebookLM Expands Features and Uses Gemini Pro for Document Understanding
Google has announced that its AI note-taking app, NotebookLM, is now available to all users in the United States who are at least 18 years old. This expansion comes just five months after the tech giant made the experimental app available to a select few.
What is NotebookLM?
NotebookLM is an AI-powered note-taking app that helps users organize their notes and documents into structured writing projects. Unlike generic chatbots, NotebookLM focuses solely on the documents it is fed, generating summaries and suggesting follow-up questions about the content in real-time.
New Features and Capabilities
Google has added a slew of new features to NotebookLM, including:
- Structured Writing Projects: Users can now select a set of notes and ask NotebookLM to create something new, such as a script outline, email newsletter, or draft of a marketing plan.
- Action Suggesting: The app can now suggest actions based on whatever the user is currently doing. For instance, if the user has selected a passage while reading a source, NotebookLM will automatically offer to summarize the text into a new note or help understand the content of the text.
- Noteboard Space: A new space has been added to let users easily pin quotes from the chat or their own written notes.
- PDF and Copied Text Support: Users can now copy and paste text to create a new source, edit the title once it’s created, and include up to 200,000 words in each source.
Expanding Capabilities
In addition to the new features, Google has also expanded NotebookLM’s capabilities:
- Increased Source Limitations: Notebooks can now include up to 20 sources, while a single source can contain up to 200,000 words.
- Improved Organization: Users can now hide the source and focus on notetaking.
Gemini Pro Integration
NotebookLM is starting to use Gemini Pro, Google’s new large language model, to help with document understanding and reasoning. This integration allows the app to generate more accurate summaries and suggest follow-up questions that are relevant to the content in the documents.
Availability and Future Plans
NotebookLM is available to all users in the United States who are at least 18 years old. The tech giant has not announced any plans for international availability, but it’s likely that we’ll see expansion into other countries soon.
Feedback and Concerns
TechCrunch’s Devin Coldeway previously noted that while NotebookLM is promising, let’s hope the product doesn’t end up in the Google Graveyard like so many of the tech giant’s other experimental projects. Users are encouraged to provide feedback and help shape the future of NotebookLM.
Conclusion
Google’s AI note-taking app, NotebookLM, has taken a significant step forward with its expansion to all users in the United States. With new features and capabilities, including structured writing projects, action suggesting, and Gemini Pro integration, this app is poised to revolutionize the way we take notes and organize our documents.
Whether you’re a student looking for a tool to help with coursework or a professional seeking to streamline your note-taking process, NotebookLM is definitely worth checking out.
