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Google upgrades its NotebookLM AI with “Audio Overviews”

Google upgrades its NotebookLM AI with “Audio Overviews”

By Alap Naik Desai
May 14, 2024

Google has added “Audio Overviews” to NotebookLM. The Generative AI-assisted notetaking tool will now be able to offer verbal discussions to aid learning and understanding.

NotebookLM can discuss notes with dynamic interactivity

NotebookLM is essentially a Large Language Model (LLM) that works similarly to ChatGPT or other Generative AI (Gen AI) platforms. Introduced late last year, NotebookLM can simplify the retrieval and understanding of relevant information.

In its early days, NotebookLM was an AI-powered note-taking tool that seamlessly integrates with Google Docs. Google positioned it as a platform that would assist students and learners in organizing and accessing lecture notes and coursework materials. Moving forward, NotebookLM has reportedly gained the ability to have a spirited discussion not just with its users about the content it absorbs, but also amongst two AI-generated speakers. It could automatically summarize lengthy documents and transform video outlines into scripts.  NotebookLM can even generate a podcast-like discussion between two AI speakers.

How does NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews feature work?

During the ongoing Google I/O event, the search giant explained the Audio Overviews feature. Using the newly added feature, users can seek a verbal interaction regarding the topic and content at hand.

The Audio Overviews feature could be very useful for students, academicians, scholars, and even businesspeople. The feature tries to offer a better, wider, and deeper understanding of topics. NotebookLM essentially generates an overview, which, in turn, generates a verbal conversation between two speakers. The Audio Overview feature even voices both the participants in real-time.

While trying to highlight the usefulness of the feature, Google’s Josh Woodward verbally asked NotebookLM, “Hey, can you give my son Jimmy a basketball example?”. NotebookLM was able to quickly generate two presenters who discussed how basketball connects to the physics lesson being tackled.

The new feature could help those who learn best when they are listening rather than reading a topic. Although there’s a lot to be discovered, the audio overview feature appears to be an extension to NotebookLM, and presumably Google Gemini.

These platforms would be immensely helpful in delivering customized learning sessions to students. Teachers could define a particular level, path, and complexity for a specific topic. NotebookLM could then proceed to “teach” students with examples and hints. The audio overview could carry the discussion forward via two AI-generated speakers.