By Kavita Mistry 
Google’s NotebookLM is an advanced research assistant and note-taking app powered by AI. Simply put, it helps you quickly extract, organize, and summarize information from the sources you upload. Think of it as a language model that works directly with your own data.
While there are several AI tools you can use for research, NotebookLM comes with unique features that can help you learn better and generate insights from your specific knowledge base.
I’ve been using NotebookLM for over a year now, and in this guide, I’ll walk you through the valuable features that make it stand out.
8 NotebookLM Features You’ll Find Most Valuable
Here’s a quick look at the unique features NotebookLM offers, whether you want to research topics, brainstorm ideas, organize complex information, or perform any other research work:
Easy-to-Navigate User Interface
NotebookLM is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, so you can start exploring it without a steep learning curve or confusing menus. Its features are clearly laid out and well organized right in front of you.
To create a notebook, you simply upload your source(s), and the app automatically titles the notebook based on the context of the uploaded knowledge base. This helps keep your notebooks organized.
Another feature you’ll find valuable is how NotebookLM color-codes each notebook in your workspace, giving your notebook list a more visually appealing look. Plus, you can change the workspace view and sort your notebooks as you like.
Once you’re in your notebook, you’ll also find everything you need conveniently on the page. This makes it easy to interact with your sources however you want.
Even though NotebookLM packs in many cool features, it doesn’t feel overwhelming like some other AI research tools. It’s easy to get familiar with, so you can focus on your work instead of figuring out how the app works.
Bring All Your Sources Together
One of the standout features that makes NotebookLM arguably the best research assistant tool today is Sources.
I’ve never really trusted AI tools like ChatGPT for studying or research because they sometimes make stuff up or give outdated information. But NotebookLM changes the game by allowing you to create your own knowledge base from uploaded sources. This means the AI’s answers stay within the scope of the sources you provide, which greatly reduces the chances of inaccurate or irrelevant responses.
When using NotebookLM, I could upload up to 50 sources for free. You can throw in PDFs, text files, MP3s, markdown files, URLs (like web pages or YouTube videos), pasted text, slides, or even Google Docs from your Drive. But if you need to use more than 50 sources, you’d have to pay for Pro.
Imagine having 30+ materials to go through manually. This would most likely be a nightmare. But NotebookLM lets you combine them all into one knowledge base, so the AI can help you learn from everything together. Super helpful for stuff like literature reviews, studying for exams, reading financial reports, or whatever research you’re doing.
I also found this cool Discover Sources feature. If you don’t have any materials, you can type what you’re interested in, and it’ll find sources for you. For example, I wanted to learn about AI agents, so I just typed that in, and it suggested a bunch of links which included an IBM article, the Wikipedia page, Reddit discussions, and more. You can pick which ones you want to add to your notebook.
Chat With Your Sources and Get Referenced Answers
Chat is the feature that makes NotebookLM feel like a chatbot, one trained specifically to answer based on the sources you’ve uploaded. You might wonder how this differs from using ChatGPT. NotebookLM gives answers strictly based on your sources, with clickable citations pointing to the exact part of the source where the answer came from.
I tested the AI with a company’s financial reports spanning several years. I prompted it to generate key summaries such as year-over-year revenue trends. In a few seconds, the research assistant provided a detailed breakdown of the trends, not just as mentioned in the documents but also in a clear, easy-to-understand format. It also included clickable inline citations throughout the answers so I could view the context directly in the source document.
To further test its capabilities, I asked how the company was doing based on the financial summaries it had provided. It responded by analyzing the company’s performance and explaining the reasoning behind its assessment, again referencing the specific parts of the sources it used.
This is just a glimpse of what the AI assistant can do. It can be especially useful when conducting research, analyzing large documents, or doing a literature review. You can also use it to test your knowledge of a material based on what’s covered in the material.
However, there’s one limitation worth noting. Chats are session-based. If you close a session without saving the chat as a note, it disappears. It seems the design prioritizes keeping notebooks organized, with only saved notes retained for future reference.
Note-Taking
What makes NotebookLM a literal notebook is how you can use it to take notes while studying or researching. It has a dedicated tab under the Studio section where you can type notes, format them, and name them however you like.
Beyond manual note-taking, it also offers automatic note generation. Using the sources you’ve added or selected in your notebook, NotebookLM can create study guides, briefing documents, FAQs, and timelines.
As mentioned earlier, chats in NotebookLM are session-based. But you can save important responses from any session into your notes with a single click.
One feature I particularly found useful is the ability to convert any of your notes into a source. This comes in handy when you want the AI to reference the notes for future questions. You can also delete notes you no longer need.
All of these features make NotebookLM stand out among AI research assistants and note-taking tools.
However, the note-taking feature isn’t available on the mobile app at the time of writing. This is a major drawback, considering it’s one of the most essential features of NotebookLM.
Mind Map Your Research
One of the most impressive features in NotebookLM is mind map creation. This tool generates branching visual diagrams that highlight key concepts from your sources and show how they connect. It breaks down content from selected sources into organized nodes, making research and understanding easier.
You can access the Mind Map feature from the chat area. In my experience, generating a mind map on NotebookLM takes just a few seconds, although this depends on the number of sources being parsed. The map uses color-coded branches to represent concepts clearly and visually.
The mind map unfolds step by step, connecting each concept from your sources. Clicking a node prompts a question related to that concept and displays the answer in the chat box. This helps structure learning and is especially useful when going through topics one step at a time.
Audio Overview – Turn Sources into a Podcast
Probably the most mind-blowing feature in NotebookLM is the Audio Overview. It uses Gemini to turn your uploaded sources into a detailed, podcast-style audio conversation.
What really stands out is how the audio plays out between two AI hosts—a male and a female voice. The flow feels natural, starting from the basics and moving through your sources in a logical order. The entire conversation sounds surprisingly organic, making it easy to follow and even enjoyable. Some users not only use it to understand their material better but also turn the podcast into content for others.
There’s also a Customize button that lets you pick your preferred audio length—short, default, or long. That said, the actual length depends on your sources. For instance, I generated a 22-minute audio using 2 sources, while another overview with 19 sources came out to just 19 minutes.
You can also guide what the AI focuses on. If you want it to talk about the uses of your topic instead of going deep into explanations, it adjusts the conversation accordingly.
You can download the audio overview, share it with others, change the playback speed, and listen to it directly in your notebook.
Another cool feature is Interactive Mode (but it’s currently in Beta). It lets you interrupt the audio to ask questions or add thoughts while it plays. The original overview stays untouched, and your input isn’t saved in the final version.
I found this feature super useful for learning or even creating learning aids.
Only downside? It can take a while to generate if you’re using a lot of sources. Hopefully, Google improves that with future updates.
Multi-Language Support
Another solid feature you’ll find on NotebookLM is its multi-language support. You can set your output language to French (or any of the 80+ supported languages) to interact with the AI in the language you’re most comfortable with.
This is especially useful for those who want the AI’s responses in a specific language for easier understanding.
While using French as my output language, I asked the AI to convert one of its responses into English, and it did. Even with French still set as the default, it could translate into other languages as well. That alone makes it a really handy feature for me.
What’s even better is that the output language setting also applies to Audio Overview. So, your AI-hosted podcasts can be generated in different languages, not just English.
Collaborate With Others
NotebookLM, just like most other Google products, lets you collaborate with other users. You can share your notebook with others by adding their email or sharing the notebook link. Once added, they can view your sources, notes, and chats—just like you. And if given editor access, they can make changes to your notes.
This means you can have a notebook that your study partners or students can access to study with you or go through your notes on their own.
Final Thoughts
You’ll find several useful AI tools out there, but NotebookLM brings together some of the best features for note-taking, research, studying, and summarizing. It helps you connect the dots between materials easily and can completely change how you approach documents.
Though it comes with a few drawbacks, it’s still one of the best AI research assistants out there. And more features like Video Overview are said to be coming soon.