Google's NotebookLM Audio Overviews Now Allow You to Call in with Questions

Google's NotebookLM, celebrated for its AI-generated Audio Overviews, is set to introduce an interactive feature that allows users to engage in real-time dialogue. This update, part of a broader redesign, will enable users to ask questions during playback, with AI hosts responding live. Google acknowledges that this feature is in its experimental phase and may occasionally result in awkward pauses or inaccuracies, but initial tests have been promising. For instance, I created a project based on articles about NotebookLM and found that while asking questions did slow down the overview, the AI hosts were able to integrate answers smoothly into the narrative.

The redesign of NotebookLM includes a more intuitive interface divided into three sections: a "Studio" panel for AI-generated content like Audio Overviews, a central "Chat" panel for querying Google's AI about your sources, and a "Sources" panel for managing uploaded materials. This clean layout allows users to collapse panels when not in use, keeping the workspace uncluttered and focused.

Google is also introducing NotebookLM Plus, a premium subscription for Google Workspace and Cloud customers. This subscription offers enhanced capabilities, such as generating up to 20 Audio Overviews daily, creating up to 500 AI notebooks, and adding up to 300 sources per notebook. Priced at an additional $20 per user per month for Workspace subscribers, NotebookLM Plus will also be integrated into the Google One AI Premium subscription starting next year.

NotebookLM, which began as an internal experiment known as Project Tailwind, has evolved into a practical application of Google's Gemini AI model. Its reliance on user-uploaded content, rather than web-scraped material, has made it a reliable tool for processing a variety of media, from web articles to YouTube videos. The Audio Overviews feature, in particular, has gained popularity for its ability to condense and present information in an engaging audio format, making complex topics more accessible to a wider audience.