Google’s AI Notebook Now Generates Podcasts from Your Notes
Google has introduced a revolutionary new functionality for its AI-powered research tool NotebookLM: converting the written material to an audio discussion. This feature, called Audio Overview, converts the data from documents you upload into a podcast-style conversation between two AI hosts. That’s not all-not only does the AI conversation summarize your materials, but even the links across topics make the discussion sound deep.
According to Google, the AI hosts banter, offering a somewhat natural-sounding conversation, though you can still tell through slight issues in pronunciation and inflections.
Current Limitations of Audio Overview
Since Audio Overview is still in an experimental phase, there are some limitations:
- Language Support: Currently, the hosts can only speak in English.
- Accuracy: The AI may occasionally provide inaccurate information, so users must double-check the material for correctness.
- User Interaction: You can’t yet interrupt or interact with the AI hosts mid-discussion.
- Processing Time: For larger documents, it can take several minutes for the AI to generate the podcast.
Contrasting the simplicity of research prototypes with the fantastic complexities of real-life settings, though, presents some formidable challenges. But despite these challenges, Google Labs product manager Biao Wang said the team was eager to add audio to NotebookLM because it knew some users retain information better by hearing others’ conversations.
NotebookLM: A Digital Research Assistant
NotebookLM was first launched by Google in 2023. It’s a digital assistant that manages uploaded documents and lets users ask questions about the content of the documents. In June 2024, an updated version of NotebookLM was released, powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro.
This new Audio Overview feature keeps NotebookLM right at the forefront of this new, powerful world for both researchers and casual users, affording fresh ways of interacting with information.
