NotebookLM
otherby google
Google's AI research assistant grounded in your uploaded sources. Upload anything, get expert insights, and turn your documents into podcast style Audio Overviews.
Key features
Free tier available, NotebookLM in Pro at $19.99/mo
Students who want to turn lecture recordings, textbooks, and papers into study aids like flashcards, quizzes, and Audio Overviews
Source grounded AI dramatically reduces hallucinations; every answer cites exact quotes from your uploaded material
What it does
Source Grounded AI
Every response is anchored to your uploaded sources with clear citations showing exact quotes. This dramatically reduces hallucinations compared to general purpose AI chatbots.
Learn moreAudio Overview
Turn your sources into engaging podcast style discussions between two AI hosts. Choose from Deep Dive, The Brief, The Critique, or The Debate formats. Available in 80+ languages with customizable length.
Learn moreInteractive Audio Mode
Join the Audio Overview conversation with your voice. Ask the AI hosts questions mid discussion and they respond with personalized answers based on your sources before resuming the original overview.
Video Overview
Generate video summaries of your sources that explain complex topics visually. Useful for training materials, onboarding content, and campaign assets.
Deep Research
Autonomous research agent that investigates complex questions by searching and synthesizing information, producing comprehensive reports grounded in your notebook sources.
Reports and Documents
Generate structured multi page reports, summaries, and documents from your uploaded sources with proper citations and analysis.
Study Tools
Automatically generate flashcards, quizzes (with scoring and hints), and mind maps from your sources for effective learning and review.
Infographics and Slide Decks
Create visual infographics and presentation slide decks from your source material. Watermark free on Ultra plan.
Source Discovery
Find new relevant information and sources directly within NotebookLM to expand your research beyond what you have already uploaded.
Multimodal Source Upload
Upload PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, Google Slides, and more. NotebookLM summarizes them and identifies connections across topics.
Shared Notebooks
Share notebooks with collaborators or make them public (consumer accounts). Public notebooks let others ask questions and access your Audio Overviews directly.
Mobile App
Access NotebookLM on the go with native mobile apps. Listen to Audio Overviews, chat with your sources, and manage notebooks from your phone.
Pricing
Free
Full access to NotebookLM with standard limits. Free for anyone with a Google account.
- Up to 100 notebooks
- Up to 50 sources per notebook
- 50 chats per day
- 3 Audio Overviews per day
- 3 Video Overviews per day
- 10 reports, flashcards, and quizzes per day
- 10 Deep Research searches per month
- Unlimited mind maps
- Access to Gemini models
- Standard access to new features
- Mobile app access
NotebookLM in Plus
2x more generations across all artifact types via Google AI Plus subscription. Includes 200 GB cloud storage.
- Up to 200 notebooks
- Up to 100 sources per notebook
- 200 chats per day
- 6 Audio Overviews per day
- 6 Video Overviews per day
- 20 reports, flashcards, and quizzes per day
- 3 Deep Research searches per day
- Unlimited mind maps
- Access to Gemini models
- Early access to new features
- 200 GB cloud storage
NotebookLM in Pro
5x more generations via Google AI Pro subscription. Higher model access, priority features, and 2 TB cloud storage. The recommended tier for researchers and power users.
- Up to 500 notebooks
- Up to 300 sources per notebook
- 500 chats per day
- 20 Audio Overviews per day
- 20 Video Overviews per day
- 100 reports, flashcards, and quizzes per day
- 20 Deep Research searches per day
- Unlimited mind maps
- Higher access to Gemini models
- Priority access to new features
- 2 TB cloud storage
NotebookLM in Ultra
50x more generations via Google AI Ultra subscription. The highest limits, no watermarks on infographics and slide decks, and 30 TB cloud storage.
- Up to 500 notebooks
- Up to 600 sources per notebook
- 5,000 chats per day
- 200 Audio Overviews per day
- 200 Video Overviews per day
- 1,000 reports, flashcards, and quizzes per day
- 200 Deep Research searches per day
- Unlimited mind maps
- Highest access to Gemini models
- Priority access to new features
- No watermarks on infographics and slide decks
- 30 TB cloud storage
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Source grounded AI dramatically reduces hallucinations; every answer cites exact quotes from your uploaded material
- Audio Overview is a genuinely unique feature that no competitor matches; turns any sources into natural sounding podcast discussions in 80+ languages
- Completely free to use with a Google account; no paywall for core functionality
- Supports a wide variety of source types: PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, Google Slides, and more
- Interactive audio mode lets you join the AI host conversation with your voice and ask questions in real time
- Generates multiple useful output formats from the same sources: audio, video, reports, flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, infographics, and slide decks
- Strong privacy protections; organization data is never used for AI training, and individual data is only used if you explicitly share feedback
- Trusted by major organizations (Deloitte, Shopify, Arizona State University) with enterprise options via Google Cloud
Cons
- Only works with content you upload; cannot search the web or answer questions outside your source material (by design, but limits general use)
- Source limits on the free tier (50 per notebook) can feel restrictive for large research projects
- Higher limits require subscribing to Google AI plans ($7.99 to $249.99/mo), which bundle many other Google AI features you may not need
- Audio Overview can take several minutes to generate and occasionally contains audio glitches or voice switching artifacts
- Interactive audio mode is currently English only
- No API available for individual developers; enterprise access requires Google Cloud licensing
- Public notebook sharing is only available on consumer accounts, not Workspace or Education accounts
How to get started
Sign in with your Google account
Go to notebooklm.google.com and sign in with any Google account. No separate registration or payment required.
Create a notebook and upload sources
Click "New Notebook" and add your sources. You can upload PDFs, paste website URLs, link YouTube videos, add Google Docs, Google Slides, or audio files. Start with 2 to 5 sources for the best experience.
Start asking questions
Once sources are uploaded, use the chat to ask questions about your material. NotebookLM answers with citations pointing to the exact passages in your sources. Try asking for summaries, comparisons, or explanations of specific topics.
Generate an Audio Overview
In the Studio panel, select Audio Overview and choose a format: Deep Dive for in depth conversation, The Brief for a quick recap, The Critique for critical feedback, or The Debate for multiple perspectives. Generation takes a couple of minutes.
Create study aids and reports
Use the Studio panel to generate flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, reports, infographics, or slide decks from your sources. These are created automatically based on the content in your notebook.
Share your notebook
Share your notebook with collaborators via link, or make it public so anyone can chat with your sources and listen to your Audio Overviews. Download Audio Overviews as audio files to share externally.
Get the mobile app
Download the NotebookLM app to access your notebooks on the go. Listen to Audio Overviews during your commute, chat with sources from your phone, and manage notebooks anywhere.
Deep dive
Detailed guides with comparisons, tips, and visuals for each feature.
Source Grounded AI: How NotebookLM Reduces Hallucinations
How NotebookLM's source grounding approach works and why it produces more reliable answers than general purpose chatbots.
Audio Overview: AI Generated Podcast Discussions
NotebookLM's signature feature turns your sources into natural sounding podcast conversations between two AI hosts.
Use Cases: From Students to Enterprise Teams
How different audiences use NotebookLM for studying, research, sales prep, content creation, and organizational knowledge management.
NotebookLM Plans: Free vs Plus vs Pro vs Ultra
Detailed comparison of all NotebookLM tiers, what you get on each plan, and which one to choose.
Links
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Last updated: 2026-02-21