Google’s Notebook LM has been subtly evolving since its initial release, and in this video, I take a look at a new beta feature to their podcast or Audio Overview feature.
To recap, NotebookLM is designed as an AI-powered notebook that helps summarize and process notes, and introduced an interesting podcast-style feature for a new modality of processing ones notes. This tool transforms your written notes into an audio dialogue with a familiar NPR-style conversation, complete with alternating hosts.
A new interactive mode has now been added that lets users interject and ask questions live, creating a simulated “listener call-in” experience that makes note-taking feel more like a dynamic discussion rather than static text on a screen.
As a longtime podcaster radio enthusiast, and educator I found this small update really cool…albeit still in its early, somewhat clunky stages. But the implications for learning could be huge: instead of just reading notes, or “chatting” via text with your notes what if we could talk to them, and have them reply back to us? I’ve always felt that these AI’s today are very much a throw back of command-line style user interface. But in now just a short time, we are seeing the preliminary stages breaking away from that. And that, is cool. Especially as it has the potential of making original notes even more valuable to a learner, help with information retention, and perhaps reduce frustration of getting stuck in the studying process with an AI that is more conversational and engaging.
I also touch on Google’s recent monetization efforts, including the introduction of Notebook LM Plus, which raises some interesting questions about privacy and data use. Plus, if you’re into AI-powered creativity, I also mention Google’s Wisk project for generating images.