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Gemini Notebook

Official documentation

Gemini Notebook helps a reader understand a selected body of evidence rather than start with an unrestricted web question. Google's former NotebookLM URL now redirects to the current app, and NotebookLM remains a useful search alias. Add a coherent set of documents, web pages, videos, audio or Google files, then ask questions with source references or create a learning aid such as an Audio Overview. Its strongest use begins with sources chosen for a particular question. Retrieval selects relevant material, so a large notebook does not mean every line informs every answer. Web and mobile access differ in features, and eligibility depends on account, region, age and administrator controls. It is an application using Gemini, distinct from the model API.

Product profileDocumentation checked

About Google · ResearchWritingAudio

In this profile

When it fits

Useful for

  • Comparing agreements and contradictions across a curated document set
  • Producing a source-based study aid after checking the underlying evidence

Limits to consider

  • Automating actions across business apps
  • Assuming an answer inspected every line of every notebook source

Capabilities and platforms

  • Imports selected PDFs, web material, videos, audio and Google files
  • Answers source-grounded questions with references to the supplied material
  • Generates Audio Overviews and other learning or research outputs

Where it runs

  • Web
  • Mobile, with feature differences

Access and setup

Eligible Google account; age, country, plan and work/school controls affect availability and limits. Consumer Google AI plan information is linked below; organizational access follows the applicable Workspace, Education or Cloud arrangement.

Current access and pricing
  1. Open notebook.google with an eligible Google account and check work or school administrator access.
  2. Create a notebook with a small set of public documents on one subject; confirm each import succeeds.
  3. Ask a precise question about agreements, contradictions and missing evidence, then inspect the source references before creating a study aid.

Proposed exercise · not hands-on tested

Compare two policy documents

Input

Two public policy PDFs covering the same decision, with their dates noted.

  1. Import both documents and ask which provisions agree, conflict or leave the decision unanswered.
  2. Open the cited passages and check that qualifications and document dates survive the comparison.
  3. Use the corrected comparison to request an Audio Overview, keeping the source-based comparison available beside it.

Artifact to inspect

A cited comparison and optional audio study aid.

What to verify

Check the actual passages, confirm both imports, and listen for unsupported simplification in the overview.

Data handling and permissions

Google's current policy says notebook content is not used to directly train foundational models unless feedback is provided. Consumer feedback can include sources, prompts and outputs, undergo human review and remain retained for up to three years. Workspace and Education feedback has different protections, so the consumer statement does not describe every organizational account. Sharing material into another Google service also brings that service's policies into scope. Check the account type, feedback behavior and notebook sharing before importing internal documents. Source-grounded answers remain generated interpretations: this policy describes data handling, not accuracy or permission to upload material belonging to someone else.

Other options

Perplexity
Use for discovering current web evidence before curating a notebook.
Notion AI
Consider it when the evidence already lives in a permissioned team workspace.

Sources and scope

Documentation-based product profile; no hands-on testing. The proposed workflow is an authored exercise, not a verified outcome or a practical guide. Capabilities and policy statements describe vendor documentation checked October 2, 2026; task-fit comparisons are editorial judgments. Plan, region, administrator and interface limits may apply.

Source review: . Product access and terms can change.

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