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Google · source-grounded research notebook

Gemini Notebook

Official documentation

Gemini Notebook is a research workspace for understanding a chosen set of sources. Bring in documents, web pages, videos, audio or Google files, then ask questions that connect their contents and return source references you can inspect. You can use the resulting understanding to make study aids such as an Audio Overview. It is especially useful when you already know which material matters and need help navigating agreements, gaps or contradictions. The former NotebookLM URL redirects to the current app; this is an application using Gemini, distinct from the model API. Web and mobile features, account eligibility and administrator controls affect what is available.

Product profileDocumentation checked

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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. For a work or school account, confirm that the administrator has enabled access and check the available features.
  2. Create a notebook around one question and import a small set of public sources. Give them recognizable names, note their dates and confirm that each import succeeded before asking about the collection.
  3. Ask a precise question and select the relevant sources where useful. Open the references in the answer, correct any misleading comparison and then decide whether an Audio Overview or another study aid would help.

Proposed exercise · not hands-on tested

Compare two policy documents

Input

Two public policy PDFs covering the same decision. Record their publication dates and whether either document replaces the other.

  1. Import both PDFs and ask for a comparison of the provisions that affect the decision. Request separate treatment of agreement, conflict and matters neither document answers.
  2. Open each cited passage. Check the applicable dates, exceptions and definitions; two provisions may only appear contradictory because they apply to different people or situations.
  3. Correct the comparison, then request an Audio Overview as a study aid. Keep the written comparison and original sources beside it so a listener can return to the exact passage.

Artifact to inspect

A source-referenced comparison that preserves dates, qualifications and unresolved conflicts, with an optional audio aid.

What to verify

Confirm both source imports and trace each material conclusion to its passage. If the audio simplifies an exception that matters to the decision, revise the study aid before relying on it.

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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