Using NotebookLM in everyday work

In the fifth module of our "Gemini Adoption Series," we showed why NotebookLM is getting so much attention right now . It's not just another chatbot. It's a tool specifically designed to structure complex information and data.

Here is a summary of the highlights and key findings from the session.

What can NotebookLM do?

NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and analysis tool that leverages the power of Google Gemini to make work processes more efficient. Instead of laboriously gathering information yourself, the tool helps you grasp the most important points more quickly and speed up your research.

The decisive advantage over conventional AI models lies in the combination of three factors: data protection, transparency, and multimodality.

Up to 300 different sources from various media formats (text, audio, websites, PDFs, Google Docs, slides, or YouTube links) can be processed. 

The big advantage of NotebookLM

Two points were particularly important to us during the session:

• Verifiable results: To minimize the risk of hallucinations, each answer is accompanied by footnotes. One click takes you directly to the corresponding section in the original document, allowing you to check the information immediately.
• Data handling: Since NotebookLM is integrated into the Google Workspace environment, information remains within your own organization. The data is not used to train public AI models.

One feature that really impressed us in the live demo was the audio overviews.

If you don't have time to read a 50-page report in detail, you can use NotebookLM to convert the content into an audio podcast with a single click. Two AI voices discuss the key points of the documents, establish connections, and illustrate complex topics with examples. This is ideal for making complex topics tangible and grasping the essentials.

NotebookLM adds an interactive component to the audio overviews: users can now join in the conversation between the two AI hosts directly via voice. Instead of just passively consuming the summary, they can ask specific questions or delve deeper into certain aspects of the source. 

Additional output formats are also available: 

• Mind maps for a visual overview.
• FAQs or briefings for customers.
• Flash cards to deepen knowledge.
• presentations 
• infographics 
• Video summaries

Collaboration reimagined through notebook sharing

An exciting question for teams is: Can NotebookLM notebooks also be shared within a team? Of course. Colleagues can be invited as "editors" to work on the notebook together. A clever third option was introduced: "Chat only."

In this mode, other people can ask questions about your notebook. However, they cannot see the original source documents. This is extremely useful when sharing insights, but the underlying contracts or raw data should not be shared internally.

Conclusion and tip for using NotebookLM

If you already work with Google Workspace and often need to do research, NotebookLM is well worth it. It saves time when reading, helps you understand complex contexts, and is even fun to use thanks to its audio function.

Our tip: Grab a current project, upload the documents as a source, and generate a podcast about it. You'll be surprised.

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