Last summer, Google introduced an AI-powered research and writing assistant called NotebookLM. The company has now rolled out an upgraded version of the tool which uses Google Gemini 1.5 Pro. The new tool is being launched in over 200 countries and territories which also includes the Indian market.
The new NotebookLM tool, Google claims, will help users understand complex material, make new connections, and draft quickly. The USP of this new platform is that you can train it specifically on given data and documents. Users can upload sources like research notes, interview transcripts, and corporate documents. The AI will then use the information in the documents, links and media to answer customised queries.
How Google NotebookLM works?
For instance, if you are a college student researching medieval Indian history, you can upload multiple research papers on the topic from various sources. You can even upload books in PDF format. Then you can ask specific queries that would otherwise require you to read all the content you just uploaded. The NotebookLM will also be able to cite the answers to your questions which provides an additional layer of transparency.
The new features include support for Google Slides and web URLs, inline citations, and a notebook guide that converts sources into FAQs, Briefing Docs, or Study Guides. Gemini 1.5 Pro's multimodal capabilities allow users to ask questions about images, charts, and diagrams, with citations included when relevant.
Case studies show various uses, from bestselling author Walter Isaacson analysing Marie Curie's journals to local governance and nonprofit applications. Getting started with NotebookLM involves creating a notebook and uploading documents for a project. The sources uploaded are not used to train the model. NotebookLM has been a powerful tool for U.S. users, and its global launch is eagerly anticipated.