NotebookLM is quietly becoming one of the most powerful tools for serious thinking work; yet most people use only a fraction of its potential. If you work with research, strategy, product thinking, or complex data research & analysis, NotebookLM can dramatically improve the quality of your decisions. I've demonstrated what NotebookLM is capable of in the article NotebookLM for Product Designers.
Pick a purpose. Start a new notebook for a work project or a learning goal. Examples: I created a notebook to organize materials for the new online bilingual MA program we're developing at the CUNY Newmark Grad School of Journalism where I work. I also set up a notebook to learn more about Gustav Mahler, a composer I revere. I have numerous others for work and personal projects.
Rather than being a one-size-fits-all solution, AI will likely deliver distinct benefits to particular industries and jobs. It'll therefore be the responsibility of every individual to figure out how the technology fits within the unique contours and requirements of their particular role. The watchwords of the hour when it comes to the use of AI at work are experimentation and adaptation, not copy and paste.
Google's latest addition to its NotebookLM artificial intelligence research platform is a feature called Data Tables. The tool can collect and synthesize information across multiple sources into a chart that can be exported to Google Sheets. All Pro and Ultra users will have access to the feature today, and Data Tables will roll out to all users over the coming weeks.
While I was working the other day organically, I opened up one of my favorite AI tools and had an unprompted thought to myself about how grateful I was to have access to this application. That realization then made me think about how many apps have now become an integral part of my everyday workflow, and at this point, many have made the list.
In this episode of the Startup Canada podcast, Natasha Walji, Managing Director at Google Canada, shares insights on leveraging AI for business growth. She emphasizes the transformative power of AI in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and discusses her journey in technology and community service. Key Resources for Canadian Small Businesses Google's AI Essentials Course: Check out this generative AI course on Coursera.
Google's AI note-taking and research assistant NotebookLM now lets users customize the tone of their Audio Overviews, which are podcasts with AI virtual hosts that summarize and discuss documents shared with NotebookLM, such as course readings or legal briefs. When generating an Audio Overview, users can now choose whether they want their AI podcasts to be formatted as a "Deep Dive," "Brief," "Critique," or "Debate."
Google announced on Monday that it updated NotebookLM's Video Overviews feature to support 80 languages, including French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. The company also upgraded Audio Overview, enhancing non-English audio summaries to be more detailed. Last month, NotebookLM launched Video Overviews so users could turn their notes, PDFs, and images into video presentations. Previously only available in English, this update is beneficial for non-English speakers who want to learn from visual summaries in their preferred language.