Google made a new AI note app - NotebookLM review

Shu Omi
22 Mar 202408:17

TLDRGoogle's NotebookLM is an innovative AI-powered tool designed to assist users in understanding and writing better. It goes beyond a traditional note app, acting as an AI collaborator that analyzes content, suggests topics, and organizes information. With its intuitive interface, NotebookLM helps users process diverse information from PDFs, Google Docs, and web texts into structured documents or outlines. It's particularly useful for students, academics, writers, and teachers, offering a new way to manage research and collaborate on projects. Despite its limitations, such as availability only in the U.S. and lack of certain note app features, NotebookLM stands out as a valuable research companion.

Takeaways

  • 📔 Google's NotebookLM is an AI-powered note-taking app designed to assist with understanding and writing.
  • 🎓 Ideal for students, academics, writers, and teachers, NotebookLM simplifies the writing process for papers and essays.
  • 📱 The interface is similar to Google Keep, offering intuitive and easy-to-use navigation.
  • 🔍 NotebookLM actively analyzes content from uploaded documents and web links, providing digestible summaries.
  • 💡 It suggests topics for exploration based on the analyzed content, aiding in brainstorming and learning.
  • 🗣️ Users can interact with NotebookLM to discuss study materials and research documents, asking direct questions for detailed insights.
  • 📚 NotebookLM organizes user-provided materials into structured documents like study guides or project outlines.
  • 📝 The AI can transform notes into various formats such as email newsletters or script outlines based on user commands.
  • 🔗 Responses from NotebookLM are backed by citations from the user's documents, ensuring accuracy and source verification.
  • 🔍 It helps in quickly finding specific information within long documents or passages without manual searching.
  • 🌐 Limited availability: NotebookLM is currently accessible only to users in the U.S. who are 18 and older.

Q & A

  • What is Google's NotebookLM?

    -NotebookLM is an AI collaborator developed by Google, designed to assist users in understanding ideas and improving their writing. It is not a typical note-taking app but offers a more interactive experience with AI to process information and generate insights.

  • Who might benefit from using NotebookLM?

    -NotebookLM could be particularly useful for students, academics, writers, and teachers, as it simplifies the process of writing papers, essays, and organizing research materials.

  • How does the design of NotebookLM compare to Google Keep?

    -The design of NotebookLM is similar to Google Keep, offering a familiar, simple, and intuitive user interface that many people appreciate for its ease of use.

  • What are the key features of NotebookLM?

    -NotebookLM's key features include automatic content analysis, topic suggestion, the ability to interact with AI for detailed exploration, and the organization of user-uploaded materials into structured documents.

  • How does NotebookLM handle the content analysis?

    -After feeding links or documents into NotebookLM, it actively analyzes the content, distills it into key insights, and suggests topics for exploration, saving users from doing this manually.

  • What makes NotebookLM different from other AI writing apps?

    -NotebookLM stays grounded in the documents provided by the user, focusing on the specific information given rather than pulling in data from the internet at large.

  • How can NotebookLM assist in organizing study materials or research documents?

    -NotebookLM can tidy up notes and articles into structured documents like study guides or project outlines, and it allows users to give specific commands to organize information into the desired format.

  • What are the reliability aspects of NotebookLM?

    -NotebookLM is designed to be upfront when it lacks sufficient information to answer a query, ensuring accuracy. It also provides responses with citations from the user's documents, allowing users to trace the source of the information.

  • How can NotebookLM be used for collaborative work?

    -Users can share notebooks with others, making it a potentially transformative tool for group projects or study sessions, as it facilitates collaborative research and writing.

  • What are the limitations of NotebookLM?

    -NotebookLM is currently only available in the U.S. for users who are 18 and older, and it lacks features like adding images, tasks, or text formatting, which might be expected in a full-featured note app.

  • How does the user suggest NotebookLM could be improved?

    -The user suggests that importing sources directly from the web using a browser extension would make the process less tedious, as currently, users must download materials before uploading them to the app.

  • What is Sanebox and how does it relate to NotebookLM?

    -Sanebox is a productivity tool that uses AI to organize email inboxes by identifying important and unimportant emails. While not directly related to NotebookLM, it is mentioned as another AI application that can enhance workflow efficiency.

Outlines

00:00

📔 Introducing Google's NotebookLM: The AI Study Companion

Google's newly announced app, NotebookLM, is an innovative tool that goes beyond traditional note-taking apps to become an AI collaborator. It is particularly beneficial for students, academics, writers, and teachers, aiding in the understanding of concepts and improvement of writing skills. The app's interface is similar to Google Keep, known for its simplicity and user-friendliness. NotebookLM's key features include automatic content analysis, topic suggestion, and the ability to interact with uploaded materials, providing a focused and organized resource library. It can transform notes and articles into structured documents and follow user commands for specific formatting needs. The AI emphasizes accuracy by citing sources from the user's documents and offers follow-up questions to encourage deeper exploration of topics. Additionally, NotebookLM is a collaborative tool, allowing sharing of notebooks for group projects or study sessions. It is currently only available in the U.S. for users aged 18 and above, and its experimental nature means some limitations, such as the lack of image support and direct web import via browser extensions.

05:03

📱 Sanebox: The AI-Powered Email Tidy

Sanebox is a productivity tool that utilizes AI to streamline email management. By connecting your email accounts, Sanebox automatically sorts important from unimportant emails, moving the latter to a 'SaneLater' folder. This feature, along with others like the Daily Digest and SaneBlackHole, significantly saves time and enhances email management efficiency. The Daily Digest condenses unimportant emails into a brief summary, while SaneBlackHole blocks emails from specific senders. Sanebox is compatible with various email clients, including Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Users can try Sanebox for free without registration, and a QR code is provided for easy access. The app also offers a $25 credit for new users.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡NotebookLM

NotebookLM is an AI-powered note-taking application introduced by Google. It is designed to not only store information but also to actively analyze and distill content from various sources such as PDFs, Google Docs, and web pages. The application is likened to an AI collaborator that aids users in understanding ideas and improving their writing process. It is particularly beneficial for students, academics, writers, and teachers, offering a streamlined and intuitive interface similar to Google Keep.

💡AI collaborator

An AI collaborator refers to an artificial intelligence system that works in conjunction with humans to assist in tasks such as understanding complex ideas, analyzing information, and improving the writing process. In the context of NotebookLM, the AI collaborator actively engages with the user's content, providing insights, organizing information, and even engaging in discussions about uploaded materials.

💡Automatic content analysis

Automatic content analysis is a feature that allows software to evaluate and process the content of documents, links, or text inputs without manual intervention. It involves the AI system reading through the text, summarizing key points, and presenting them in a more digestible form. This saves users time and effort by automating the process of extracting valuable insights from a variety of sources.

💡Intuitive interface

An intuitive interface is a user-friendly design that allows users to interact with a software application easily and without prior training or extensive instructions. It typically features clear layouts, straightforward navigation, and simple controls that make the software's functions readily accessible and understandable.

💡Resource library with AI

A resource library with AI refers to a digital collection of materials, such as documents, articles, and notes, that are enhanced by artificial intelligence to organize, analyze, and provide insights into the content. The AI component of such a library actively engages with the resources, offering users a more dynamic and interactive experience compared to traditional static libraries.

💡Content distillation

Content distillation is the process of extracting the most important information or core ideas from a larger body of content. This process simplifies complex information, making it easier for users to understand and use. In the context of NotebookLM, content distillation involves summarizing articles, reports, and other documents into key insights, saving users time and effort in manual analysis.

💡Sanebox

Sanebox is a productivity tool that utilizes AI to manage and organize email inboxes. It automatically analyzes incoming emails, distinguishing between important and unimportant messages, and sorts them accordingly. This tool helps users save time by focusing on critical emails and reducing the effort required to maintain an organized inbox.

💡Study guides

Study guides are structured materials designed to assist learners in understanding and memorizing information related to a specific subject or course. They often include summaries of key concepts, review questions, and study tips. In the context of NotebookLM, the AI can help users create study guides by organizing notes and articles into a structured format that facilitates learning and review.

💡Project outlines

Project outlines are detailed plans that map out the structure and main points of a project, including objectives, tasks, timelines, and resources needed. They serve as a roadmap for project execution and help ensure that all aspects of the project are considered and organized.

💡Readwise

Readwise is a reading and note-taking app that allows users to highlight and save passages from books and articles, as well as to organize and review these highlights. It integrates with other platforms to enhance the reading and note-taking experience, making it easier for users to recall and utilize information from their readings.

💡Collaborative work

Collaborative work refers to a process where multiple individuals work together on a project or task, sharing ideas, resources, and responsibilities. It often involves communication, coordination, and the use of tools that facilitate teamwork and enhance the collective output.

Highlights

Google's announcement of NotebookLM, an AI collaborator app designed to enhance understanding and writing capabilities.

NotebookLM's potential to significantly aid university students, academics, writers, and teachers in their work.

The app's interface, which is similar to Google Keep, offering simplicity and intuitive use.

NotebookLM's ability to process and make sense of information from various sources like PDFs, Google Docs, and websites.

Automatic content analysis feature that distills key insights from articles and documents, saving manual effort.

Suggestion of topics for exploration based on analyzed content, aiding in brainstorming and learning.

Interactive capabilities with NotebookLM to discuss uploaded materials and ask direct questions, providing a unique feature compared to other AI writing apps.

NotebookLM's focus on the documents provided by the user, ensuring grounded and relevant responses.

The app's ability to organize notes and articles into structured documents like study guides or project outlines.

Customizability of NotebookLM to transform notes into specific formats such as email newsletters or script outlines.

Reliability of NotebookLM in providing accurate responses with citations from the user's documents.

Efficiency in quickly providing insights from long documents or finding specific passages without extensive manual searching.

NotebookLM's potential as a collaborative tool for group projects or study sessions through shared notebooks.

The app's utility for teachers in preparing class resources or evaluating student work.

Sanebox, an AI-powered productivity tool for email inbox organization, identifying important emails and managing unimportant ones.

Sanebox's compatibility with various email clients and its time-saving features like Daily Digest and SaneBlackHole.

The experimental nature of NotebookLM, with limitations such as availability only in the U.S. for users 18 and older.

The absence of features like adding images, tasks, or text formatting in NotebookLM, differentiating it from traditional note apps.

The process of using NotebookLM, from gathering resources to organizing information and writing with the aid of the AI.

The potential of importing reading highlights from Readwise to let AI organize and retrieve specific information for writing purposes.