NotebookLM is this super cool AI research helper by Google that reads your documents and provides clarity.
It can read PDFs, slides, websites, docs whatever all you do is upload it and it will return it to you in helpful summaries or you can ask it in a natural way.
It’s like having a study buddy on your phone.
It also provides podcast style audio representations that it calls Audio Overviews.
You simply click play and the AI hosts will have a natural conversation about your material. It is very enjoyable to listen to and saves you reading time.
Basically, what will it do (in a casual way)
You provide source material (PDFs, links, etc.) and the AI returns back findings.
You can expect summaries, answers, timelines, FAQs, study guides- whatever gets your thoughts organized. You can even modify its normal responses.
Want to have that podcast feel? Notebook LM turns your stuff into an Audio Conversation, and you can even have follow up questions, so you can really engage.
Everything is private your sources are not used to train the AI unless you volunteer that information. That’s nice.
What’s included?
Here’s the summary on pricing and access:
If you are a Google One AI Premium (aka AI Pro) subscriber, NotebookLM Plus is part of that subscription currently priced at $19.99/month.
Eligible US student subscribers get a discounted price of $ 9.99/month for a limited time of twelve months.
Better yet, eligible college students in the US receive AI Premium free until June 30 2026 which means get NotebookLM Plus features, 2TB storage, Gemini Advanced and more at no cost for a limited time.
There is also an AI Ultra plan for $249.99/month that subscription includes the most power boost, additional storage, access to new tools like Flow and Project Mariner.
Also NotebookLM with more power.
Monthly visitors and reach
NotebookLM’s official site notebooklm.google currently is getting around 8.9 million visits a month. Attendance is down about 16% from last month, but still robust.
On social media, it has about 69,200 followers across platforms on X (Twitter), as of this writing.
Pros
Transforms dense information into something consumable.
Audio content in a podcast format is fun and refreshing.
Privacy is excellent, your notes stay your notes.
You can upload all sorts and get insights quickly.
Cons
Limitations on the free version number of chat queries, audio generations, number of notebooks.
Paid plan helps, but it still limits you unless you upgrade to Ultra.
The drop in website traffic may suggest there is a way of improving on engagement levels.
Conclusion
NotebookLM is without a doubt a great AI assistant. It is personable and conversational, not mechanical. It feels easy, conversational, and enjoyable to engage with.
If you struggle reading long documents, this takes documents and turns them into short, chat-style conversations or witty little podcast excerpts you can listen to at any time.
Overall, if you want to encouraged to stay sharp, to learn in a low friction way, or just relax while content talks back to you, I recommend NotebookLM.
