Slowly but surely, AI is starting to reshape how we work and even how we live our daily lives. However, many still find it difficult to accept that it is here to stay. But the truth is, the more you try to avoid AI, the faster you’ll fall behind.
However, even though AI models have been around for a while, they are still far from perfect. The best way to describe them is a work in progress. I’ve been on the AI bandwagon ever since it started making headlines. I’d try all the new tools, get frustrated, and end up thinking, “Hey, my perfectionism could do this a hundred times better.”
That all changed when Google launched its AI-powered research assistant. NotebookLM. Sure, there are moments when using some AI tools makes me want to tear my hair out, but NotebookLM is one tool that taught me how AI can truly be a productivity game changer.
NotebookLM doesn’t do the hard work for you
It helps you learn faster, not a smarter cheat
Given that I’m a full-time student, the AI tools that work best for me are focused on learning. When I searched for “best AI tools for education”, one of the first tools that came up was ChatGPT. Here’s my problem with AI tools like ChatGPT: they’re designed primarily to do work for you. If you want an essay, just let ChatGPT know. If you want to solve a math question, ChatGPT will break it down step by step. If you want to write an essay, ChatGPT to the rescue.
Frankly, this is what the vast majority of students do with AI. I wanted a tool to help me learn, not cheat my way through it. I wouldn’t have ChatGPT with me during my exams, so relying on it to get the job done doesn’t help me at all. Sure, it could get me an A on my assignment and save me many hours. But if I don’t learn anything in the long run, what good is that A or the hours I saved?
NotebookLM is not just another AI tool that retrieves data for you. Instead, it’s designed to help you interact with information using AI. You provide the tool with resources and then it uses AI to manipulate them in various ways. For example, it can turn them into AI-generated podcasts called Audio Previews.
NotebookLM is more of a work companion than a shortcut. It won’t give you the answers you need to cheat. Instead, it will help you understand complex material and understand anything you study or research. This makes all the difference to someone who wants to actively understand the research they are doing rather than just scribble.
This taught me that not all AI models hallucinate
Just tell me the truth, AI. Is it that hard?
When I say I didn’t like most of the AI tools I tried in the past, it’s not because they didn’t give me valuable information. This is because most of the time the information they give me is not true. Take the recent hallucinations of Google’s AI Vision as an example. A few weeks ago there was a funny trend online that typing a completely random sentence into Google Search that sounded vaguely like an idiom would trigger an AI review explaining it as a real phrase!
Although this is just one example, no matter what AI tool I use, I find that there are examples like this in all of them. AI disinformation, and sometimes he told me what I wanted to hear. It works best when you’re just messing around. But when you can’t afford inaccuracy, manually checking and verifying data quickly becomes frustrating. NotebookLM does not have this problem. Instead of generating answers by pulling information from the Internet or its own internal knowledge, NotebookLM relies solely on the documents you feed it or the information you share with it via chat.
If the tool doesn’t know the answer to your question, it won’t generate data or try to guess to satisfy you. Instead, it will tell you that what you’re asking isn’t listed anywhere in your downloaded resources or chat history.
Every answer the tool gives you will always have a quote number next to it. If this is a long answer, each sentence will be followed by a quote number. Hovering over the quote will reveal the exact text he used to create the answer. If you have multiple sources, all you have to do is click on one and it will take you directly to the quoted text. Sources panel.
It is packed with features that make sense
How did I survive without NotebookLM?
NotebookLM offers practical features that you usually don’t find in other tools. His The Audio Previews feature made it go viral. This feature turns your downloaded sources into AI-generated podcasts. These podcasts are really fun to listen to, “hosted” by two virtual hosts who discuss your sources in an engaging and witty way.
They sprinkle in jokes every now and then to keep you engaged, making it the perfect way to get a quick overview of whatever document you’re holding. There is also an interactive audio review mode that allows you to jump into the podcast and ask any questions you may have. If you’re not a big fan of podcasts, NotebookLM also allows you to convert your sources into mind maps. Soon it will allow you to convert too include sources in Video Views!
He studies my sources so I don’t have to
It’s like Ctrl+F, but smarter
I don’t want AI to do the creative “thinking” part of my work or education. Instead, I’d prefer it if it could handle more boring, monotonous tasks. For example, I learned something a few weeks ago and I need to review a topic quickly. The lecture slides I have are 80 pages. The last thing I want to do is scroll through all the pages to find a topic I want to refresh. Ctrl+F helps, but only if I remember the exact phrase used in the slides. Instead of flipping through a page, NotebookLM can help me in seconds.
Powered by artificial intelligence, it understands the meaning behind my question. As shown in the image above, even if I phrase my question differently than the source, it will find the exact solution I need. In the rare case that he cannot do this, I will ask him to summarize the entire document. What I need to learn is sure to pop up, and thanks to the quote that appears next to it, all I need to do is click on it and I’ll be redirected to its exact location in my resources. After that I can ask all the questions that I have.
Hours of manual labor saved! Since NotebookLM is rooted within my sources, I don’t even have to worry about it fixing anything.
I would honestly pay for it (but I’m glad I don’t have to)
While I’ll gladly pay for tools that are worth it and greatly increase my productivity, I’d happily go for a free or cheaper option if it does the job just as well (or better). For example, I recently ditched Goodnotes 6, my favorite for years, for Noterafts because It offered a $3 lifetime subscription.
Nevertheless, I used NotebookLM shortly after its launch as an experimental project. Since then, Google has introduced the paid tier NotebookLM in Pro. For individual consumers, NotebookLM in Pro is available through Google One, which costs $19.99 per month. With the premium tier, you get five times more Audio Views (20), surveys (500), notebooks (500) and resources per notebook (400) than the free tier.
For reference, you can create 100 notebooks with up to 50 resources each without upgrading. You can also create three Audio Previews and get a daily limit of 50 chat requests. The day before the exam, I used NotebookLM during a stressful session where I studied the entire course from scratch and still didn’t hit the limits.
Unless you’re using NotebookLM in a team or organization, I doubt the average user will need to upgrade to premium. Unlike other AI tools, NotebookLM doesn’t keep its best features behind a paywall. So, if you have doubts about the tool, you can try it without any obligation.
I hope this bit doesn’t bother the NotebookLM team and they keep it that way!
It works the way I wish all AI tools would work
NotebookLM is the only tool that really convinces me that AI can help you do more in less time. I wish all the other AI tools worked harder!
