Yesterday I was having lunch with a lovely group of business owners, and we were chatting about what we do. When I mentioned that I’m a tech trainer and recently ran sessions on using AI tools, one of the gents asked:
“What do you recommend other than ChatGPT?”
Turns out everyone at the table had at least heard of ChatGPT – some were using it regularly – but not one person was using Google’s NotebookLM. And that’s exactly what prompted me to write this post.
What is NotebookLM and How Does it Differ from ChatGPT?
NotebookLM is what I like to call The Everything Tool.
It’s Google’s research assistant, designed to help you think using your own sources. You can upload PDFs, YouTube videos, transcripts, audio files, or even just paste in some copy – and then use Gemini (Google’s AI) to summarise, analyse, or quiz you on your content.
Unlike ChatGPT, NotebookLM doesn’t search the internet. It stays grounded in the documents and links you’ve added, which makes it incredibly accurate and far less likely to hallucinate. (I use it a lot, and I’ve never seen it make things up.)
So if you’re tired of AI tools inventing facts or missing context, NotebookLM is a breath of fresh air – and well worth trying.
Why NotebookLM is a Game-Changer for Productivity
NotebookLM is especially great for:
✅ Repurposing long documents
✅ Creating study resources like quizzes and flashcards
✅ Prepping for classes or presentations
✅ Extracting insights and structuring reports
✅ Having your own assistant that knows your material inside and out
It’s free to use – you just need to be logged into a Google account:
👉 https://notebooklm.google
A Simple Step-by-Step: How to Use NotebookLM
- Log in with your Google account
- Explore the featured notebooks, or click “Create a new notebook”
- Add your sources – drag in a PDF, paste text, or link to a site
- Ask Gemini questions about your content in the chat
- Or head to the Studio to generate:
- Quizzes & flashcards
- Audio/video overviews
- Reports, timelines, mind maps
- Study guides or briefing docs
👉 The Studio is where the magic really happens – you get a full suite of content formats that you can customise and regenerate in seconds. Even better: podcasts and videos can be generated in multiple languages.
This is the part I’m especially excited about.
Mastering Your Notes with Quizzes & Flashcards
I’m currently building a self-paced course and wanted to include a NotebookLM generated quiz as part of the material. The quiz builder lets you:
- Choose how many questions you want
- Set the difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard)
- Pick which source to base the quiz on
- Focus on a specific topic or concept
It’s a brilliant way to check understanding, reinforce learning, or prep for assessments – and it works really well for turning your existing materials into interactive learning activities or reports.
The NotebookLM Limitations: What to Watch Out For
Right now, you can share an entire notebook or the chat – but not individual Studio assets like the quiz or video on their own. That means:
- You can’t embed just the quiz into your website
- You can’t link directly to the flashcards for one module
- You have to share the whole notebook or the notebook’s chat
👎 For trainers like me, this is a bit of a pain. I was hoping to embed a NotebookLM quiz directly into my self-paced course so learners could complete it in place, but instead, I’d have to recreate the quiz manually, or share the full notebook instead.
That said, NotebookLM is being updated regularly, and I’m (cautiously) optimistic that this feature will be added soon. Yes, I’ve requested it from Google!
Final Verdict: Is it the Best AI Tool for You?
NotebookLM is one of the most useful AI tools out there – and almost nobody I talk to is using it yet.
If you’re someone who creates content, teaches others, or just wants to get more value from your existing materials, I highly recommend giving it a go. It’s free, fast, and packed with features you’d normally expect from a paid tool.
And if you’re curious how I use it for repurposing, prep, or course creation, I’ll be running a free drop-in session soon (stay tuned!).
Have you tried NotebookLM yet?
