Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to chat with industry folks who, like me, eat and breathe AI tools. After meeting with yet another (non-Google-affiliated) media person last week who told me how much they loved NotebookLM, I decided to give it a real try.

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Although I’ve tried several NotebookLM features for the site before and have been impressed, finding a way to incorporate NotebookLM into my workflow seemed daunting — especially because every time I tried project management tools such as Notion or Asana, I was instantly overwhelmed and never stuck with them.

However, for this article, I committed to the bit, moved some of my everyday content over, and here is what my experience was like (and some ways to get the most out of it).

Easy to organize your files

Google describes NotebookLM as a “Your Personalized AI Research Assistant,” and while the title may be true, it is a little vague. Practically speaking, NotebookLM is a virtual information manager in which you can upload your own files and organize them into “notebooks.”

Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

Those notebooks then have many AI-powered features, such as the ability to generate a Study guide, a briefing document, an FAQ, a Timeline, and even an AI podcast. I will get into that soon. Right now, let’s talk about its most underrated feature: organization.

Importing all of your documents and sources into a new notebook is simple. As mentioned before, I typically give up at this point with content management applications because creating each individual content section takes a lot of toggling and brainpower. While customization is great, I am more of a plug-and-play type of user. With NotebookLM, all you have to do is click on “Create New” and then upload a source by dragging and dropping a file from your computer or drop a link or Google Workspace file.

Also: NotebookLM now lets you share your notebooks with anyone with a single link. Here’s how

I opted to create a new notebook for every story I was working on that had multiple elements, such as an audio file with the interview I conducted, a press release, a spec sheet, etc.

Once I uploaded all the sources, I renamed the notebook, found a summary of sources, and automatically generated a transcript of all the audio memos I uploaded. These features make it easy to keep your workload filed neatly. For students who have to balance multiple sets of notes, exams, PowerPoints, readings, and more, I can see this organization system being so incredibly helpful.

2. Using AI to search is actually a game-changer

The core of the NotebookLM experience lies in the AI features powering it. Once you upload everything into your notebook, you are met with a chat interface that isn’t very different from what you see on ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other AI chatbot you prefer to use. The difference is this chat interface pulls information directly from all the sources you upload, instantly making your content searchable.

Also: Google’s NotebookLM can gather your research sources for you now – and it’s free

While you can also upload your sources to any of the popular chatbots and have a Q&A-like experience, NotebookLM is set apart by a couple of things. First, it can synthesize multiple pieces of information at once from different mediums. So, if you ask a broad question, it will pull from all of the resources you fed it, provide an answer informed by the collective, while also linking back to them all with little footnotes. The second major win is that NotebookLM only pulls from the information you feed it.

Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

This is a major advantage for students and working professionals alike because the biggest risk when using an AI chatbot is hallucinations and bias due to being trained on the entirety of the internet. By ensuring it is only pulling content from the content you input, you can take action to make sure that the information it’s pulling from is from sources that you trust. There is also the option to drop web links if you want NotebookLM to reference top sources, such as informational YouTube videos. So you aren’t completely disconnected from the web — rather, you just have more control.

It can also search the transcripts that it automatically generated for your voice memos. This was a huge win for me because I uploaded interviews, which I was then able to easily parse by saying something like, “What did the speaker say about XYZ?” and then I was shown the exact text. I can see this functionality also being beneficial for students who record their lectures or working professionals who record their meetings.

Also: NotebookLM now lets you chat with expert guides from top publishers, and Shakespeare – here’s how

Another standout AI feature includes Audio Overviews, which produce an AI podcast between two hosts. ZDNET has written full, glowing reviews on this feature before because it is really that good. Personally, I have yet to find a situation in which I could benefit from the Audio Overviews, mostly because the content I am uploading into NotebookLM is already content I have read and am familiar with. However, students who may want to learn more about a particular subject or working professionals who may want to know more about the materials they have yet to be briefed about may be able to benefit.

3. Enterprise-level protection for Google Workspace plans

If you have access to NotebookLM through your Google Workspace account provided by your company, organization, or school, then you also get to enjoy enterprise-level protections on the information you upload. These stipulations include protections such as not being able to train on your data, which is especially important when entering business resources. That security, combined with all of the answers being pulled from the resources you give it, tackles the biggest issues that people face when using chatbots.

Also: The top 20 AI tools of 2025 – and the #1 thing to remember when you use them

You can keep up with my latest stories and tech adventures on social media. Follow me on Twitter/X at @sabrinaa_ortiz and on Instagram at @sabrinaa.ortiz.

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