Google's NotebookLM Set to Introduce AI-Generated Video Overviews, Enhancing Note-Taking Experience

NotebookLM might turn your notes into videos soon, and I'm all here for it

Summary NotebookLM's AI-generated podcast feature, Audio Overviews, is one of the main reasons the tool took off. Google is reportedly developing a Video Overviews feature for NotebookLM. NotebookLM might also be adding an Editor's Picks section and revamping the Studio panel slightly for improved usability. Google's AI-powered note-taking app, NotebookLM, is truly one of the best ways a company has put AI to use. NotebookLM is self-contained and stays grounded in your sources, meaning it doesn't have a habit of hallucinating information or simply telling you what you want to hear. However, while that's admirable, it isn't the reason NotebookLM suddenly gained so much traction. The real game-changer was its Audio Overviews feature, which can automatically create AI-generated podcasts based on your sources within minutes. In these podcasts, two hosts discuss your material in an engaging and relaxed manner. To my surprise, it's hard to even tell the podcast is generated by AI. The hosts' voices don't have that robotic AI touch, and they even stutter and pause every few minutes. Well, it looks like Audio Overviews were just the beginning, as Google is reportedly working on adding a Video Overviews feature to NotebookLM soon. Related I was missing out on these underrated NotebookLM features, and you probably are too Justice for these underrated features Posts 3 NotebookLM might be getting Video Overviews and a new Editor Picks section As spotted by @TestingCataglogNews via a X (formerly Twitter) post, Google is currently working on Video Overviews for NotebookLM. Based on the image they uploaded, a new Video Overview button has appeared in the Studio panel. The feature will likely be powered by Google's Veo 2 video generation model, which Google claims creates "high-quality videos in a wide range of subjects and styles." The company says that the AI video generator has an enhanced understanding of real-world physics and human movement and expressions, which helps it produce highly realistic videos without hallucinations. It can also generate "clips of several minutes in length." NotebookLM's Audio Overviews sometimes hit the one-hour mark, so it's unsure if Video Overviews will work as a replacement for them, or enhance them by adding a visual storytelling effect. NotebookLM's Audio Overviews sometimes hit the one-hour mark, so it's unclear if Video Overviews will replace them or enhance them by adding a visual storytelling effect. The Studio panel that houses this feature also seems to be getting a slight UI revamp. In the image TestingCatalog shared, the following four options appear in the Studio panel: Audio Overview, Video Overview, Mind Map, and Reports. Right now, though, the Studio panel includes an Audio Overview and a Notes section, which houses Study guide, Briefing doc, FAQ, and Timeline. I believe all four of those features have now been condensed into the Reports option mentioned above. That's not all, though. A new Editor's Picks section has also been spotted on NotebookLM's homepage, which will likely highlight notebooks other users have shared publicly. It's an exciting change and could transform the tool into a knowledge-sharing platform, in addition to a research assistant. The timing of these features being spotted isn't surprising though. Google I/O 2025 is just around the corner, and NotebookLM recently shared a post on its X account teasing all the "exciting stuff planned for this year's event." Audio Overviews was also announced during Google I/O 2024, so there's a good chance Video Overviews will go official that day. NotebookLM's mobile app is also expected to launch on the first day of Google I/O, May 20th, so it's shaping up to be an exciting month for the tool.

NotebookLM's Latest Trick Is Creating Videos From Your Notes

This Google Sheets Function Makes Excel Feel Like a Dinosaur AI is great at summarizing notes and might soon bring them to life too. Plenty of apps use AI to create summaries of your notes, but this upcoming feature in Google's NotebookLM can do a lot more. NotebookLM Will Soon Convert Your Notes to Videos TestingCatalog has spotted a new Video Overviews button in NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered note-taking tool. This suggests that users may soon be able to generate video summaries of their notes. Given that NotebookLM is developed by Google, these videos are likely to be powered by the company's latest video generation model, Veo 2. NotebookLM already has an Audio Overviews feature, which lets you create podcasts from your notes. This feature is one of the reasons why the tool took off in the first place, and if Google can get the video generation working as expected, it can make NotebookLM an indispensable note-taking app. We don't know how the final result will look at the moment, but it's not going to be as simple as treating your notes as prompts to generate videos. Google claims Veo 2 can generate video clips of "several minutes in length," and it has a better understanding of real-world physics as well as human movement and expressions, so the result can be quite good. NotebookLM can sometimes generate hour-long podcasts based on your material, so it seems unlikely that the new feature will act as a complete replacement. Instead, Google might be looking to enhance the AI-generated podcasts with a little helping of visual metaphors or small explanations to better visualize and explain more complicated topics. Audio Overviews often include scripted dialogues between two AI-generated hosts using fixed voices. Given Veo 2's current limitations, Google can implement a similar template-based system here to get better results. Video Overviews Are Just the Beginning Apparently, Video Overviews aren't all that's new to NotebookLM. TestingCatalog also spotted UI changes that could make for better content discovery. There's a new section called Editor's Picks, implying you could soon be able to browse public notebooks. Given it's a Google tool, there's also going to be an element of personalization here, so the feature can give you some interesting reads. These types of community-driven features can expand NotebookLM from a note-taking and research assistant to a full-blown knowledge-sharing platform, similar to Perplexity's Discover section. Google seems to be bringing its entire AI ecosystem across mediums -- text, voice, and now even video -- into a single assistant-like tool that revolves around user-generated content, similar to apps like Notion. Related Notion vs. NotebookLM: What's the Best AI Note-Taking Tool? AI note-taking tools have changed the game, but which one reigns supreme -- Notion or NotebookLM? Posts The Video Overviews feature and UI changes are expected to arrive with NotebookLM's mobile app release for iOS and Android, planned for May 20. With Google I/O also scheduled to start the same day, these new features will likely be highlight announcements. NotebookLM is one of the best uses of AI in research or note-taking apps that I've seen in some time. I'm genuinely excited to try it out, especially considering how well the Audio Overviews feature works.