NotebookLM Enhances Productivity with Intelligent Google Drive Search Integration

NotebookLM Makes It Easier to Find Sources From Your Google Drive

(Credit: Algi Febri Sugita/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google. NotebookLM is one of the most useful AI tools if you have lots of sources you want to combine in one work space. It's popular with professionals working with various documents and students who want to take key learnings from multiple sources. Now, Google has improved its Drive integration in NotebookLM making it easier to find sources you have uploaded to your cloud storage. Previously, you had to find an exact file title within your Drive to be able to add it as a source. That meant knowing the title of what you're trying to find, but now you can search for topics or other keywords. It'll then look through all of your Drive to find relevant files. The new feature was first spotted by XDA after experimenting with its Discover sources feature. This normally lets you bring sources in from around the internet. Now pressing Discover sources in NotebookLM will let you choose between a Web and a Google Drive search. XDA searched their files for a keyword and it brought through 10 different documents to add in. According to Google's support page, you can also use its AI search for more contextual searches. You can put in different queries like "Slides from Claire" or "Notes from last week" rather than looking for an exact title. It'll also be able to find files for searches like "Docs about Q4 planning," which may allow you to find documents you may not have thought of. Google notes it will just pull through docs and slides files as they're the only ones compatible with NotebookLM. It's unclear when Google introduced this feature as the brand has yet to make an official announcement but it appears to be available for all users.

NotebookLM can now search your Google Drive for sources instantly

NotebookLM's biggest advantage is that it remains grounded in sources you upload. What this essentially means is that the tool only references material you've uploaded to a specific notebook (or information you've shared with the tool via the Chat panel). The only feature in the tool that resorts to searching the web is the Discover Sources feature Google added a few months back, which lets the AI find sources to add to your notebook based on a prompt you provide. Though I had some doubts about the feature at first and thought it might be a step away from what makes NotebookLM unique, it turned out to be a pretty great addition. At the end of the day, you're still in control of which sources you add. If you don't like a webpage NotebookLM pulled and don't think it could be a meaningful addition to your notebook, simply don't add it. The feature isn't pushed on you either -- you're free to ignore it all you want. Well, the Discover Sources feature just got an addition you don't want to ignore: Google Drive integration. NotebookLM just introduced Google Drive search, and it's surprisingly good When using NotebookLM to prepare for a quiz a few minutes ago, I decided to hit the Discover Sources button to quickly find more preparation materials in addition to the lecture slides my professor provided. I then spotted a new Find sources from header, with two clickable options: Web and Google Drive. Previously, the Discover Sources pop-up only had a text box to describe what you wanted NotebookLM to find. For instance, you could simply say "Healthy lunch ideas," and NotebookLM would instantly search the web and find multiple high-quality sources for you. Now, you can do the same thing by selecting Web under the Find sources from header. When you switch to the Google Drive option, according to NotebookLM itself, you can type stuff like "docs about Q4 planning," "slides from Tim," "notes from last week," etc. Since Google is yet to announce this feature via an X post or through it's The Keyword blog, I don't have the specifics on how it fully works just yet -- but from my quick testing, it seems to scan your connected Google Drive for relevant documents matching your prompt. For instance, I typed "Linear Algebra," and NotebookLM pulled up ten different documents I had saved in my Google Drive. Some of them weren't exactly related to the linear algebra course I was referring to. For example, the search included a textbook I had saved during high school. However, this isn't surprising, since the book in question did mention linear algebra a few times throughout its chapters. Still, it's impressive how quickly NotebookLM was able to surface those files. The results appeared almost instantly, and the tool even included a brief description of each document. Now, I do think the feature isn't perfect yet. For instance, I reviewed the Logitech MX Master 4 a few days ago, and my Drive has an entire folder with material about it, like the specs sheet and the press release. Unfortunately, none of these documents showed up. The following error appeared: We're having trouble fetching sources based on your query, please try again. When I tried the word "Logitech" alone, a couple of documents from my Drive did pop up, but still none related to the MX Master 4. One possible explanation for this is that NotebookLM might currently only be able to search through documents that are set to Public access rather than private files. If that's the case, it would make sense why certain Drive items weren't showing up in the results. However, I've reached out to Google for clarification on how exactly the Drive integration works and whether file permissions affect search visibility. TestingCatalog did mention back in June that Google was working on Drive search integration for NotebookLM, along with Flashcards. So, it's safe to assume Google's now rolling this feature out more widely. Like Discover Sources for web-based results, I don't think this new addition compromises NotebookLM's source-grounded identity. In fact, since Drive searches are limited to your own content, the tool's essentially just getting smarter about how it surfaces what you already have.

NotebookLM just got even more useful with another handy Google Drive integration

The update appears to have been rolled out quietly, as there's no official announcement from Google. NotebookLM is one of the best and most practical applications of AI for average users like you and me. Since it only uses the sources you provide, it doesn't hallucinate like other AI tools, making it ideal for productivity, studies, or even just daily life (we use it for our internal documentation here at Android Authority). You can ask NotebookLM a question and get a precise answer straight from your documentation. But what if you can't locate specific documents that you want to add? NotebookLM has a Discover Sources feature that searches the web for you, and it seems Google has quietly added a new option for scouring through your Google Drive as well.

NotebookLM Can Now Search Inside Your Google Drive Files - Phandroid

Google NotebookLM added a feature that makes finding information in your Google Drive much easier. The new Discover Sources tool can now search inside your Google Docs and Slides, not just their filenames. Instead of scrolling through dozens of documents trying to remember where you saved something, you can ask NotebookLM in plain English. Questions like "Q4 planning notes" or "Slides from Claire about pricing" will pull up relevant passages from inside those files. Once NotebookLM finds what you're looking for, you can add those documents as sources for your research or notes. This update helps anyone who deals with lots of documents. Researchers, students, analysts, and teams can save time by letting NotebookLM do the heavy lifting. The tool respects your Drive permissions too, meaning it only shows files you own or have access to. Your private documents stay private. Right now, the feature mainly works with Docs and Slides. However, searching actual file contents is a big step up from the old Drive pickers that only looked at filenames. NotebookLM also syncs updates from Drive automatically, so your sources stay current without manual refreshing. The update rolled out quietly over the past few weeks. It's a practical addition that brings your personal files into AI workflows without the usual hallucination risks. By grounding AI insights in your actual source materials, NotebookLM becomes more reliable and useful for real work. If you handle large volumes of documents or collaborate with a team, this feature could change how you organize and access information. Give it a try next time you're digging through your Drive for that one file you know exists somewhere.