NotebookLM gets Gemini 3.5 upgrade to help build source repository from scratch

NotebookLM's new update will help you build source repository from chat

Google on Monday announced an update to its NotebookLM research tool, which includes new features and the shift to Gemini 3.5 as the default model. The company is also adding Antigravity-powered software skills to help users with research and generating different kinds of outputs. This is similar to Google adding coding chops to its search products to make them more engaging for Q&A. Google said that with the latest update, you can start a chat about a project with the app, and it will help you build the knowledge base by suggesting different sources using its research skills and Google Search. The feature could help users get primary sources in other languages or find new material from related authors. Previously, NotebookLM required you to bring your own sources to start building a knowledge base in order to extract insights. The company added that users can now give detailed instructions to NotebookLM to generate output in different formats. Plus, they can edit the output once generated. The tool now supports exports in formats including Data visualizations and charts (.png, .svg); Documents (PDFs, .docx, Markdown, text files); Nano-banana-powered images; Structured data (.csv, .json); and Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Last year, the company introduced a "Deep Research" mode for structured online research. With the new feature rollout, NotebookLM will show detailed steps in the chat about how it arrived at the answers for users to check the output. Google said that the updates are available to Google AI Ultra users and all Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access and AI Expanded Access starting today, with the aim of expanding them to others.

NotebookLM Is Getting Google's Latest Gemini AI Model

Macy has been working for CNET for coming on 2 years. Prior to CNET, Macy received a North Carolina College Media Association award in sports writing. Millions of people have turned to NotebookLM since it launched three years ago for studying, synthesizing and summarizing documents, and data organization. Now, NotebookLM is getting a big upgrade to become an even better research assistant. Google said its AI product will gain "new agentic capabilities in chat and more advanced reasoning" to handle even more complex research tasks and projects. Below, I'll break down the new updates coming to NotebookLM, rolling out globally now to Google AI Ultra subscribers and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access. Read also: Gemini Gets New Notebooks Feature That Syncs With NotebookLM Chat gets a major upgrade NotebookLM's chat tool now runs on Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity to improve accuracy and give clearer visibility into its reasoning and outputs, which Google said was a highly requested feature. Each notebook includes a secure cloud computer, so NotebookLM can write and run code for deeper research and analysis. NotebookLM also has more than 100 curated software skills to expand its thinking steps and allow it to create a wider range of results. More formatting options NotebookLM can now output answers in a wider variety of ways. The AI tool will assemble context from your sources into downloadable, editable artifacts, including data visualizations (png, svg), documents (PDF, DOCX, Markdown, text), images via Nano Banana (png, jpg, gif), structured data (CSV, JSON) and Microsoft formats (XLSX, PPTX). Google plans for more output formats to come in the future. Research gets easier and more trustworthy Getting started with research is easier. With the upgraded NotebookLM, you no longer need a fully formed repository of sources. NotebookLM can help you build one from loose ideas, guide source discovery inside chat and use Google Search to surface high‑quality web sources. You can also choose which sources to add to your research, and each source stays clearly attributed, so results remain grounded in information you trust. Read also: NotebookLM's Video Overviews Just Got Better Thanks to a Trifecta of Google's AI Models These changes to NotebookLM aim to broaden real‑world use cases. For instance, a researcher can merge messy international datasets, run code to analyze them and produce charts plus a PDF report; technical teams can convert dense specs into simplified guides and slide decks; and small business owners can combine sales and spending data, then use NotebookLM's analysis and reporting to inform expansion decisions. All of these changes combine to help you make the most of your research experience, for better results and a more transparent process.

NotebookLM's Gemini 3.5 upgrade adds a cloud computer and help finding sources

Google is rolling out "across the board" updates to NotebookLM. The AI-powered note-taking app now uses Google's upgraded Gemini 3.5 model, which will allow it to respond with "more accurate and reliable information," according to a blog post on Monday. Launched in 2023, NotebookLM allows you to interact with your notes and sources using AI, as well as ask questions about the materials. With this update, Google says you can start a research project by just asking NotebookLM questions about a topic, instead of importing notes or YouTube videos. NotebookLM will use Google Search to help you find relevant sources, building on its "discover" feature to help you find useful resources on the web. Additionally, NotebookLM now runs on Google's agentic coding platform, Antigravity. Each notebook within the app is connected to a "secure cloud computer," enabling NotebookLM to write and run code to help with your research. NotebookLM can also output information in new formats and file types, including PDF documents, data visualizations (PNG, SVG), Nano Banana-generated images (PNG, JPG, GIF), Excel and PowerPoint files, CSV sheets, and more. This update is coming to users on Google's AI Ultra plan and Workspace customers, but the company plans to expand it to more plans in the future.

Google's NotebookLM AI Note-Taking Assistant Just Got More Useful

Google's AI tool will let you download outputs in widely supported formats, such as PDF. It's also upgrading NotebookLM with Gemini 3.5. Google is adding a new AI model and editable output formats to its research and note-taking assistant, NotebookLM. The tool is already popular among researchers and students as it helps them find and organize all their materials in one place. With today's update, NotebookLM will now let them download outputs in widely supported formats, such as PDF, DOCX, Markdown, TXT, PNG, SVG, JPG, GIF, CSV, JSON, XLSX, and PPTX. All materials can be downloaded from the app's Studio Panel. The tool now also lets you request changes to materials after they are generated. Google is equipping NotebookLM with its latest Gemini 3.5 model and the Antigravity platform. Together, they can provide "even more accurate and reliable information along with better visibility into the thinking process," the company says, adding that the upgraded NoteBookLM is substantially better at large document analysis, advanced web research, and source discovery. NotebookLM already lets you collect sources by either uploading files or using a search tool to find information on the web. With today's update, NotebookLM makes it easier to collect those sources. You can now just drop an idea or question into the Chat window between the Sources and Studio panels, and NotebookLM will guide you through building your source repository. "Perhaps you want to find primary sources in other languages to better understand new perspectives, or you're seeking related works by an author you recently discovered. It can even use Google Search to find relevant, high-quality sources from the web and add them to your notebook," Google says. Once NotebookLM lays out its options, you can choose to add or discard sources based on their relevance. All of these updates begin rolling out today to all Google AI Ultra and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access. Last month, Google also revamped its AI subscription tiers, adding a cheaper AI Ultra tier.

Google just made NotebookLM a lot more useful with its biggest upgrade yet

You no longer need to start with a pile of documents. NotebookLM can help build a source library from an idea or a question while keeping you in control of which sources are included and cited. There aren't many AI tools I rely on every single day, but NotebookLM is one of them. It has become my go-to tool whenever I need to sift through large amounts of information without losing track of where the facts came from. Now, Google's latest update aims to make that experience even better. NotebookLM will now run on Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity, giving the research-focused AI tool its biggest upgrade yet. This should make responses more accurate, improve reliability, and offer better transparency. Every notebook will now include its own secure cloud-based computing environment. That means the AI won't just summarize information or answer questions; it can also write and execute code when needed, opening the door to more advanced workflows that previously required jumping between multiple apps. Google says the upgraded experience includes over 100 specialized software skills and a broader set of tools designed to help users dig deeper into their source material. Instead of simply reading through documents and notes, users can now transform that information into polished outputs in a wide variety of formats. So, say for instance, you're researching a topic, you could turn your collected sources into a PDF report. NotebookLM can also generate and export reports in PNG and SVG formats, documents including PDF, DOCX, Markdown, and plain text files, Nano Banana images in PNG, JPG, and GIF formats, structured datasets in CSV and JSON, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. What's particularly interesting is that the system is becoming more multilingual. Users can provide instructions in one language and receive completed work in another, making it more useful for international research projects, cross-border collaboration, or studying sources that aren't available in your native language. One of NotebookLM's biggest limitations has always been its starting point. The tool worked best when you already had a collection of sources and knew exactly what you wanted to research. Google is now trying to remove that barrier. Instead of arriving with a carefully assembled folder of documents, you can now start with nothing more than a question, rough idea, or topic you want to explore. It can help build a source library directly inside the chat experience. Perhaps most importantly, NotebookLM doesn't remove users from the process. You still choose which sources are included, while transparent attribution helps ensure the final output stays grounded in real, verifiable information. NotebookLM's new capabilities aren't just aimed at students and researchers. The upgraded tool can help data analysts clean and visualize complex datasets, assist managers in turning dense documentation into presentations and action plans, and even help small business owners measure the impact of marketing campaigns against sales performance. In short, it's increasingly positioning itself as a practical productivity tool for a wide range of professionals. That's ultimately what makes this update feel noteworthy. Google is turning the product into a workspace that lets you research, analyze, create, and package information without having to bounce between half a dozen tools. The new features are rolling out globally on the web starting today for Google AI Ultra subscribers and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access.

Google's NotebookLM can now write code and analyze data for you

Google keeps rolling out new improvements to NotebookLM every few weeks. Now, the company is rolling out one of the biggest updates yet for its AI-powered research tool in recent times. The main highlight is the addition of agentic capabilities and advanced reasoning to handle even more complex research projects. Following the debut of Gemini 3.5 at I/O 2026 last month, Google is bringing its latest AI model and Antigravity to NotebookLM. This should lead to NotebookLM providing even more accurate, detailed, and consistent responses. Plus, the tool will now show its detailed thinking steps, so you have a better understanding of how NotebookLM arrived at its answer. For more advanced projects, every NotebookLM notebook now gets access to a secure cloud-based computer. This allows the AI-powered research tool to write and execute code on your behalf, enabling deeper analysis and more sophisticated research workflows. Google says NotebookLM can tap into more than 100 software tools and capabilities to analyze data, generate visualizations, and perform other complex tasks. NotebookLM's export capabilities are also improving. The tool can now output data in a variety of new formats, including: * Data visualizations and charts (png, svg) * Documents (PDFs, docx, markdown, text files) * Images with Nano Banana (png, jpg, gif) * Structured data (csv, json) * Microsoft Excel (xlsx) * Microsoft PowerPoint (pptx) Besides support for additional file formats, you can provide export instructions and make changes after the file is generated. Plus, NotebookLM can use the information from a notebook to output PDF reports with charts and tables, generate detailed budget reports, and more. Google AI Ultra subscribers get first dibs on the new features Google is also making NotebookLM more useful when starting a new project. Previously, the tool worked best when you already had a collection of sources ready to upload. Now, you can start with a rough idea or question, and NotebookLM will help you discover and organize relevant sources. It will suggest related materials and pull in relevant information from across the web, with the option to add those sources directly to your notebook. For now, the latest round of NotebookLM upgrades is only rolling out on the web and to Google AI Ultra and Workspace business customers. The company will expand access to users on other tiers in the coming weeks.

NotebookLM rolling out big Gemini 3.5 & Antigravity upgrade with more outputs

Google is giving NotebookLM a big upgrade today across the underlying models, outputs, and research made possible by Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity. NotebookLM now uses Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity -- Google's coding tool -- to provide "even more accurate and reliable information along with better visibility into the thinking process." Each notebook now has a "secure cloud computer" that lets NotebookLM "write and run code useful for helping you perform deeper research and more complex analysis." The system includes more than 100 curated software skills, unlocking a wide range of new capabilities to help you more deeply understand the sources in your notebook. This results in big upgrades compared to the prior system, according to side-by-side evaluations: * "...the upgraded NotebookLM achieved an average win rate of over 65% -- a 15% point margin above parity -- across our top five core evaluation dimensions." * "...substantial improvements in large document analysis, securing a 69.9% win rate..." * "...achieved exceptional performance in advanced web research and source discovery reaching a 78.2% win rate against our prior baseline." NotebookLM can now create outputs that are ready to download in more file formats: * Data visualizations and charts: PNG, SVG * Documents: PDFs, DOCX, Markdown, text files * Images with Nano Banana: PNG, JPG, GIF * Structured data: CSV, JSON * Microsoft Excel: XLSX * Microsoft PowerPoint: PPTX You can provide detailed instructions, like creating PDF reports with charts and tables or detailed budget spreadsheets. After generation, you can request edits. More formats are coming in the future. NotebookLM's chat experience can now "guide you through building your source repository" if you're starting a project with just "loose ideas and questions." Perhaps you want to find primary sources in other languages to better understand new perspectives, or you're seeking related works by an author you recently discovered. It can even use Google Search to find relevant, high quality sources from the web and add them to your notebook. Taken together, Google touts more workflows made possible in NotebookLM by these three core upgrades: * Researchers: A data analyst can combine data from various countries with conflicting formatting. To make this information useful, the analyst can ask NotebookLM to conduct web research to find additional context, write code to perform accurate data analysis, and create charts and a PDF report to showcase the results. * Technical Professionals: A program manager can decipher complex specifications for customer integration, instantly transforming the technical documentation into a polished, simplified guide, slide deck and a step-by-step roadmap for the team. * Small Business Owners: A gym owner can run a media campaign and analyze raw sales data against ad spend. By calculating the campaign's financial impact using NotebookLM, the business owner is better equipped to decide whether to expand to other cities. These upgrades are rolling out starting today for Google AI Ultra and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access. This will come to other tiers "over time."

Google just supercharged NotebookLM -- these are the 3 new features I'm testing first

I use NotebookLM every week and these are the new features I'm most excited about Google just announced one of the biggest NotebookLM updates I've seen since Audio Overviews launched, and it's clear the product is evolving from a smart research assistant to a tool with the ability to generate a much wider range of downloadable outputs. I've been using NotebookLM regularly for everything from article research to keeping my family organized and exploring ideas. What I love most about it is that it stays grounded in the materials you provide, reducing the hallucination problem that can plague traditional chatbots. Google says NotebookLM is now powered by Gemini 3.5 and a new system called Antigravity, which the company says improves accuracy, reliability and visibility into how the AI reaches its conclusions. Now, with a host of new capabilities, including code execution and web research for a more thorough and responsive AI tool. After reading through the announcement, three features stand out as the ones I'm most eager to try. 1. NotebookLM can now run code This is the feature that immediately caught my attention. Google says every notebook will now be equipped with a secure cloud computer that allows NotebookLM to write and run code on your behalf. The company says this will help users perform deeper research, more advanced analysis and better understand the information inside their notebooks. That's a significant shift because until now, NotebookLM has largely focused on helping users understand and organize information. Running code moves it into a completely different category. Imagine uploading survey data, research reports or spreadsheets and then asking NotebookLM to analyze trends, compare datasets or generate visualizations without leaving the platform. As someone who spends a lot of time digging through reports and studies for AI stories, this is the feature I'm most curious to test in real-world scenarios. 2. It can now create presenation decks, spreadsheets and reports I've always thought NotebookLM was great at helping me understand information. The next step is helping me do something with it. That's exactly where Google's new output formats come in. NotebookLM can now generate downloadable files in a variety of formats, including: * PDF reports * Slide deck presentations * Excel spreadsheets * Charts and visualizations * Structured data files * Images generated with Nano Banana This could save a tremendous amount of time for students, but also researchers, business owners and anyone who regularly turns information into presentations or reports. Instead of spending hours manually building slides from research notes, you could potentially go from source material to a final presentation in a fraction of the time. 3. NotebookLM can now help find sources One of NotebookLM's biggest strengths has also been one of its biggest limitations. The system works best when you provide high-quality sources. But gathering those sources can sometimes be the most time-consuming part of a project. Google is now making that process much easier. According to the company, users will be able to start with loose ideas and questions rather than arriving with a fully built source library. NotebookLM can help discover relevant material, use Google Search to find high-quality sources and assist in building a notebook from scratch. Users still maintain control over which sources get added, helping ensure the notebook stays grounded in trusted information. For me, this is the feature that could change how people use NotebookLM day to day. Instead of starting with a folder full of documents, you can start with just an idea or something you're curious about. Why this update feels different What stands out most about this announcement isn't any single feature. It's how NotebookLM's role is changing. When NotebookLM first launched, the workflow was straightforward: you gathered your sources, uploaded them and then used the AI to better understand the information. But this update flilps that around. Now, Google is allowing NotebookLM to help discover sources, conduct web research, analyze information, generate charts and produce finished outputs like reports and presentations. In other words, instead of starting with a carefully curated notebook, users can increasingly start with a question. That's significant because gathering trustworthy source material has always been one of the biggest barriers to using NotebookLM effectively. The tool was incredibly powerful once you had the right documents, but building that source library often took more time than the research itself. With these new capabilities, NotebookLM appears to be evolving from a tool that helps you understand information into one that actively helps you find, analyze and present it. I've already found NotebookLM to be one of the most useful AI tools for productivity, so I'm excited to test the new features to see if it just might be one of the most capable workflow tools Google offers. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less.

Do better research with NotebookLM

Three years ago we launched NotebookLM as an experimental AI product from Google Labs to help you understand anything. Millions of people and organizations turn to NotebookLM as a collaborative knowledge and research partner because it helps them organize their thinking, identify deeper connections across their documents and spark new ideas. Today we're introducing across the board upgrades to NotebookLM that deliver new agentic capabilities in chat and more advanced reasoning to tackle the most complex research projects. An upgraded, more thoughtful chat experience First, we're upgrading NotebookLM to run on Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity providing even more accurate and reliable information along with better visibility into the thinking process. Each notebook is now equipped with a secure cloud computer, enabling NotebookLM to write and run code useful for helping you perform deeper research and more complex analysis. The system includes more than 100 curated software skills, unlocking a wide range of new capabilities to help you more deeply understand the sources in your notebook. In our side-by-side evaluations against our prior system, the upgraded NotebookLM achieved an average win rate of over 65% (a 15% point margin above parity) across our top five core evaluation dimensions. The system demonstrated substantial improvements in large document analysis, securing a 69.9% win rate and achieved exceptional performance in advanced web research and source discovery reaching a 78.2% win rate against our prior baseline.

These NotebookLM updates make our favorite research tool even smarter

When not writing, Dave enjoys spending time with his family, running, playing the guitar, camping, and serving in his community. His favorite place is the Blue Ridge Mountains, and one day he hopes to retire there (hopefully his fear of heights will have retired by then, too!). * NotebookLM now uses Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity and shows expanded thinking steps. * The tool also gains several new output formats and the ability to help you find sources. * These updates are rolling out today to AI Ultra users, with expanded availability coming later. On June 8, Google announced major updates for its NotebookLM research tool. NotebookLM has been a big hit here at MUO, and these updates make it even smarter and more useful for complex research projects. There's a NotebookLM prompt that gives you a bird's-eye view of everything you've uploaded The Master Index prompt is the first thing to run in any NotebookLM notebook. Posts By Saikat Basu What is NotebookLM? If you're not familiar, NotebookLM is an AI research tool from Google. It's unique in that it only uses sources you explicitly provide. This makes it a great tool for pulling together research and materials and then extracting insights. Here are some examples: * You can feed it a syllabus, lecture slides, and study notes, and have it create interactive study guides. * It can scan documents and spreadsheets and pull out key insights. * You can connect your Obsidian vault and use NotebookLM to analyze your notes. What's new with NotebookLM? NotebookLM's latest updates fall into a few broad categories: an upgraded chat experience, improved output formats, and an easier process for finding sources. Upgraded chat NotebookLM has been upgraded to use Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity. Google says this results in "more accurate and reliable information along with better visibility into the thinking process." Each notebook is now equipped with a "secure cloud computer," so it can write and run code to help accomplish your research tasks. This includes over 100 "curated software skills." Perhaps more importantly, this updated chat experience will show expanded thinking steps directly in the chat. This makes the tool a lot more transparent, giving you insight into exactly how it arrives at its answers. Google says this upgraded chat makes for a significantly better experience in several key areas, particularly large document analysis and source discovery (just make sure you set it up properly). More (and better) output formats Next, NotebookLM gains more output options. New formats include: * Data visualizations and charts (png, svg) * Documents (PDFs, docx, markdown, text files) * Images with Nano Banana (png, jpg, gif) * Structured data (csv, json) * Microsoft Excel (xlsx) * Microsoft PowerPoint (pptx) In addition to new formats, you can also provide detailed instructions to help guide the output. Google's examples include PDF reports with charts and tables, detailed budget spreadsheets, and bespoke student worksheets. You can also edit these after creation. Even more formats are coming in the future. Finding sources Finally, the process of starting up a new research project has gotten much easier. Instead of needing to bring your own sources, you can provide NotebookLM with ideas and questions, and it will "guide you through building your source repository directly in your chat." Examples include finding primary sources in other languages or creating a list of related works by an author. Subscribe for NotebookLM tips, walkthroughs, and analysis Get hands-on NotebookLM resources by subscribing to the newsletter: step-by-step setup checklists, export and template walkthroughs, source-selection strategies, practical examples of new features, and coverage of related AI research tools to help you apply updates. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Additionally, NotebookLM can use Google Search to find "relevant, high quality sources from the web." Crucially, Google says you're still in control of what sources get added to your notebook, and NotebookLM will continue to focus on only the sources you add, which has been one of the tool's biggest strengths. Availability Google says these updates are rolling out globally on the web starting today. They'll initially be available for Google AI Ultra users (or Google Workspace customers with AI Ultra access), but will "expand to others over time." NotebookLM OS Android, iOS, Web-based app Developer Google Pricing model Free NotebookLM is Google's AI-powered research tool. It can read what you upload and help you transform it into structured summaries, explanations, and visuals -- now with expanded capabilities thanks to Gemini 3.5. See at NotebookLM Expand Collapse