As someone who simply cannot stop studying, whether because I find myself going back to school or gearing up for random certification tests, I know how overwhelming it can be to have a lot of material to go over but no clue where to start. I'm a big fan of Google's NotebookLM, an AI tool that distills PDFs, websites, and more into easy-to-grasp formats, but I'm also an equal-opportunity reviewer, so I wanted to see what similar products exist out there on the market. Scroll AI is similar in that it functions as a repository for all of your content and materials, then summarizes everything easily, but it's a little more bare-bones. If you are looking for something simple without all the bells and whistles, this might actually be the AI notebook for you.
When you log into Scroll AI, you're prompted right away to start uploading your materials. I was pleasantly surprised by all the formats it accepts: Web pages, PowerPoint and Word files, audio and video files, YouTube videos, and PDFs are all supported, among others. You upload your materials, give the program a few seconds to download them, and are left with a list of resources, a "notebook," and a chat bot window on your screen.
In the notes section, you can type whatever you want, whether that is actual notes, a test schedule, or something else related to your materials. The chat bot only pulls information from your sources, not the internet, so everything you ask of it will be directly related to and culled from those inputs. Each notebook can contain as many notes as you want and will pull from the resources uploaded to that notebook only.
To test it out, I uploaded a PDF and inputted two website links. I asked the chat bot to create a timeline of the events outlined in all three, then make me a practice quiz, and finally, outline a study schedule that could help me grasp it all within one week. It did each of these quickly and easily, periodically citing the materials it was pulling from.
The chat bot is the primary feature here, which is how this differs from other similar products, like NotebookLM. You can't generate an audio study guide or a mind map, for instance. You can ask questions and get answers. I should also note that Scroll AI only works on a browser -- there is no app component.
Scroll AI does a few things that are novel. First, if you upload an audio file, it will transcribe that file for you and allow you to add in speaker names, making it easier to understand and reference. You can also use a web-clipping browser extension to quickly add any website you're visiting to your list of in-app sources, which is very helpful. It can detect and translate over 100 languages, too.
The only annoying thing about Scroll AI, for me, was that your first notebook is a "Welcome Guide" with information about the app. I found this clunky, since I couldn't delete it and it got in my way while I was trying to simulate studying the actual materials I uploaded. I solved the problem by just making a new notebook dedicated to the topic I was actually researching, but keep in mind that you won't start with a blank notebook and will need to create one right away to get the most use from this. Once you ask the chat bot a question and it spits out an answer, you have the option to move that answer -- whether it's a summary, a quiz, or whatever else -- into the notebook for safe keeping.
This tool could be beneficial in a variety of use cases. If you work for a company that manufactures and distributes, say, auto parts, not only can you upload your sales data, but you can add in podcasts featuring industry experts, news articles about the industry, and competitor information, then ask the chat bot to help you plan a strategy for the next quarter. But to me, this is clearly a study tool. You can upload PDFs, chapters, vocab lists, worksheets, and whatever else you're given in class, then use it to generate quizzes, study schedules, summaries, outlines, and more.
It works best as a helper, something that can break down your studies into smaller, more manageable tasks. If you have a full class schedule and a heavy courseload, it can help you plan out how and when you'll study for each. If you have a huge essay due in a week, it can create an outline and show you which resources should be cited and in what order they should appear. Scroll AI doesn't do the work for you, but can make sense of a boatload of information and spit out a plan, which is half the battle (especially if you don't have time to read every single chapter, case study, or document you're given).
