Google made a new AI note app - NotebookLM review

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Hey, how's it going? My name is Sh. Google recently announced Notebook LM, which is not just a typical note-taking app, but more like an AI collaborator that can help you understand ideas and write better. Honestly, it's the app I wish I had when I was a university student because it would have made writing papers and essays so much easier.

So, if you're currently a student, academic writer, or anyone who has to read a lot of papers and articles, you might want to check it out. Thanks to Sbox for sponsoring this video.

Design and Interface

Notebook LM has a design that feels familiar, much like using Google Keep, which many people appreciate for its simplicity and ease of use. Just like Google Keep, Notebook LM is also intuitive and easy to use. On the left side of the screen, you have your resources, and on the right, you have your notes and chat space with AI. It looks basic but is a handy tool for processing lots of information and making sense of it.

Key Features

Automatic Content Analysis: When you feed links or documents into Notebook LM, it doesn't just store them; it actively analyzes the content. This means it digs through all the text and gives you the gist of it in a more digestible form. For example, you can feed it a bunch of articles, and it'll distill them into the key insights, saving you the trouble of doing this whole process manually.

Topic Suggestions: After analyzing the content, it will also suggest various topics you can explore. This works wonders when brainstorming for content or wanting to learn something from different perspectives.

Grounded Responses: When you upload your own study materials or research documents, you'll be able to discuss them with Notebook LM. It sticks to the information from the sources you provide, unlike other AI writing apps, which means it stays grounded and more accurate.

Organizing Notes: You can tidy up your notes into structured documents like study guides or project outlines. Need those notes turned into an email, newsletter, or script outline? Just type your command, and Notebook LM will organize your information.

Relatability: It's designed to be upfront when it doesn't have enough information to answer something, ensuring things stay accurate. It provides responses with citations from your own documents, so you can see where it got its information from.

Practical Applications

Notebook LM is perfect for searching for quick insights from long documents or finding specific passages without spending hours going through every page. It suggests follow-up questions to help you dig deeper into a topic. You can switch gears quickly between reading, asking, and writing without breaking your flow, making it ideal for collaboration.

One of its significant advantages is the ability to share notebooks with other people, which is handy for group projects or study sessions. Teachers can also benefit by prepping class resources like study guides or evaluating student work.

Integrations with Sbox

Speaking of AI, Sbox helps organize your email inbox by analyzing emails and identifying important and unimportant ones. It automatically moves important ones to your folder, saving you time. Sbox also features a daily digest to summarize unimportant emails and a black hole to stop receiving emails from specific senders.

Using Notebook LM

When I was testing the app, I struggled to figure out where it fits in my workflow. It's not really a note-taking app nor a writing app but more like a research companion. Here’s how I ended up using it:

Gather all the pieces I need, such as academic papers, URLs, articles, and reports.
Upload these into Notebook LM and explore the resources.
Interact with the AI for information and gather insights.
Use these insights to create structured documents or outlines.
Move to a writing app like Google Docs or Microsoft Word and start writing.
Head back to Notebook LM for any additional information needed.

You can also import reading highlights from Readwise so the AI can organize them. This way, you can ask it to find specific information you read before, speeding up your writing process.

Limitations

There are some cons, as this tool is still experimental:

Limited Availability: Only available in the US for users 18 and older. You’d need a VPN to access it if you’re outside the US.
Note-taking Features: Lacks important features like adding images, tasks, or formatting text.
Importing Sources: No way to import directly from the web using a browser extension.

Conclusion

If you're interested, you can try it from the link in the description. It's free at the moment, and if you don't live in the US, you can use it with a VPN. Thanks for watching, and see you in the next one. Bye!

Keywords

Google
Notebook LM
AI Collaborator
Automatic Content Analysis
Research Companion
Structured Documents
Readwise
Sbox
Email Organization
Study Guides
Writing Efficiency

FAQ

Q1: What is Google Notebook LM?

A1: Google Notebook LM is an AI-powered note-taking app designed to help users understand ideas and write better. It actively analyzes content and provides distilled insights.

Q2: How does Notebook LM differ from other AI writing apps?

A2: Unlike other AI writing apps, Notebook LM sticks to the information from the sources provided by the user, making it more accurate and grounded.

Q3: Can Notebook LM be used for group projects?

A3: Yes, Notebook LM allows users to share notebooks with others, making it ideal for group projects and study sessions.

Q4: Is Notebook LM available globally?

A4: Currently, it is only available in the US for users 18 and older. Users outside the US would need a VPN to access it.

Q5: What are the limitations of Notebook LM?

A5: The tool is experimental and has some limitations such as lacking important note-taking features, limited availability, and the need for manual importing of sources.

Q6: How does Notebook LM integrate with Sbox?

A6: Notebook LM itself doesn’t integrate with Sbox, but the video review also recommends using Sbox for organizing your email inbox efficiently using AI.