Google's NotebookLM Now Gathers Research Sources for Free

Google's NotebookLM is a fantastic tool for anyone diving into a research-heavy project. Typically, you'd need to hunt down and manually add all your sources, but now, NotebookLM is set to streamline your research process even further by doing the heavy lifting for you.

On Wednesday, Google unveiled an exciting new feature for NotebookLM called Discover. Instead of spending hours combing through the internet for the perfect sources, you can now simply describe your research topic, and let NotebookLM take the wheel. It will scour the web and compile a curated list of relevant sources for you.

How It Works

Just tell NotebookLM what you're researching, and it will sift through hundreds of online sources. After a thorough analysis, the AI will present you with the top 10 most relevant sources, complete with brief summaries. You have the option to import all of them or cherry-pick the ones that suit your needs best. Once added, these sources become part of your project's research arsenal.

With your sources in place, you can then ask NotebookLM to whip up a study guide, a briefing document, an FAQ, or even a timeline. But here's where it gets really interesting—you can request a podcast featuring two AI-generated hosts who sound remarkably human, discussing your topic. Plus, you can request summaries and ask questions about the topic as it's covered by your sources.

How to Try It Yourself

To give this a go, head over to the NotebookLM page and sign in with your Google account. Hit the "Create new" button to start a fresh project. When you reach the part where you add sources, click on "Discover sources from the web." Enter a description of your topic, or if you're feeling adventurous, click "I'm feeling curious" to let the AI pick a random topic for you.

I decided to test it out by asking for sources on 14-inch and 15-inch laptops known for their tactile keyboards and impressive battery life. After entering my description, NotebookLM quickly rounded up 10 sources. I opted to import them all and then requested a briefing document, other notes, and even listened to a podcast on my chosen topic.

This new feature is a real game-changer, saving you from the tedious task of manually searching for sources. And it seems Google has more up its sleeve for NotebookLM.

"Discover sources is just the beginning of a series of NotebookLM features that harness the power of Gemini to find and gather relevant sources for your notebook," Google announced. "The rollout begins today for all NotebookLM users and should be complete within about a week."