Google folds NotebookLM into Gemini as usage tops 30M

Google is rebranding NotebookLM as Gemini Notebook, bringing one of its most useful research tools under the broader Gemini banner while keeping it available as a standalone product.

In a blog post published Thursday, Google said the tool has been used by more than 30 million people and 600,000 organizations since it began in 2023 as an experiment called Project Tailwind. The product acts as a research assistant for documents and other materials, helping users work through notes, web pages, PDFs, and audio files.

What makes Gemini Notebook different from many other AI tools is its limited scope: it only analyzes the sources a user provides. If the answer is not in those materials, it does not pull from the wider internet. In practice, that means a notebook built from a math document will not suddenly answer a question about dolphin biology unless that information appears in the uploaded sources.

Google is also shipping major backend upgrades as part of the change. An update that began rolling out last month gives each notebook a secure cloud computer, allowing Gemini Notebook to write and execute code natively. That opens the door to more advanced analysis of user-provided data.

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The same update adds new export options, including:

• .json
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx)

Those features are available starting Thursday for Google AI Ultra users and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access and AI Expanded Access. AI Pro users on the web will get access in the coming weeks.

Google has steadily expanded the product since launch. Notebooks now sync directly with Google Drive, can be created from the Gemini App, and, according to Google, are also headed soon to AI Mode in Search.