A few months back, Google’s NotebookLM note-taking software introduced an Audio Overviews feature that creates a podcast with AI virtual hosts based on the information you’ve given with the app.
NotebookLM is now allowing users to interact with its AI podcast hosts.
The aim of Audio Overviews and AI hosts is to provide users with a new approach to ingest and grasp information in documents supplied to the app, such as course readings or legal briefs.
With this new feature, you can communicate with the AI hosts and request further information or a different explanation of an idea. Google stated in a blog post that the experience is similar to having a personal tutor who listens to you and then reacts based on information from the sources you offer.
To use the functionality, first create a new Audio Overview, then tap the “Interactive mode (BETA)” button, and last press play. When you’re ready to ask a question, simply tap “Join”. The host will then call on you to speak.
Google describes this as an experimental feature that only works with new Audio Overviews. Furthermore, the company says hosts may “pause awkwardly before responding,” and because it is a test feature, they may occasionally react incorrectly.
Google noted that since the feature’s launch in September, people have created over 350 years’ worth of Audio Overviews.
NotebookLM is also getting a redesign that will consolidate the app’s tools across three panels: Sources, Chat, and Studio. Furthermore, Google is releasing a premium version of the app for businesses dubbed “NotebookLM Plus,” which includes additional features.