Google Expands NotebookLM’s Capabilities. The AI Research Assistant Is No Longer Limited to the Sources You Provide It, but Can Search for Information on Its Own.
Google Announces a New Feature for NotebookLM, the AI Assistant That Can Be Used for Free with a Google Account. NotebookLM Can Now Search for Sources on the Internet. Previously, NotebookLM Was Limited to Sources That You Shared with It. These Could Also Be Web Links, but NotebookLM Didn’t Perform Any Additional Research on Them.
The New Search Function Is Hidden Behind the Discover Sources Button, and Can Be Used in Both New and Existing Notebooks. Click on the Discover Button in the Sources Tab and Describe in a Few Words What You’re Interested in. NotebookLM Then Makes a Few Suggestions That You Can Add to Your Notebook for Further Analysis.
Discover Sources
With the button I’m feeling curious, you can make NotebookLM search for any random topic, such as plant sap in the randomly generated example below. NotebookLM tries to find as many sources as possible in your preferred language. If a source cannot be imported, the URL is invalid or the web administrator has indicated that the content may not be fed to AI models.

Hopefully, NotebookLM Does Better Research Than Google Search’s AI Overview Function. The Latter Made Headlines with Strange Answers, Such as Advising to Eat Rocks or Put Glue on Your Pizza. The Technology Is Limited to Sources Available on the Internet, and for Some Questions, There Are No Good Answers Online Yet. If You Have Doubts About the Sources NotebookLM Suggests, It’s Better to Do Your Own Research.
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With NotebookLM, You Can Efficiently Research a Specific Design. You Can Have the AI Tool Analyze Reports in PDF Format or Presentations, Among Other Things. NotebookLM Creates Summaries, Timelines, or Even Interactive Podcasts Based on the Sources You Share with It. The Free Version Is Limited to Fifty Sources; for the Paid Version, the Limit Is Higher.