Google is continually expanding or strengthening the features for NotebookLM, its free AI-powered research assistant. An upcoming feature codenamed Magic View should be landing –eventually — in the Studio panel, alongside popular features like Audio and Video Overviews.
At the moment, there’s no clear indication as to what Magic View is or will do when it formally arrives in NotebookLM, but it’s clear that Google continues improving what I’d consider its best AI tool available today.
A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The leak comes from AI news site, Testing Catalog, which has spotted several upcoming NotebookLM features through feature flag analysis and code review.
Although we had been expecting them for some time, Google officially released Video Overviews in late July, bringing a more visual approach to its successful Audio Overview feature that has since expanded into several other products in the tech giant’s portfolio. Whatever the actual function of the upcoming Magic View turns out to be, it appears to continue Google’s effort to visualize your data sources in one way or another.
Remember Lite Brite?
A screenshot grabbed by Testing Catalog shows Magic View as a dotted grid with plot points filled in with different colors. If you remember the kids’ toy, Lite Brite, it sort of looks like that but with a larger grid. What the plot points represent could be an assortment of potential things, but we’ll hold any specific guesses until the picture becomes more clear. It wouldn’t at all be surprising if this Magic View is focused around learning or something aimed at students, as this is where NotebookLM shines.
Like most features within the Studio panel of NotebookLM, this Magic View will be a feature you can optionally generate and it appears that it’ll be nestled under a Notebook Apps dropdown, which is also new. When they arrive, we’d also expect flash cards and interactive quizzes to find a home here, too.
There’s no date for the release, of course, since nothing has been announced. But don’t expect it soon. We would likely have a better idea of its function within the code if it was built out further. Since it’s not, the feature is likely in early development.
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