Though Google announced NotebookLM as a Google Labs project under the codename Project Tailwind during Google I/O 2023, the AI research assistant only really took off once it added the Audio Overviews feature.
Fast forward to today, a lot of people still rely on the tool mainly for its Audio Overviews, even though it offers a range of other powerful features. Though some NotebookLM features like Mind Maps and the newly launched Video Overviews are still talked about, one feature remains largely underrated — the ability to generate different Reports from your sources.
Well, the same underrated feature might soon be getting an update that could make it your new favorite NotebookLM feature and change the way you work and study.
NotebookLM’s Reports feature might get smarter with AI-suggested formats
According to @TestingCatalog via an X (formerly Twitter) post and a more detailed blog on their website, NotebookLM might soon introduce “AI-suggested report formats” within the Reports feature.
If you’re not familiar with the Reports feature in NotebookLM, let me give you a quick rundown. Once you’ve created a notebook and uploaded your sources, the next thing you’ll likely do is switch to the Studio panel, where you’ll find the viral Audio Overviews feature, Video Overviews, and Mind Maps. Right next to the Mind Map button, there’s also a Reports button, which currently lets you generate four types of reports: Briefing Doc, Study Guide, FAQ, and Timeline.
Though all four of these reports are generated using the same content you’ve uploaded to your notebook, they all vary in format, structure, and presentation style, allowing you to use the same content in different ways depending on your needs. For instance, when I’m cramming for a History exam, I find that the Timeline format works best, as it makes it easy to see events in order. On the other hand, when tackling a topic for the first time, the Study Guide format helps me break down the material and focus on the most important points.
TestingCatalog explains that the “AI-suggested report formats” will be “contextually suggested by Gemini,” once the AI analyzes the sources a user has added to their notebook. Based on a screenshot they included in their X post, there will also be a separate Create Report pop-up, which will include a Create Your Own button.
Interestingly, the Timeline and FAQ report formats seem to be missing from the screenshot, replaced by the Create Your Own button and a new Blog Post format. The screenshot also displays the following description of the Create Your Own feature:
Craft reports your own way by specifying structure, style, tone and more
So, while details right now seem to be pretty limited, it could make a big difference for anyone using Reports in NotebookLM. Based on my observations, TestingCatalog’s information has been quite reliable so far, and considering that Google has actively been working on redesigning NotebookLM’s Studio UI, these updates to the Reports feature seem plausible.