NotebookLM is no longer an experiment and it is getting a Business edition
Google recently announced that it no longer considers NotebookLM an 'Experimental' product, as it introduced controls that enable users to customize the Audio Overviews based on their Notebooks. The company also announced an upcoming NotebookLM Business product.
Google continues to ride the wave of the rising popularity enjoyed by NotebookLM, its Gemini 1.5-powered tool for organizing and understanding materials in several formats and from multiple sources. This Thursday, Google announced it will remove the 'Experimental' label from NotebookLM as it continues adding features to the product. Additionally, Google has announced the upcoming NotebookLM Business, a version specifically tailored to businesses, universities, and organizations.
The recently announced update to NotebookLM concerns Audio Overviews, a feature enabling users to create podcast-like conversations between two speakers based on a Notebook's source material. The AI-generated speakers in Audio Overviews can summarize the content, draw connections between topics found in the material, and take turns speaking. Before the recent update, two limitations of Audio Overviews were first, that the feature lacked any controls to guide the conversation on things like the difficulty level, or prioritizing some topics over others; and second, that it was not possible to work on a Notebook while listening to the corresponding Audio Overview.
Now, users can continue browsing the material in their Notebooks to find relevant quotes or appropriate citations without interrupting Audio Overview playbacks. In addition, a 'Customize' button now appears next to the 'Generate' button for Audio Overviews, allowing users to specify instructions, including defining a target audience and listing the topics that the Overview should focus on. These two features are live and can be tried on any Notebook with at least one source of material.
As for the NotebookLM Business launch, Google has shared that with over 80,000 organizations already using the product, the company is excited to welcome more. Other details, including general availability and pricing, will be available later this year. In the meantime, the company is holding an early-access pilot program which is accepting registrations; those not registering can continue using the NotebookLM free tier.
