Summary 

NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and writing assistant from Google. Unlike general-purpose AI tools like Gemini that pull information from the broader internet, NotebookLM is designed to be your intelligent research partner. It works by analyzing and synthesizing information only from sources you upload, such as Google Docs, PDFs, and website URLs.

NotebookLM is available to UC Davis campus students, faculty and staff at no cost and can be used to streamline the academic workflow by providing a private workspace for organizing and interacting with your own or limited information.

How to Log In 

UC Davis campus students, faculty and staff can access NotebookLM for free at https://notebooklm.google.com/ or the mobile app. Just log in with your university credentials. 

NotebookLM is not currently available to UC Davis Health.

Features 

• Synthesize information: Upload multiple source documents (e.g., research papers, lecture notes, articles, or websites) and find connections, identify key themes, or summarize the content.
• Answer questions about your sources: Ask questions about uploaded content, and receive answers backed by direct quotes and citations from your materials.
• Generate outlines and study guides: Based on your sources, create a logical outline for a paper or generate a list of key questions and answers to help you prepare for an exam.
• Brainstorm and draft content: Generate new angles for an argument, brainstorm titles for a paper, or even draft a paragraph based on your selected sources and notes.
• Make content more accessible: Generate video or audio overviews of your content and translate into over 80 different languages.

Important Considerations 

We recommend you avoid sharing highly sensitive information with AI tools to ensure privacy and prevent risks. Reference the Aggie AI tools comparison chart to see which Data Protection Level each tool can support.

AI tools are trained on a massive dataset of text and code which may contain biased or inaccurate information. It is important to fact check outputs and use AI as an enhancement to, not a replacement for human expertise.  

Students, before using NotebookLM: 

• Check with your instructor. The use of AI tools in coursework is at the discretion of individual faculty members. You must consult your syllabus or ask your professor for guidance on what is and is not permitted.
• Maintain academic integrity. You are always responsible for the work you submit. While NotebookLM is grounded in your sources and provides citations, always review, edit, and verify the content to ensure it is accurate and reflects your own understanding. 

Learning Resources 

• NotebookLM website
• 8 expert tips for getting started with NotebookLM
• 3 ways to level up your studying with NotebookLM
• 5 ways to use NotebookLM for your business
• Video and Audio Overviews  

Technical Support 

Gemini Apps Help Center 

NotebookLM FAQs 

• What is NotebookLM?
• NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and writing assistant created by Google. It's designed to help you analyze, summarize, and generate content based on the documents you provide. It is not a replacement for your own critical thinking. NotebookLM is an assistant that can summarize, explain, and connect ideas, but it's up to you to verify the information and use it to enhance your work.
• How is NotebookLM different from Gemini or other AI chatbots?
• The key difference is that NotebookLM's responses are grounded in your sources. While Gemini can access and summarize information from across the web, NotebookLM only uses the sources you upload to answer your questions and generate content. Each response includes citations to your source material, so you can easily verify the information.
• Is my data private?
• Uploaded documents and the content you generate in NotebookLM are not used to train the underlying AI models. Your sources remain private to you unless you explicitly choose to share a notebook with someone. However, UC Davis recommends you avoid sharing highly sensitive information with NotebookLM and other AI tools to ensure privacy and prevent risks. Reference the Aggie AI tools comparison chart to see which Data Protection Level each tool can support.
• What types of files can I upload?
• NotebookLM supports a variety of file types, including: 
   - Google Docs and Google Slides
   - Local files like PDFs and .txt files
   - Web page URLs
   - YouTube video URLs (it uses the transcript as the source) 
   - Audio files (it will transcribe them for you)
• Why won't my source upload?
• A source upload may fail if: 
   - It exceeds the 500,000-word or 200MB size limit. 
   - The original PDF is copy-protected. 
   - The YouTube video is not public or does not have a transcript. 
   - It is from an unsupported formats like spreadsheets (.xlsx, .csv). 
   - Website is behind a paywall or uses mechanisms to block web scraping. 
   - Your browser is outdated (web version). 
   - Your internet connection is weak (web version).  
• How can NotebookLM be used for academic research?
• You can use it to: 
   - Analyze a large number of research papers at once. 
   - Create summaries, study guides, and FAQs from your notes. 
   - Ask it to compare and contrast ideas from different sources. 
   - Generate ideas for essays or research papers. 
   - Find specific quotes or data points and get citations instantly.
• What limits does NotebookLM have?
• - Video: Up to 3 video overviews per day  
   - Q&A: Up to 50 Q&A per day  
   - Notebooks: Up to 100 notebooks per account. 
   - Sources: Up to 50 sources per notebook. 
   - Source size: Each source can contain up to 500,000 words or be up to 200MB in size. 
   - Audio generation: Up to 3 audio overviews generated per day. 

 Content on this website is subject to change as AI tools continue to develop.