Turn a pile of documents into a podcast you can listen to
Upload PDFs, notes or links to Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) and it makes an audio overview: two AI hosts talking through your material, ready to play on a walk or in the car.
Seen on Hacker News ×2 · YouTube ×2 · Official docs
What the bot does
- Reads the documents, links or notes you add to a notebook.
- Writes a conversation between two AI hosts that covers the key points.
- Turns it into audio you can play at the speed you like.
- Answers follow-up questions from the same sources, with citations.
What you end up with
A listenable summary of a long report, a course reading or a stack of meeting notes.
Copy-paste prompt
Fill in the [brackets]. Then paste it into any tool below.
(Type this in the Audio Overview customise box.) Focus on [the three decisions in this report / what a beginner needs to know / the risks]. My level is [new to this / I know the basics]. Keep it [shorter / default]. Point out anything the sources disagree on.
New to this? How to build an AI agent without coding, or set up a bot in 5 plain steps →
Setup
- Go to notebooklm.google and sign in with a Google account.
- Create a notebook and add your sources: PDFs, Google Docs, website links or pasted text.
- In the Studio panel, choose Audio Overview. Pick a format (Deep Dive, Brief, Critique or Debate) and a language.
- Optionally type what to focus on, then generate. It takes a few minutes.
- Play it, and ask the notebook chat to show the source for anything surprising.
Tools that can do it today
Plans and limits change; check each tool's page.
Watch out
- Google's help page says Audio Overviews are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or audio glitches. Check facts in the sources before you rely on them.
- Only upload documents you're allowed to share with Google. Leave out private medical, legal or financial papers unless you're comfortable with that.
- Free accounts have usage limits that refresh over time; heavier use needs a Google AI plan.
What this costs to run
In a chat app it runs inside your plan. If you run it as a bot on an AI API, the bill depends on how often it runs and how much it reads.
Estimate it in the cost calculator →
Tip: Use a small AI model for simple jobs, a big one for hard ones. More in Run your bots for less and how much an AI agent costs.
Questions people ask
Which AI tools can do this?
Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) can do this today. Paste the copy-paste prompt on this page into any of them and fill in the [brackets].
How hard is it to set up?
It's rated Easy. Start with the steps under “What the bot does”.
What should I watch out for?
Google's help page says Audio Overviews are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or audio glitches. Check facts in the sources before you rely on them.
Sources
- Hacker NewsHacker News: “NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective” (Simon Willison on how well the podcasts work) 907 points · 490 comments · measured Oct 24, 2026
- Hacker NewsHacker News: “NotebookLM Audio Overviews are now available in over 50 languages” 328 points · 96 comments · measured Oct 24, 2026
- YouTubeYouTube: “Use NotebookLM to generate audio discussions #Google #Gemini #NotebookLM” by Google (from Google's own channel) 552,733 views · from YouTube search results, measured Oct 24, 2026
- YouTubeYouTube: “How to Use Google NotebookLM (Full Tutorial)” by Kevin Stratvert 436,600 views · from YouTube search results, measured Oct 24, 2026
- officialGemini Notebook Help: Generate Audio Overview (formats, languages, accuracy warning; checked 2026-10-24)
- officialGoogle blog: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook (Jul 16, 2026)
Last checked Oct 24, 2026. Self-reported results from posts are the poster's own claims.