Google can now use your notes to create podcasts

Google can now turn your research into AI-generated podcasts, including two "hosts" discussing the content you've uncovered. This experimental feature is located in Google's AI note-taking app, NotebookLM, which uses AI hosts to "summarize your material, establish connections between topics, and engage in interactive discussions."

This feature aims to expand the existing capabilities of NotebookLM, helping users interact with all their notes, transcripts, and other research documents. The app has already used Google's Gemini AI model to assist in summarizing users' research, and this can be seen as its audio version.

Google states that the AI hosts engaging in "interactive discussions" are not just a rumor. When I tried Audio Overview myself, I inserted a sample notebook about the invention of the light bulb, and the results were somewhat surprising. In a 10-minute overview, the two hosts effortlessly discussed how Thomas Edison was not the sole figure behind the light bulb and pointed out that "ultimately, this is a story about teamwork and making dreams come true."

From the hosts emphasizing "bang!" in the middle of a sentence to using modern phrases like "a mess," they could almost be mistaken for human podcast hosts. However, I also noticed some quirks, such as the AI hosts spelling out certain words and phrases letter by letter, like "P-L-U-S." Additionally, some phrases were not something a human would say, such as one AI host referring to platinum as "shiny shiny metal."

This feature makes learning and researching more interesting, but I wonder if the hosts will maintain their casual and even slightly humorous tone when discussing more serious topics like cancer or war. Furthermore, there is a lot of filler content in the conversation, so this may not be the best way to quickly extract all the information.

Google also mentioned this in their announcement, stating that the feature is "not a comprehensive or objective view of a particular topic, but merely a reflection of your notes."

Audio Overview has some other limitations as well. Google states that generating podcast-like discussions may take a few minutes, and the feature currently only supports English. Like many AI tools, it is not always accurate.

You can try this feature yourself by opening a notebook in NotebookLM. From there, select "Notebook guide" in the bottom right corner of the screen and click "Load" under the "Audio Overview" heading. I know I'll be researching some random topics to hear what the AI podcast hosts have to say.