NotebookLM Is Now Gemini Notebook — Here's What Changed
If you searched for NotebookLM recently and landed somewhere called "Gemini Notebook," you didn't take a wrong turn. Google renamed it on July 16, 2026. Nothing was shut down and nothing you saved was lost — but a few real things did change, including one genuinely new feature. Here's the full picture.
Gemini Notebook still does what NotebookLM did — organize and answer questions from your own sources, with every answer cited.
It Was Renamed, Not Replaced
On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook as part of consolidating its various AI products under one unified Gemini brand — the same thing that happened to Bard back in 2024. Every existing notebook, uploaded source, saved note, and audio overview carried over automatically. Nothing needs to be re-uploaded or reconfigured. The old notebooklm.google.com address still works and simply redirects.
If the tool still shows up as "NotebookLM" for you, that's likely just a staggered rollout on Google's end — not a sign that anything is wrong with your account.
The Core Product Didn't Change
At its heart, Gemini Notebook still does exactly what NotebookLM always did: you upload your own sources — PDFs, Google Docs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files — and it becomes a research assistant that only answers from that material, citing the specific source paragraph for every claim. That grounding is still the whole point of the product; it's built to avoid making things up by staying inside the boundaries of what you gave it.
Source-Grounded Chat
Ask questions, get answers with paragraph-level citations pointing back to your actual uploaded material.
Audio Overview
The two-host AI podcast feature that summarizes your sources in conversational back-and-forth format.
Study Guides & Timelines
Auto-generates FAQs, briefing docs, study guides, and timelines from whatever you've uploaded.
Mind Maps
Visualizes how concepts across your different sources relate to and connect with each other.
The One Real New Feature: Video Overview
The most substantial addition is Video Overview — Gemini Notebook can now turn your uploaded sources into a narrated explainer video, generated with Google's Veo model. Instead of you describing a shot the way you would with a standalone video tool, you give it a body of source material and it determines how to translate that into a video narrative. Three formats are available: Explainer, Short, and Cinematic.
This is genuinely useful for a specific kind of task: consolidating scattered source material into something watchable rather than readable — turning a stack of research papers into an educational video, or repurposing a long article into short-form video content.
How to Use It
Go to notebooklm.google.com
The old address still works and takes you straight to Gemini Notebook — no new sign-up needed if you already have a Google account.
Create a notebook and add sources
Upload PDFs, paste website links, add YouTube videos, or connect Google Docs — up to 50 sources per notebook.
Chat with your sources
Ask questions directly. Every answer comes with a citation you can click to jump to the exact source paragraph.
Generate outputs
From the same sources, generate an Audio Overview, a study guide, a mind map, or the new Video Overview — whichever fits what you're trying to produce.
Bottom Line
NotebookLM didn't go anywhere — it's just wearing the Gemini name now, as part of Google's broader rebrand. Everything you had is intact, the free tier is unchanged, and the product's core idea (a research assistant that only speaks from your own sources, with real citations) is exactly as it was. The one thing actually worth checking out if you haven't already is Video Overview, which is a genuinely new capability rather than a rename.
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Common Questions
Did NotebookLM get shut down?
No. NotebookLM wasn't discontinued — it was renamed to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026, as part of Google folding its products under one Gemini brand. Your existing notebooks, sources, and notes carried over automatically.
Is Gemini Notebook still free?
Yes. The free tier is unchanged: up to 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, and 50 chat queries a day, tied to any Google account, with no credit card required.
What's new in Gemini Notebook that NotebookLM didn't have?
The biggest addition is Video Overview — it can turn your uploaded sources into a narrated explainer video using Veo, in Explainer, Short, or Cinematic formats. Gemini Notebook also connects directly into the main Gemini app, so your notebooks can be referenced inside regular Gemini conversations.
Where do I access Gemini Notebook?
The same URL as before, notebooklm.google.com, still works and redirects to Gemini Notebook. You can also reach it from inside the Gemini app now that the two are connected.
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