How to Use NotebookLM?

Getting started with NotebookLM might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but the process is straightforward once you know the steps.

• 1.Navigate to the Homepage

  When you first see the main interface, you might want to press escape and click the logo in the top left corner to go to the NotebookLM homepage. It’s a good idea to bookmark this page for easy access later.

• 2.Choose Your View (Optional)

  On the homepage, you can change to list view and sort by title if you prefer, although this is a personal preference.

• 3.Create a New Notebook

  Click the “Create new notebook” button.

• 4.Name Your Notebook

  Before uploading sources, press escape again and name your notebook. Giving it a descriptive name helps with organization (e.g., “Health reports 2” or “Tax and Accounting”).

• 5.Add Your Sources

  Click the plus icon to start uploading sources. NotebookLM is designed to handle information scattered across different locations, different formats like documents and slides, and across different mediums like text, video, and audio:

  You can upload various file types, such as PDFs (e.g., annual reports, user manuals).

  You can add YouTube videos by pasting the link. NotebookLM can process the transcript.

  You can add websites directly as sources.

  If you use Google Workspace, you can add Google Docs or Slides. A Pro tip: You can resync these files after making changes so you are always drawing from the most up-to-date information.

  You can also upload meeting transcripts from Zoom or Google Meet.

  If a website blocks NotebookLM from adding it directly, you can add another source and copy and paste the text from the website into it.

• 6.Explore Sources and the Interface

  

  Once your sources have been uploaded and processed, you can click into individual sources.

  Under “Source guide,” NotebookLM provides a concise summary of the document.

  On the right side, clicking into a key topic often prompts NotebookLM to expand on that topic based on all the selected sources.

  The chat interface takes into account all selected sources. If you want NotebookLM to ignore a source for a query, you need to first deselect it from the source list on the left-hand side.

  The Notebook guide feature provides a quick start guide, a summary of all added sources, pre-created templates (like FAQs and briefing docs), and suggested questions to help you get started.

  You can also explore audio overviews based on your sources.

• 7.Interact by Asking Questions

  Start asking specific questions related to the information in your sources in the chat interface. NotebookLM will generate answers drawing from the selected sources.

  You can ask specific questions (e.g., “what are the top three things I can do to lower my uric acid levels”).

  You can ask for summaries or trends (e.g., “top 10 Health Trends based on my last three reports” or “what are some notable trends in my financial statements”).

  You can ask very personalized questions if your sources contain that information (e.g., “do I qualify for offshore tax exemption” if you travel a lot and have relevant tax documents).

  NotebookLM will reference the sources in its answers with inline citations. Clicking these citations brings up the relevant text or transcript section from the source.

• 8.Manage and Save Outputs

  Whenever NotebookLM generates a good output that you want to refer back to, click “save to note”.

  You can select multiple saved notes or select all notes and convert them into a standalone source. This new source can then be queried like any other uploaded document.

  You can click into this newly created source, select all the text, and copy and paste it to use elsewhere.

• 9.Utilize Suggested Questions and Templates

  If you’re struggling to get started, try the suggested questions under the Notebook guide. They can be surprisingly helpful after uploading related files. The pre-created templates can also help structure common outputs like briefing documents, timelines, or FAQs.