Google’s NotebookLM now lets you customize its podcast AI
Google just added a new customization tool for AI podcasts go viral in its NotebookLM software. I got early access and tested it using Franz Kafka metamorphosis as source material, spending a few hours creating podcasts about popular short novels — some of them no more remarkable than others.
Released by Google Labs in 2023 as a test, AI-focused writing toolsNotebookLM has seen renewed user interest since early September, when developers added an option to Create podcast-like conversations between two AI voices—a male and a female—from uploaded documents. While these “deep dive” audio clips can be used for learning and work, many of the clips circulating online focus on entertainment by asking the robot owner to discuss material. bizarre or highly personal source, such as a LinkedIn profile.
Raiza Martin, who leads the NotebookLM team inside Google Labs, is motivated to give users more control over the content of these syndicated podcasts. “It’s the number one feature we get from people asking for it,” she said. “They wanted to provide a little bit of feedback on what the deep dive focuses on.” According to Martin, this is the first of many updates to come.
It’s almost the first anniversary of its founding full launchNotebookLM is also dropping the “experimental” tag—a sign that it is not aiming for permanent development Google graveyard of abandoned software, or at least for the time being. Martin said the label was removed because the team had achieved internal milestones in overall quality, user retention and interface standards. She also said users can now expect a higher level of stability from the software.
How to customize podcast AI
To create an AI podcast with NotebookLM, open it Google Labs website and start one New notebook. Then add any source material you want to use for audio output. This can be anything from files on your computer to YouTube link.
Next, when you click Handbook instructionsYou will now see the option to create deep dive information as well as the option to customize it first. Select Customize and add a prompt about how you want your AI podcast to appear. The software suggests that you consider which parts of your source you want to highlight, larger themes you want to explore further, or different target audiences you want your message to reach.
One tip Martin shares when trying out the new feature is to create an Audio Overview without changes, and while listening to this first iteration, write down any burning questions you have or topics that interest you. want to expand. Then, use these notes as a launching pad to create reminders for NotebookLM and recreate that AI podcast to your liking.
My first impression
I uploaded an 80-page file of Kafka’s famous existentialist work—in which the main character wakes up one morning to find that he has transformed into a giant beetle—for a look at customization How will it work for NotebookLM users. The first Audio Overview it produces, without on-the-fly customization, is a solid, albeit broad, overview of what happens in the novel as well as some discussion of the its main theme. Nothing groundbreaking, but decent.
Thinking like an English major in college, which I definitely am, my first quick adjustment was to have the podcast discussion focus more on topics of alienation and overbearing bureaucracy found in the book. With an additional push, this output from NotebookLM does an admirable job of focusing on these motifs and creating a discussion that seems similar to what I’ve heard before in university classes. It’s a bit meandering, but completely listenable.
