Guides Google published jan 22, 2026
Learn how to use Google’s NotebookLM to generate a custom podcast on any topic you want to study. You’ll turn your own sources into an Audio Overview, which can take 5–10 minutes to generate once your notebook is set up.
You will build a NotebookLM notebook with learning tools tailored to your sources and prompting.
You can link to any YouTube video and NotebookLM will use it as a source.
Pick a topic you want to learn about. You can use any website, topic, or file as a source. It’s a good idea to start with at least 2–3 sources, and you can also attach documents from Google Drive.
💡 Pro tip: You can link to any YouTube video and NotebookLM will use it as a source.
Good use cases to try:
Go to notebooklm.google.com and create a new notebook. Add your links and documents as sources.
You can move sources in and out of the AI’s context window by checking or unchecking them in the left toolbar.
Click Audio Overview on the right under Studio. The audio can take 5–10 minutes to generate.
You can also generate other learning assets from the same notebook:
Once your podcast is generated, click the three dots to download it and AirDrop the MP3 to your phone, or press play to listen in your browser. You can also use the NotebookLM mobile app.
💡 Pro tip: Hit the “Interactive” button to call in to the podcast and ask the hosts specific questions.
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