Turn your documents into a study guide with NotebookLM
NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, answers only from the documents you give it, and shows you where. Here’s how to turn your notes into study guides, quizzes and more.
In 30 seconds
- It answers only from the sources you add, with citations linking to the passages it used.
- Generate study guides, FAQs, flashcards, quizzes and Audio Overviews, then test yourself on the material.
- It can still misread a source, so check the citations, and keep confidential files out.
Exams in three weeks, and your notes are spread across lecture slides, two textbook chapters and a recorded talk. NotebookLM, Google’s research and study tool, can pull them into one place and help you revise from them. Google has since renamed it Gemini Notebook, so you may see either name.
How it differs from a chatbot
A general Jargon busterAI assistant: A chat app such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini that answers questions and does tasks you describe in plain language. answers from what it learnt in Jargon busterTraining: The stage where AI learns, by finding patterns in a huge number of examples., and sometimes from the web. NotebookLM answers from the sources you add, an approach called Jargon busterGrounding: When an AI bases its answers on specific sources you give it, such as your documents, rather than only on what it learnt in training.. Its answers come with numbered Jargon busterCitation: A link or reference that shows where a piece of information came from, so you can check it yourself.: click one to see the passage it came from.
You can add PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, web pages, copied text, audio files and public YouTube videos, for which it uses the transcript.
Build a study guide in four steps
- Make a notebookSign in with a Google account and create a notebook for one subject or module, not your whole course.
- Add your sourcesUpload your slides, notes and readings. Add the syllabus or past questions too, so it knows what matters.
- Ask and checkAsk what the sources say about each topic, and click the citations to see the passages it used.
- Generate study aidsIn the Studio panel, create a study guide, an FAQ, flashcards or a quiz, then use them to test yourself.
Using only my sources, list the main topics for an exam on [module], most important first. For each, give a two-line summary, the key terms with definitions, and one question an examiner might ask. Cite a source for every point. Then compare them with this syllabus and list anything my sources don’t cover: [paste the syllabus].
Ways to revise with it
- ReportsA study guide, FAQ or briefing document drawn from your sources. For other formats, such as a timeline, ask in the chat.
- Flashcards and quizzesMade from your sources, so you can test what you remember rather than just rereading it.
- Audio OverviewsA podcast-style discussion of your sources between AI hosts, for revising on the move. You can even join in with questions.
- Video OverviewsNarrated slides that walk you through the main ideas in your sources.
- Mind mapsA visual map of the main topics in your sources and how they connect.
Quiz me on [topic] using only my sources. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Then tell me whether I’m right, explain using the source, and cite it. Mix recall questions with ones that make me apply the idea. After ten questions, list what I should revise.
Know its limits
- It only knows your sources. If your notes are wrong or patchy, its answers will be too, and it won’t tell you what’s missing unless you ask.
- It can still misread them. It can blur two ideas, drop a caveat or take a quote out of context, a kind of Jargon busterHallucination: When AI states something false as if it were true, because it predicts plausible words rather than checking facts.. Click the citations for anything you’ll rely on.
- A study guide isn’t studying. Reading a neat summary feels productive, but testing yourself is what shows you’ve learnt it. Follow your school’s or university’s rules on AI in assessed work.
- Mind what you upload. Don’t add confidential work files or other people’s personal information unless you’re allowed, and check Google’s privacy terms for the account you use.
For more ways to learn with AI, see AI as a tutor and using AI at university. For schoolwork, read AI for homework.
Check yourself
3 quick questions nothing is savedTools in this guide
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