Notebook LM is an AI-powered research, writing and "podcasting" assistant by Google. It's designed to help users organize, summarize, and generate insights from their documents (even documents such as IOs or other contracts or online information about companies).

It also has a handy-dandy "podcast" tool that allows you to upload or link to documents and then get a podcast-like interpretation of the document back in return. Some people swear by it as a time-saver when they're trying to understand something rather complicated or just too long to read word for word. 

If you're only interested in the podcast tool, you can skip down to point 11.1. Getting Started with Notebook LM
Step 1: Access Notebook LM

• Go to Notebook LM and sign in with your Google account.
• If you don’t have access yet, you may need to request an invitation.

Step 2: Create a Notebook

• Click “Create New” to start a project

2. Adding and Managing Sources
Step 3: Upload or Link Documents and Name Project

• Add sources by uploading PDFs, pasting text, or linking Google Docs.
• Based on the first document you upload, the project will name itself, but you can rename it by clicking into the project name in the upper left hand corner
• Notebook LM will analyze the content and enable AI-powered interactions.

Step 4: Try out the various features, including:

• Study guide
• FAQ
• Briefing Doc
• Timeline
• Add note

3. Using AI to Extract Insights
Step 5: Ask Questions About Your Sources

• Use the chat interface to ask specific questions about the content.
• Example: “Summarize the key points from Chapter 3 of this document.”

Step 6: Generate Summaries and Insights

• Request summaries for lengthy documents.
• Ask for comparisons between multiple sources.
• Example: “How do Source A and Source B describe AI consciousness?”

4. Drafting Content with Notebook LM
Step 7: Generate Drafts

• Ask Notebook LM to draft reports, articles, or structured outlines based on your sources.
• Example: “Create a 500-word summary using key insights from my sources.”

Step 8: Refine and Edit

• Review the AI-generated content.
• Edit and add your own insights to ensure accuracy.

5. Enhancing Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
Step 9: Share and Collaborate

• Share notebooks with colleagues for collaborative research.
• Use comments to highlight important sections.

Step 10: Build a Knowledge Repository

• Continuously add and refine sources.
• Keep track of AI-generated insights for long-term projects.

Step 11: Generate an Audio Overview:

I've highlighted this because it might be the most useful and/or enjoyable feature for you. At least on my PC (I know many of you have Mac), the Audio Overview feature is on the right hand side of the page. See screen shot.

• Once you've added your document or documentsClick on the "Generate" button under the "Audio Overview" section. Go get a coffee or flip to another browser tab because it'll need a few minutes to create an audio discussion between two "AI hosts" summarizing your material.
• Customize the Audio Overview (optional) if you want: Before generating, select the "Customize" option. Provide specific prompts or instructions to tailor the discussion to your interests or focus areas.
• Once NotebookLM has generated the "podcast," all you need to do is click on the Play button and listen to two (rather eerily convincing) AIs discuss the article or articles.
• For some accounts, there's also an "Interactive mode" that lets you speak with the AI podcasters. That's still in Beta so it could be a bit wonky.

Bottom Line:

NotebookLM allows you to organize and generate insights from large volumes of information efficiently. And, Google promises that Workspace users can use this AI "with confidence knowing their sources, queries and responses stay within their organization."

But, keep in mind that like any generative AI, it can "hallucinate" so always double-check the original document (NotebookLM makes this pretty easy) to be sure that an especially crucial fact is right.