Google is using AI to create fake podcasts from your notes

It aims to build on the existing features of NotebookLM Help you interact with all your notestranscripts, and other research documents. The app already uses Google’s Gemini AI model to help summarize your research, and this is like an audio version of that.

Google isn’t lying when it says the AI ​​hosts will “joke around” with each other. When I tried the audio overview for myself, I plugged in a sample notebook about the invention of the light bulb, and the results were a little odd. During the 10-minute overview, the two hosts had a lighthearted discussion about how Thomas Edison wasn’t the only person behind the light bulb and that “ultimately, this is really a story about teamwork making a dream come true.”

The host team could have done this About There were some quirks not mistaken for human podcasters, such as emphasizing “Bam!” in the middle of a sentence or using modern phrases like “Messy as heck.” There were still some quirks, as I noticed the AI ​​was spelling some words and phrases wrong, such as “plus.” Some of the writing wasn’t exactly what a human would say, with one AI host calling platinum “bling bling metal.”

This feature makes learning about research more interesting, but I wonder if the hosts will maintain their light-hearted, somewhat humorous tone when discussing more serious topics like cancer or war. There is also quite a bit of filler during the conversations, so this may not be the best way to get all your information across quickly and clearly.

Google mentions this in its announcement, as it says the feature is not a “comprehensive or objective view of a topic, but simply a reflection of your notes.”

Audio Overview also has some other limitations, as Google says it can take several minutes to create a podcast-like discussion, and it’s only available in English. Like many AI tools, it’s not always accurate.

You can try this feature out by opening a notebook yourself In NotebookLM. From there, select the Notebook Guide in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and then hit Burden Underneath the “Audio Overview” heading. I know I’m going to do some research on a random topic so I can hear what the AI ​​podcasters have to say.