Google’s viral assistant has its own app. Here’s how you can use it

Google’s high-powered research assistant is getting its own app, and Android users are getting a first look.

NotebookLM, which debuted last year, is a free AI research assistant (running on Gemini 2.0’s multimodal understanding capabilities) that helps you better understand any topic. You can give it a number of data sources, including PDF files, links to articles, YouTube video links, and Google Docs or Slides.

Also: Google’s viral AI podcast tool can chat in over 50 languages now

Offering a few usage examples, Google says you can do things like:

• Upload lecture recordings, textbook chapters, and research papers to break down complex concepts into simple terms.
• Upload your own research to create a polished presentation outline complete with key talking points and supporting evidence.
• Upload brainstorming notes, market research data, and competitor research info to identify current trends, find new product ideas, and discover hidden opportunities.

When it first launched, the tool was exclusive to browsers, but Google has now released it as A standalone Android appThe Apple app store listing indicates a release date as May 20, but this app is actually released on April 20. Download for Android now.

This is how the tool works.

Open a new Notebook and add your documents, links, and files. After NotebookLM has all your information, it will give you a summary that includes information from your sources. The summary includes citations so you can know where the information is coming from.

Your Android devices will receive several free upgrades, including a major one for Auto.

Then, you can take the summary and present it in a way that best suits you — a written or audio summary, a fake podcast where two hosts banter about your topic. You can interrupt the conversation to ask questions, or even take it in a different direction. It’s like you are a podcast host. It’s not smooth because there is a delay between the hosts acknowledging you and answering your question. But I found it pretty cool when I used it myself.

Google warns that NotebookLM may not always be correct. Want to read more about AI?

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