You can now talk to Google‘s AI hosts that, in effect, will turn your meeting notes into a podcast.
NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered teaching tool, first debuted the Audio Overview tool in October. In short, it takes source material — e.g., meeting notes, diary entries, legal briefs — and condenses it into a podcast-like product where two AI hosts discuss the pertinent info. The idea is to provide a different mode of taking in the information, perhaps for the person too busy to read or who learns better via audio.
Now, in theory, you could ask the AI hosts questions should confusion arise or you need more info.
Wrote Google in a blog post about the update to NotebookLM:
“Over the last three months, people have generated more than 350 years worth of Audio Overviews. Today, we’re starting to roll out the ability to ‘join’ the conversation. Using your voice, you can ask the hosts for more details or to explain a concept differently. It’s like having a personal tutor or guide who listens attentively, and then responds directly, drawing from the knowledge in your sources.”
Google did warn that it’s a new feature and that the AI hosts may “pause awkwardly before responding and may occasionally introduce inaccuracies.” That’s to be expected, considering AI introducing inaccuracies isn’t exactly a new or novel problem.
You can find the new tool by clicking the “Interactive mode (BETA)” button on a new audio interview.
