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It’s easy to think of the hosts of your favorite podcast as friends. They have a relaxed, humorous vibe, and you often find yourself cleaning the house or commuting with them by your side. It feels natural, like you could jump into a chat with them anytime. Well, now you can—at least with the new AI-driven podcasts from Google’s NotebookLM interface designed for research.
Google’s New Update Allows Interaction with Podcast “Hosts” on NotebookLM
Google is introducing an exciting update to NotebookLM, its AI-powered research assistant tailored for academics. This should not be confused with Google’s latest Deep Research tool that comes with Gemini; NotebookLM operates independently, utilizing AI to generate insights based solely on the resources you provide. Consequently, the assistant offers various ways to engage with your materials, including briefing documents, study guides, and Audio Overviews—basically podcast episodes centered around your research topic.
To clarify, an Audio Overview isn’t just an audio recap of the material. It features two hosts engaging in a lively discussion that includes informal language and expressions, reminiscent of the podcasts you already enjoy. It’s surprisingly authentic.
You can now join in on those discussions, sharing your thoughts or asking questions directly.
Google is gradually rolling out this Interactive mode as a beta feature.
How to Join the Discussion
According to Google, this new Interactive mode will gradually be available to all users. You won’t be able to enable this mode on existing Audio Overviews; you’ll need to create a new one to check if the feature is available to you.
If the beta feature is on your device, you’ll see an Interactive mode (BETA) button appear after you generate an Audio Overview. According to Google’s blog post about the update, simply hit Play, then tap Join to get involved in the session. The virtual hosts will engage with you when they’re ready for your input.
As with most AI products at this stage, this feature may not be perfect, and Google is upfront about the experimental nature of it:
“This is an experimental feature and only works with new Audio Overviews. Hosts may sometimes pause unexpectedly or introduce inaccuracies.”
Let’s face it: awkward pauses happen in real-life conversations too.
Upgrade for Additional Features
NotebookLM has been free for all Google users; however, a new paid subscription plan called NotebookLM Plus has been introduced alongside the Interactive mode. This new tier offers extra benefits beyond what the free version provides. Here are some of the highlights of NotebookLM Plus:
- Increased limits on notebooks, sources, and audio generations
- Additional customization options for the style and tone of your notebook responses
- Shared team notebooks
According to Google Support, the free version allows up to 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, and three audio generations daily. The NotebookLM Plus subscription boosts these limits by five times each.
For now, the free version of NotebookLM appears sufficient for individual users, while the Plus option seems suited for teams or organizations. Although I haven’t seen the Interactive mode on my device yet, I eagerly await the chance to engage with my AI “friends.” Fortunately, with self-contained models like NotebookLM, there’s a lower risk of AI assistants providing confusing or unrelated responses, keeping our conversations meaningful and relevant.
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