How to use NotebookLM Plus in 2026: Google’s research notebook, now called Gemini Notebook

NotebookLM is Google’s AI notebook that answers questions only from the sources you give it, with citations back to the exact passage. In July 2026 Google renamed it Gemini Notebook; Google says it is the same product and existing notebooks remain accessible. The higher-limit version people searched for as NotebookLM Plus now comes with Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra plans. This guide explains how to use NotebookLM Plus features step by step: building a notebook, chatting with sources, Audio and Video Overviews, slides, mind maps, flashcards and reports, with workflows for students, researchers and teams in India. Our shared NotebookLM Plus is ₹299/month.

We sell shared NotebookLM Plus access, so read this as vendor content. Plan details are from notebook.google/plans, checked on 25 Oct 2026. Google AI plan prices in India are in our Gemini Pro price in India guide.

NotebookLM Plus is now Gemini Notebook: what changed

Google’s plans page answers this directly: NotebookLM became Gemini Notebook in July 2026, it is the same product, and all existing notebooks remain fully accessible. Google says it is expanding notebooks into a workspace that carries context across its AI products, and you can still use Gemini Notebook on its own on web and mobile.

“NotebookLM Plus” was the name for the higher-limit tier. Today those higher limits come bundled in Google AI plans, so learning how to use NotebookLM Plus really means learning Gemini Notebook with a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra plan.

Plans and limits

Limits from notebook.google/plans; India prices from Google’s plan pages, 25 Oct 2026. Google says AI plans are available only in specific regions. Organisations and schools get Gemini Notebook through Google Workspace, Workspace for Education or Google Cloud.

How to use NotebookLM Plus, step 1: create a notebook and add sources

1. Open Gemini Notebook and sign in with your Google account.
2. Create a new notebook for one project, subject or client.
3. Add sources: PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, website links, YouTube videos, pasted text or audio files.
4. Use Source Discovery or Deep Research to find new sources on the web if you need more.
5. Name the notebook clearly so you can find it later.

Keep one topic per notebook. Answers stay sharper when sources are focused, and you stay within source limits.

Step 2: Chat with your sources

Ask questions in the chat panel. Answers are grounded in your sources and include numbered citations; click one to jump to the exact passage. Good questions are specific: “Compare how the three reports define financial inclusion”, “List every deadline mentioned across these documents”, or “What evidence does chapter 4 give for the main claim?” This grounding is the main reason people learn how to use NotebookLM Plus instead of a general chatbot for study and research.

Step 3: Generate Audio Overviews

An Audio Overview turns your sources into a podcast-style conversation between two AI hosts. You can steer it with instructions, such as the audience, the focus or the length. Students listen on the commute; professionals use them to absorb long reports. Higher plans give more generations, and AI Pro has four times the standard limits.

Step 4: Make Video Overviews, slides and infographics

Gemini Notebook can turn sources into Video Overviews that explain a topic visually, slide decks for a presentation, and infographics for social media or internal updates. Use them as drafts: check every figure against the cited source and add your own analysis before sharing.

Step 5: Study with mind maps, flashcards and reports

• Mind maps show how ideas in your sources connect, useful at the start of a topic.
• Flashcards help you revise before an exam.
• Reports such as briefing documents, study guides and FAQs summarise sources in a structured format.

These features make learning how to use NotebookLM Plus especially valuable for students preparing for semester exams or competitive exams.

Step 6: Save notes and share notebooks

Save useful answers as notes inside the notebook so they stay with your sources. You can share notebooks with collaborators, and consumer accounts can create public notebooks for others to read, for example an FAQ notebook built from help-centre articles. Google says organisation and school data is not used to train its models, and individual data is not used for training unless you share feedback.

How to use NotebookLM Plus for students

1. Create a notebook per subject and add the syllabus, lecture notes and textbook chapters.
2. Ask for explanations of difficult concepts with citations to your notes.
3. Generate flashcards and a study guide before exams.
4. Listen to an Audio Overview while travelling.
5. Use mind maps to see how units connect.

Use it to understand and revise, not to write assignments for you, and follow your institution’s rules.

How to use NotebookLM Plus for researchers and PhD students

• Upload papers for a literature review and ask for themes, gaps and contradictions.
• Use the 100 or 300 source limits of AI Plus or Pro for larger reviews.
• Generate a briefing document per chapter to keep track of arguments.
• Click every citation before relying on a claim.

How to use NotebookLM Plus for professionals and teams

• Sales: upload product specs and competitor notes; generate slides or an Audio Overview before meetings.
• Support: add help-centre articles and release notes; answer customer questions quickly.
• Training: turn manuals and SOPs into Video Overviews.
• Marketing: turn reports and webinars into infographics and post ideas.

Keep confidential company documents in your own or your organisation’s account, not on shared access.

How to use NotebookLM Plus for exam preparation in India

For UPSC, state PSC and other competitive exams, create notebooks for subjects such as polity, economy and current affairs. Add NCERT chapters you own, official reports, Economic Survey chapters and PIB releases as sources. Ask for summaries, timelines and practice questions with citations, then make your own notes. Grounding in your own sources reduces the risk of AI inventing facts, but you should still check anything important.

NotebookLM Plus vs Gemini chat

Gemini chat answers from its general knowledge and the web; Gemini Notebook answers from the sources you add, with citations. Use chat for broad questions and drafting, and the notebook when accuracy against specific documents matters. Both come with Google AI plans; see is Gemini Pro worth it? and our shared Gemini (₹1,199/month).

Tips: how to use NotebookLM Plus faster

• One project per notebook; split big topics.
• Add the best sources first; quality beats quantity.
• Steer Audio Overviews with a short instruction about audience and focus.
• Save key answers as notes so you do not lose them.
• Click citations before quoting anything.

Common mistakes

• Dumping unrelated sources into one notebook.
• Treating generated slides or reports as final without checking.
• Uploading confidential files to a shared account.
• Assuming the notebook knows things outside your sources.

NotebookLM Plus on GroupAI Tools

Our plan gives higher-limit notebook access month by month in rupees by UPI. Read is group buy safe? for how sessions work.

How we checked

We read notebook.google/plans on 25 Oct 2026 for the rename, plan limits and features, and Google’s India plan pages for AI Plus and AI Pro prices. Feature names change as Google updates the product; check its help centre if something looks different.

Get started on GroupAI Tools

Here is how buying works on GroupAI Tools. You pick NotebookLM Plus or another tool on its page, pay in rupees with UPI (GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM), RuPay, cards or net banking, and the tool appears in your dashboard. You open it from Dashboard Login at app.groupaitools.org in a private, isolated browser session, so you never type or see a shared password.

Software that is sold as a licence rather than a web app is delivered as a licence key or an activation by email or WhatsApp instead. WhatsApp support runs from 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM IST, and every tool page shows the 48-hour refund guarantee.

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