Google is updating its NotebookLM writing assistant with improved performance and new features, among other things. Now running on the company's Gemini 1.5 Pro model, the same AI that powers the Gemini Advanced chatbot.
Thanks to this functionality, the assistant is more aware of the context, allowing you to ask “questions about [the] images, charts and diagrams at their source” to get a better understanding.
Although the Gemini 1.5 Pro is part of NotebookLM, it is unknown if this means the AI will accept longer text messages or create more detailed responses. After all, Google's AI can handle context windows of up to a million tokens. We reached out to the tech giant to ask if people can expect to see support for larger notices.
The prompts will remain mostly the same, although they will now provide online appointments in the form of enclosed numbers. Clicking on one of these citations will take you directly to the supporting passages within the source documents. That way you can double-check the material to see if NotebookLM did everything right.
AI hallucinations remain a problem for the technology, so it is important that people can verify the results. When it comes to images, opening the quote causes the source image to appear in a small window next to the text.
Improved supply
Feed support is expanding to now include “Google Slides and Web URLs” along with PDF files, text files, and Google Docs. A new feature called Notebook Guide is also being added. What this does is give you the opportunity to reorganize the data you enter into a specific format, such as a series of FAQs or a study guide. It could be quite useful.
The Guide sees other changes being made, although they are not included in the initial announcement. For example, you can have up to 50 different sources per project, and each can be up to 500,000 words, according to TheVerge. Before this, users could only have five fonts at a time, so it's a big step forward.
Raiza Martin, senior product manager at Google Labs, also told the publication that “NotebookLM is a closed system.” This means that the AI will not perform any web searches beyond what you, the user, provide in a message. Each response you generate pertains only to the information you have at hand.
The latest NotebookLM update is now available and is rolling out to “more than 200 countries and territories around the world.” You can head to the official AI website to try out the new features. But keep in mind that NotebookLM is still considered experimental and you may encounter some quirks. TheVerge, for example, claimed that the URL feed feature didn't work in his demo. However, in our experience, the tool worked well.
Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best business laptops for 2024 if you plan to use the Assistant at work.
