Google’s incredible podcast generator, NotebookLM, is one of the wildest AI tools we’ve ever used, and it just got a huge upgrade that makes it even scarier.
Today, Google announced massive updates to its AI podcast tool, meaning you can now lead the conversation and control the hosts – yes, that’s right, you can now play the role of producer in an AI-generated podcast!
Before today’s update, the tool built with Gemini 1.5 simply converted any text, audio, or video you entered into it into a discussion between two hosts – it was really impressive and lifelike, but there was no way to direct the conversation.
Now Google has added a “Customize” button that lets you direct the discussion and give the presenters notes. Google says: “Think of it as giving the AI hosts a quick note right before they go on the air, which will change the way they handle your material.”
NotebookLM was already dystopian enough and almost impossible to distinguish whether the hosts chatting were real or AI, but now with this new capability we could see full AI-generated podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts (that is, if they don’t exist ). al).
Want to try AI podcast generation yourself? See how to use NotebookLM.
That’s not all, folks
Google may have casually dropped its biggest NotebookLM update yet, but it’s not the only new addition leading the conversation.
A new background listening feature lets you listen to NotebookLM Audio Outlines while working on other NotebookLM projects. That may not sound like a big deal, but since it can take a long time to generate each audio clip, creating multiple clips at once and listening to them is a significant improvement.
Combined, both new NotebookLM features make the already stunning AI tool significantly better. I wasn’t sold until I heard this incredible adaptation from my colleague’s blog. If you want to hear how realistic AI can be, listen below: