NotebookLM overhaul: notes become AI-visible sources you can query, deselect, and cite
stevenbjohnson · x · 2026-11-10
Steven Johnson details a major NotebookLM redesign: notes now live in the Sources panel and are AI-visible for grounding.
Key points:
- All notes sit in a collapsible folder atop the Sources panel; notes no longer count against source quota.
- Previously notes were invisible to the AI; converting them to sources created unsynced duplicates.
- New capabilities: chat across your entire note collection with citations (summarize themes, propose plot structures, generate quizzes), fact-check writing against sources, and create artifacts blending notes and sources.
- Deselect notes to keep them from grounding your chat (for scholarly workflows), or select only notes to explore your own ideas; selection state persists across sessions.
- More AI-powered writing features are planned on this new architecture.
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