Imagine you’ve got a pile of documents and you wish someone could just explain them to you. That’s where NotebookLM comes in. It’s Google’s AI tool that takes your documents and, with a feature called Video Overviews, turns them into narrated videos. And if you want pictures to go with your story, there’s Nano Banana—Gemini’s image model—which adds illustrations that actually fit what you’re learning.
So what’s new? Now, when you upload your sources, Nano Banana reads along and draws pictures that actually make sense for your topic. The videos don’t just look one way, either—you get to pick from six different styles, from Watercolor to Retro Print. And you can decide if you want the full story (Explainer) or just the highlights (Brief).
How to try this:
First, head over to notebooklm.google.com. Start a new notebook and upload something to work with—maybe a five- to ten-page PDF, a text file, or even a YouTube link.
Next, look for the Video Overview button on the right. Give it a click.
Now, tap the pencil icon. Here’s where you get to choose: do you want a Brief or an Explainer? Pick a visual style that suits your mood, and if you want, tell it exactly what to focus on—like, ‘Just show me the cost analysis bits.’
Hit Generate. It’ll take a couple of minutes, but you don’t have to wait around—you can keep working while it cooks up your video.
When it’s done, you can download your video or just share the link with someone else.
Why does any of this matter? Well, sometimes reading just isn’t the best way to get the gist. Here’s where these videos really shine:
Let’s say you’ve got a stack of research papers or proposals—fifteen of them, maybe. Instead of skimming through 200 pages, you can make a Brief video for each one. In a few minutes, you’ll know which three are actually worth your time.
Or maybe your team needs to learn something, but nobody wants to read another PDF. Turn your onboarding docs or training guides into Explainer videos, and just send around the links. Some people say this cuts their training review time almost in half.
If you’re trying to wrap your head around something technical—like meeting notes or a tricky lecture—just upload them, ask for an Explainer, and let the video walk you through it with diagrams and narration. Perfect if you’re the kind of person who learns better by seeing and hearing, not just reading.
Of course, there are a few catches:
- If you’re on the free plan, you might have to wait a bit longer—sometimes five to ten minutes if it’s busy.
- You can't edit videos after generation—any changes require regenerating from scratch
- And if you need to quote or reference something exactly, this isn’t the tool for you. It’s all about understanding, not nitpicking the details.
