Where can I use my notebooks besides the standalone app?

You can already access and create notebooks inside the Gemini app, with full syncing between it and the standalone Gemini Notebook. Google says notebooks are also coming to AI Mode in Google Search.

What is Expert Intelligence in Gemini Notebook?

Announced August 27, 2026, Expert Intelligence lets you add eligible ebooks you own on Google Play Books to a Gemini Notebook as a source, so answers, Audio Overviews, quizzes, and infographics are grounded in the book's text. It launched with over 100,000 titles from major publishers. You must own the book; collaborators on a shared notebook are prompted to buy their own copy.

Gemini Mastery Pro+ ~6 min read Updated · September 19, 2026

NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook — what actually changed.

Q: Is Gemini Notebook the same thing as NotebookLM?

Yes. On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. It remains the same standalone research product — your notebooks, sources, and workflows carry over unchanged.

Q: Who gets the code-execution features, and when?

At launch it's available to Google AI Ultra subscribers and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access. Google says it will roll out to all Pro users on the web over the coming weeks.

On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. If that's all it were, this wouldn't be a lesson. But the rename rides along with something more substantial: every notebook is getting a secure cloud computer that can write and run code against your sources, and notebooks are spreading into the Gemini app and, soon, Google Search. Here's the honest split between what's cosmetic and what's real.

01 The rename: same product, bigger family

Gemini Notebook is the same standalone research tool you may already know as NotebookLM — the one that started as Project Tailwind at Google I/O 2023 and grew into the "upload your sources, get grounded answers, audio overviews, and study material" workhorse. Google says more than 30 million people and over 600,000 organizations use it.

The name change is strategy, not features: Google is pulling its research tool under the main Gemini brand, the same consolidation move you've seen across the industry. Your notebooks, sources, and workflows carry over. Nothing you do today stops working.

Before July 16	Now	Changed?
NotebookLM	Gemini Notebook	Name only
Standalone app & site	Still standalone	No
Your notebooks & sources	All carry over	No
Analysis on your sources	Can now write & run code (rolling out)	Yes — the real upgrade
Where notebooks live	Standalone + Gemini app, Search coming	Yes — expanding

02 The real upgrade: a cloud computer per notebook

The substantial change is under the hood. Google has started rolling out an update that gives every notebook a secure cloud environment where Gemini Notebook can write and execute code natively. In plain terms: instead of just summarizing your sources, it can now compute over them — run real data analysis on the spreadsheet you uploaded, not just describe it. Google says this enables "entirely new output formats and deeper analysis."

Why this matters

Language models are unreliable at arithmetic; code is not. When a research tool can write and run code against your sources, questions like "what's the actual trend in this data?" get answered by computation instead of pattern-matching. That's the same shift that made ChatGPT's data analysis and Copilot's Python-in-Excel genuinely useful.

Who has it today: Google AI Ultra subscribers, and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access. Who's next: Google says all Pro users on the web get it "over the coming weeks."

If you're on the free tier or Pro and don't see code execution yet, that's the staged rollout, not you. And "runs code in a secure cloud environment" means your data is being computed on in Google's cloud — fine for most research, worth a thought for sensitive files. Check your organization's rules before uploading anything confidential.

03 Notebooks are leaving the app

The other real change is reach. You can already create and open notebooks inside the Gemini app, with full syncing between the Gemini app and the standalone Gemini Notebook. Next, Google says notebooks are coming to AI Mode in Search. The direction is clear: your research notebooks stop being a destination you visit and start being a layer available wherever you're already working with Google's AI.

04 Your bookshelf becomes a source: Expert Intelligence

Announced August 27, 2026 and rolled out to Google Workspace accounts on September 17, Expert Intelligence is the first Gemini Notebook feature that isn't about your files. Buy an eligible ebook on Google Play Books and you can add the whole book to a notebook as a source. From there it works like any other source: ask a question and get an answer grounded in the book's actual text, with citations; or generate an Audio Overview, an Infographic, or a Quiz from it. The interesting move is mixing: Google's own examples pair a management book with your notes before a hard conversation, or a nutrition book with a photo of what's in your fridge.

It launches with more than 100,000 titles from Bloomsbury, De Gruyter Brill, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan, O'Reilly Media, and Penguin Random House, plus “Featured Notebooks” curated with 15+ authors (Steven Pinker, Michael Pollan, and Jennifer Wallace among them). To check whether a book qualifies, open its Google Play Books page and look for Gemini Notebook under the Tools badge.

Ownership is enforced per person. If you share a notebook that contains a book, collaborators are prompted to buy their own copy — otherwise the book is unavailable in their view of the notebook. And on Workspace accounts, an admin has to have Gemini Notebook, Google Play, and Google Books all switched on for your organizational unit, or the option won't appear.

What's next, per Google: Expert Intelligence content is coming to the Gemini app and to AI Mode in Search, and the source types will widen beyond books to third-party subscriptions, business research reports, and textbooks.

05 Study mode grows up: the September 2026 learning tools

Announced September 15, 2026 and rolling out over the following weeks (Google’s own note says visibility can take longer than 15 days), a batch of features aimed at students turns out to be useful for anyone who learns from documents. The headline is talking to a notebook: in the Gemini Notebook mobile app (Android and iOS) you can hold a real-time spoken conversation with a notebook in nearly 100 languages, interrupt mid-answer, and get step-by-step walk-throughs — still grounded only in your sources. Google limits this one to users 18 or older.

Three more that matter:

Audio recorder in the mobile app. Record a lecture, a meeting, or your own thinking-out-loud, and the recording becomes a source you can chat with, cite, and keep editing.
Interactive learning overviews (under Reports): a single document that stitches a summary together with quizzes, flashcards, and mind maps so a study session has one place to live.
Better quizzes. New formats (short answer, multiple choice, fill in the blank), the ability to add or edit questions, and — the useful part — you can ask the notebook how you did on your last quiz or flashcard set and where to focus next.

There are also Short Video Overviews: roughly 60-second animated explainers in 80+ languages that you can share with other people. Treat them the way this track treats Audio Overviews — great for absorption, not a substitute for opening the source when a claim matters.

Availability: Google says these are for everyone — Workspace customers, Workspace Individual, and personal Google accounts — but it is an extended rollout that began September 15, so a missing feature is probably timing, not your plan. On Workspace accounts, Gemini Notebook still has to be switched on for your organizational unit. Separately, U.S. college students can claim a free year of Google AI Pro (4× Gemini Notebook usage limits); eligible students in 140+ other markets get a year of Google AI Plus (2×).

What you can do now

Keep using your notebooks exactly as before — the rename changes nothing in your workflow
Say "Gemini Notebook" going forward; you'll see the old name fade from Google's apps and docs
If you're on Ultra (or a Workspace plan with AI Ultra/Expanded Access), try asking a notebook to analyze an uploaded data file — the code execution is live for you
On Pro? Watch for code execution on the web over the coming weeks
Try opening a notebook from inside the Gemini app — syncing is already on
Own a business or nonfiction ebook on Google Play Books? Check its Tools badge and, if it qualifies, add it to a notebook alongside your own notes
On your phone? Update the Gemini Notebook app, open a notebook, and try a spoken conversation about one source — then check the answer against the citation

Frequently asked

Gemini Notebook — your questions, answered

Is Gemini Notebook the same thing as NotebookLM?

Yes. On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. It remains the same standalone research product — your notebooks, sources, and workflows carry over unchanged.

Do I need to do anything because of the rename?

No. Nothing about how you use the product changes. Expect the name and logo to update over time, and expect to see "Gemini Notebook" in Google's apps and documentation going forward.

What is the secure cloud computer?

An update rolling out alongside the rename gives every notebook a secure cloud environment where Gemini Notebook can write and run code against your sources — enabling real data analysis and new output formats without leaving the app.

Who gets code execution, and when?

At launch: Google AI Ultra subscribers and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access. Google says it rolls out to all Pro users on the web over the coming weeks.

Where can I use notebooks besides the standalone app?

Inside the Gemini app today, with full cross-app syncing. Google says notebooks are also coming to AI Mode in Search.

What is Expert Intelligence?

A feature announced August 27, 2026 that lets you add eligible ebooks you own on Google Play Books to a notebook as a source. Answers, Audio Overviews, quizzes, and infographics are then grounded in the book's text. It launched with 100,000+ titles from major publishers; you must own the book, and collaborators on a shared notebook are prompted to buy their own copy.

Can I talk to a Gemini Notebook out loud?

Yes, as of the September 2026 update: the Gemini Notebook mobile app (Android and iOS) supports a real-time spoken conversation with a notebook in nearly 100 languages, grounded in your sources. Google restricts the spoken mode to users 18 or older, and it is rolling out gradually from September 15, 2026.

Master the product behind the new name

Our full lesson on research workflows in Gemini Notebook — sources, audio overviews, and study workflows. Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM): your research workspace →