By Key Points
- Google launches 8 curated AI-powered notebooks
- Topics range from parenting tips to Shakespeare
- Includes AI summaries and podcast-style audio
- Partners include The Atlantic, The Economist
Google has taken a major step in making AI more useful and accessible with the launch of eight new AI notebooks inside its note-taking app, NotebookLM.
These aren’t your average study guides—they’re curated digital notebooks built with real content from well-known experts, authors, and media publishers.
Each notebook is packed with ready-to-go research, summaries, and podcast-style discussions powered by Google’s AI tools. From parenting advice and longevity tips to the timeless works of Shakespeare, Google is aiming to help people explore deep, complex topics in a way that’s both engaging and easy to understand.
And this is just the beginning.
NotebookLM is being positioned not just as a personal workspace, but as a gateway to expert knowledge on demand. The AI notebooks combine source material with AI-generated insights, offering a whole new way to learn and explore.
While Google is pushing forward, other tech giants have seen mixed results with AI. For example, OpenAI’s open model launch delay has raised concerns about competition in the space (read more).
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s recent AI layoffs signal the intense reshuffling of priorities in the AI arms race (full story here).
For most users, @NotebookLM is a tool for understanding and exploring project-based information.
But we also think it could be a distribution platform, amplifying expert knowledge.
Today we’re offering a preview of that vision: Featured Notebooks.
Here’s the backstory…
In a… pic.twitter.com/0MkPf3DWvn
— Steven Johnson (@stevenbjohnson) July 14, 2025
AI notebooks include expert voices and podcast-style overviews
AI notebooks make learning fast, interactive, and fun
The new featured AI notebooks include contributions from a variety of high-profile sources:
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Eric Topol, author of Super Agers, offers insights on longevity
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Jacqueline Nesi’s Techno Sapiens, a parenting newsletter, is transformed into an AI-guided notebook
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The complete works of Shakespeare are broken down with summaries and notes
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Collaborations with The Atlantic and The Economist deliver in-depth takes on current issues
What makes these AI notebooks unique isn’t just the content—it’s how they’re designed to be used. Each one comes preloaded with:
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AI-generated summaries of the material
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Notes and highlights that pull out key ideas
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An interactive chatbot that answers questions about the material
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Audio Overviews, which are podcast-like conversations hosted by AI voices that discuss the material in a more engaging format
This setup allows users to explore big topics without having to start from scratch. You can jump in, listen, read, and ask questions—all in one place.
The rise of AI-generated media is not without controversy. Grok AI’s Hitler content scandal made headlines when it served offensive answers about Nazis (explained here). Elon Musk’s team later claimed the “Nazi glitch” was due to a code update error (details here) and issued a public apology for the misstep (see apology).
Google is turning AI notebooks into a knowledge network
Google aims for thousands of shared AI notebooks
Google isn’t stopping with just eight notebooks. According to Steven Johnson, the editorial director for NotebookLM, the vision is much bigger.
In a recent post, he said that the future could include “thousands of expert-curated notebooks on all sorts of topics” that users can add to their library.
This expansion has already started. In the past month alone, over 140,000 users have shared public notebooks through the platform. This feature—launched just weeks ago—lets users make their research public, helping others learn from their work and ideas.
For those new to NotebookLM, these featured notebooks offer a clear preview of what’s possible when AI meets quality content. It’s a powerful blend of human expertise and machine assistance, aiming to make learning more intuitive and accessible for everyone.
Each notebook is a mini learning hub, combining the credibility of expert sources with the efficiency of AI. Whether you’re a student, a lifelong learner, or just curious about something new, Google’s AI notebooks make it easier to understand complex subjects in minutes, not hours.
Meanwhile, other companies are facing leadership shifts. Apple recently lost a key AI executive, signaling deeper changes in their approach to generative tools (more on that here).
Google says more curated notebooks are coming soon, especially from The Economist and The Atlantic, expanding the range of topics and depth of content.
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