I tried Google’s viral new tool that creates an AI podcast about topics you feed it. It’s worth the hype.
Audio Overviews in NotebookLM was demonstrated at Google I/O 2024.
Google’s new AI tool is already making waves.
The tech giant’s NotebookLM tool recently released a feature called Audio Overviews. Based on the information you feed it, it generates a “deep dive,” podcast-like discussion hosted by two AI hosts.
You can toss various formats its way, such as website and YouTube links, PDFs, audio files, Google Docs and Slides, and raw text. Once you get your custom AI-generated podcast, you can also download the Audio Overview and upload it in NotebookLM to get a transcript.
NotebookLM, while not a household name like ChatGPT, is an AI-powered research and writing assistant that summarizes sources, creates study guides and briefing documents, and fact-checks your work.
The new feature has created an online buzz as people experiment with creating on-demand podcasts of their choosing. Some have referred to the feature as “mind-blowing” and others are sharing their finished products, which range from podcasts with the AI hosts “realizing” that they’re AI to true crime podcasts based on court documents.
Following excitement about the new feature, NotebookLM’s product lead, Raiza Martin, shared plans to release more features.
“After that initial moment of delight, people want to influence the content,” Martin wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Makes sense — now you want knobs for format, length, personas, voices, languages — I’m keeping track and we’re working on it (some will come much faster than others).”
The tool’s impact has already spawned at least one rival. An open-source competitor said it had built a similar tool called Open NotebookLM in a single afternoon — though it has more limits than Google’s version.
With all the chatter about Google’s latest AI experiment, I decided to give Audio Overviews a try by creating a few podcasts on different topics like neural networks and drama at OpenAI. Here are my takeaways.
The voices are realistic and entertaining
After recently trying out ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode, I thought I had heard the best of what AI has to offer consumers in terms of voice interaction.
To my surprise, this NotebookLM-generated podcast exceeded anything I’d heard so far in terms of AI voice quality. Not only do the voices sound real, but the way the AI hosts bounce off each other and banter mimics the style and structure of a real podcast.
For example, when the hosts were talking about OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever’s journey at the company (he resigned months after Sam Altman’s return as CEO), one of the hosts said, “This is juicy stuff, tell me more.” It strayed from the stiff and robotic voice I expect to hear from AI-generated content and provided the entertaining flair I enjoy from podcasts.
The hosts also raised legitimate questions on the topic at hand and exchanged thoughtful responses to information. It’s like hearing a lifelike conversation with two knowledgeable podcasters — and the ability to personalize it to your interests is a game changer.
The quality of the information is solid
Each of the podcasts I generated gave an accurate overview of the information I fed it, and I didn’t catch any inaccuracies.
Like any AI tool though, Audio Overviews isn’t perfect. Google notes at the bottom of the screen that “NotebookLM may still sometimes give inaccurate responses, so you may want to confirm any facts independently.”
With that in mind, I probably wouldn’t use it alone to educate me on a topic I’m not at all familiar with, and it’s a good idea to do your own research — especially if anything is said that seems off or inaccurate.
As an avid podcast listener though, I was pleasantly surprised by the tool. With so many AI developments coming out, it’s rare that I’m left awestruck by a tool that’s actually available to play around with, today.
Audio Overviews is probably my favorite AI tool I’ve tried out so far — and it showcases the innovative ways AI can be used in our daily lives.
