Google Launches “NotebookLM” – An AI-Powered Time Saving Tool

Google has unveiled a game-changing service called “NotebookLM” that leverages AI to summarize documents.

You can upload PDFs or web pages, and it will summarize key points, highlight differences, and organize everything neatly.

For example, there was an incident where fans and stakeholders were upset because the content of “Sexy Tanaka-san” differed between the original work and the drama adaptation.

Reports have been released by both Nippon TV, which produced the drama, and Shogakukan, which published the original work.

What are the key points from both sides? What are their responses to the questions you have? NotebookLM will answer these questions for you, and relevant parts will pop up.

This is super convenient.

Reading – Virtual Discussions with Authors

Let’s say you’re reading a book. For instance, I uploaded the PDF version of Kensuu’s “Monogatari Shikou” (Story Thinking).

NotebookLM doesn’t just summarize; it also generates questions to deepen your knowledge, and even provides answers.

It’s like having a conversation with the book (author). It opens the door for dialogue. It feels like that.

Expanding Your Knowledge on a Topic from Multiple Perspectives

Say you want to know if it’s a good time to buy stocks, whether we’re in a recession, or if it’s still safe.

You can search for articles like “Interest Rate Trends and the Economy” by Masataka Horii, and paste the URL.

You can also upload articles from Western media, even if they’re in English.

Then, ask your questions.

NotebookLM will provide answers in Japanese, even for articles in English or Thai.

Summarizing Foreign Language Materials

Suppose you’re conducting a global market research, like on the Thai media market. What companies are the key players? What’s the market share? Who are the competitors?

Major Asian companies listed on NASDAQ and others aiming to attract foreign investment often have English materials.

But many companies only release documents in Thai.

In such cases, upload the PDFs or URLs of the materials to NotebookLM.

You can ask your questions in Japanese, and get responses in Japanese. This is extremely handy. A real time-saver.

You might also want to research trends in overseas media markets – the US’s five major studios, four major networks, music labels, the UK broadcasting market, etc.

Previously, we’d download IR materials, paste the numbers into Excel, and compare them.

But now, with NotebookLM, you just upload the IR materials and ask for comparison numbers in Japanese.

NotebookLM is a hit service after a long time.

It’s a massive time-saving tool.