Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) New Features in 2026

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) has had a busy 2026. It picked up a new name, a cloud computer, new usage limits, a voice you can talk to and a stack of study tools. The news landed across Google’s blog, Workspace Updates, the Gemini Notebook account on X and the apps, however, which makes new features easy to miss. So we built one changelog, newest first. Every entry is dated and linked to Google’s announcement, or to press coverage where Google’s post lacked the detail.

Key Takeaways

• Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026 (Google, 2026).
• Compute-based limits replaced fixed daily caps on September 2.
• September brought Live Voice Chat on mobile, notebooks in Google Docs, more expressive speech and new study tools.
• Notebooks sync with the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, and study notebooks reached Gemini in June.
• Since October 23, Gemini can use your notebooks from any chat as a connected app.

What’s new in Gemini Notebook in October 2026?

October brought Gemini Notebook into the Gemini app. Since October 23, it’s a connected app there: type @Gemini Notebook in a Gemini chat to ask your notebooks, create one or add sources. It’s on by default outside the European Economic Area and off by default inside it, where you connect it yourself (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). Our guide to using Gemini Notebook in the Gemini app walks through it.

The rest of the month, newest first:

• October 19. Co-creation for Slide Decks and Video Overviews: Gemini Notebook suggests topics from your sources, and with the Review toggle on you check the plan in the Studio panel before anything renders. Google’s announcement said it was for all users globally (Google, 2026), while the Slide Decks and Video Overviews help pages list co-creating for Google AI Ultra subscribers only (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). We follow the help pages until they change.
• October 19. Teachers on Education Fundamentals, Standard and Plus got insight summaries of how students use the notebooks they assign, and admins got granular external sharing controls, including trusted domains (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).

What’s new in Gemini Notebook in September 2026?

September was the busiest month. On September 2, compute-based limits that refresh every five hours replaced fixed daily caps (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). Compute-based limits are allowances that scale with how much work each request takes, instead of a fixed count of chats or overviews. Specifically, they factor in the complexity of your prompt, the models and features you use, and the length of your chat. Plus gets 2x the standard allowance, Pro 4x, and Ultra 5x or 20x Pro’s. In addition, Generate later queues heavy outputs on the web. Seen “Limit reached”? That’s why. Our usage limits guide explains how to stretch them. After that came admin controls, Live Voice Chat, Google Docs integration, new study tools and Expert Intelligence for Workspace.

The second half of September, newest first:

• September 29. Live Voice Chat reached all Pro users on mobile, according to Gemini Notebook’s X account (Gemini Notebook on X, 2026). Live Voice Chat is a spoken conversation with a notebook in the mobile app: tap Audio at the bottom right of the chat box, talk, and interrupt whenever you like. Every answer is grounded in your sources, transcripts appear in chat, and it’s for users 18+ (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). It isn’t the Audio Overview interactive mode, where you join the AI hosts’ conversation in English only.
• September 23. Gemini Notebook became a context source in Google Docs. Type @ in the Gemini side panel or bottom bar to pick a notebook, and Gemini grounds its writing in your sources with inline citations. It’s on Google AI Pro and Ultra, Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Plus, Google AI Pro for Education, the Teaching and Learning add-on and the AI Expanded Access add-on (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).
• September 23. Google released Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS, which it describes, with its Flash-Lite sibling, as “our most expressive audio generation models yet”, and listed it “For everyone: In Gemini Notebook” (Google, 2026). Google didn’t say which Gemini Notebook outputs use it.
• September 17. Expert Intelligence reached work and school accounts that have Gemini Notebook, Google Play and Google Books turned on. Schools on Education Plus or the Teaching and Learning add-on can also buy books with Buy for Groups and give them to students (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). Study notebooks in Gemini, meanwhile, began rolling out to Workspace accounts outside the European Economic Area (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).
• September 15. Google announced its study tools (Google, 2026). Real-time voice conversations in the mobile app, in nearly 100 languages, started with Ultra subscribers aged 18+. The mobile app also gained an audio recorder for lectures. Short Video Overviews of about 60 seconds, interactive learning overviews and new quiz formats rounded it out. Interactive learning overviews live under Reports: in the Studio panel, choose Reports, then Interactive, and the default Learning Overview template suggests infographics, quizzes and other Studio outputs you can add to the report with one click, on the web (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026).

Earlier in the month, the changes were mostly for admins:

• September 14. Notebooks in Gemini began reaching work and school accounts, on by default where both Gemini and Gemini Notebook are on. Each notebook takes up to 10 sources, and Workspace accounts in the European Economic Area are excluded (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).
• September 10. Workspace admins got an external sharing setting. It’s off by default; alternatively, it can allow trusted domains, any outside address or public notebooks (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).
• September 3. Admins got audit logs covering notebook visibility, user identity, IP address and resource context (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). The logs are on by default; exporting them to BigQuery, however, stays off until an admin turns it on.

Revising for exams? See how to study with Gemini Notebook for ways to use the new study tools.

What new features arrived in August 2026?

August was about sharing, books and reach. Expert Intelligence is Gemini Notebook’s library of licensed books: you add compatible ebooks bought on Google Play Books, then get answers grounded in the book. Here’s the month, newest first:

• August 27. Expert Intelligence launched with more than 100,000 books from major publishers, such as Bloomsbury, Macmillan, O’Reilly Media and Penguin Random House (Google, 2026).
• August 19. Notebooks came to AI Mode in Google Search. Notebooks from Gemini Notebook or the Gemini app appear there automatically, and you can add earlier AI Mode threads as sources (Google, 2026). It works in English, in every Gemini Notebook country outside the European Economic Area. AI Mode chats don’t sync back, and Studio outputs such as Audio Overviews stay in Gemini Notebook (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026).
• August 17. Gemini Notebook let people copy a shared notebook, sources and Studio items included (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). Copying, notably, is on by default. Chat history and personal notes stay behind, however, a copy doesn’t sync with the original, and there’s no admin control for the feature.
• August 7. Workspace Studio gained an “Add a source to Gemini Notebook” step. Flows can now add text, Drive links, YouTube or web URLs to a notebook as part of a recurring workflow (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).
• August 4. The upgraded notebook from June, with its cloud computer, reached every Pro account. Gemini Notebook’s X account said “the more powerful Notebook experience is now 100% rolled out to ALL Pro users” (Gemini Notebook on X, 2026).

Would you rather have an assistant do the filing? We built Kortex MCP, included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime, so Claude or ChatGPT can send Gmail and Drive files to a notebook. Outside flows like these, though, most sources still go in by hand.

July 2026: NotebookLM became Gemini Notebook

On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook, a standalone research tool used by more than 30 million people (Google, 2026). The app moved to notebook.google.com, and old links redirect. Our rename explainer covers what changed and what stayed the same. The same post, in addition, spread the cloud computer further. Google said each notebook gets a secure cloud computer that writes and runs code on your sources. It was live for Google AI Ultra and for Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access, and Google named all Pro users on the web as next (they had it by August 4, above). Google also noted you can open and create notebooks in the Gemini app, “with full cross-app syncing” between the two, and said notebooks would come to AI Mode in Search, which they did on August 19.

What changed in June 2026?

June brought a major upgrade. On June 8, 2026, NotebookLM moved to Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity and gained a secure cloud computer with more than 100 curated software skills (Google, 2026). It rolled out first to Google AI Ultra and to Workspace business customers with AI Expanded Access. How much better was it? Google said the new system won “an average win rate of over 65%” against the old one in side-by-side tests. Additionally, it added output formats from PNG and SVG charts to CSV, JSON, Excel and PowerPoint files. On those plans, in fact, a notebook can use Google Search to find sources and add them for you. Then, on June 25, Google launched study notebooks, which turn Gemini into an adaptive learning platform for students. They sync with NotebookLM, so students can continue there and make flashcards, infographics and more (Google, 2026). For what each plan runs today, see which model Gemini Notebook uses.

April and May 2026: notebooks spread across Google

Spring was about reaching notebooks from other Google apps. On April 8, 2026, Google launched Notebooks in Gemini (Google, 2026). Notebooks in Gemini are project spaces in the Gemini app that keep chats and files together and sync with NotebookLM. We compare the two in Gemini Notebook vs Notebooks in Gemini. Two more changes followed:

• May 26. Sources from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides started syncing automatically with Drive (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). As a result, you no longer have to update a source by hand after editing the file.
• April 29. The Gemini app learned to create files in 11 formats, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDF and Markdown. You can download them or export them to Drive (Google, 2026).

January to March 2026: better video and slides

The year opened with video and slides. On March 4, 2026, Cinematic Video Overviews arrived for Google AI Ultra subscribers aged 18+, in English (Google, 2026). Google built them with Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro and Veo 3. Our Video Overviews guide compares every format. The rest of the quarter:

• March 20. A Workspace round-up added EPUB uploads, private auto-saved chat history and ten infographic styles. Flashcard and quiz progress, in addition, now carries across sessions (Google Workspace Updates, 2026). Our flashcards and quizzes guide covers the study side.
• February 20. Slide decks on the web got prompt-based revisions for all users, plus PPTX export alongside PDF. Gemini 3.1 Pro, similarly, reached Pro and Ultra subscribers (9to5Google, 2026).
• January 27. Workspace users could start adding NotebookLM notebooks as a source in the Gemini app (Google Workspace Updates, 2026).

Has the pace picked up? Counting the dates in this log says yes. It holds 28 dated changes. The first eight, from January 27 to June 8, were spread over about 19 weeks. The other twenty, from June 25 to October 23, came in about 17 weeks. In other words, Google went from about one change every two to three weeks to more than one a week.

Period	Dated changes	Span
January 27 to June 8	8	About 19 weeks.
June 25 to October 23	20	About 17 weeks.
All of 2026 so far	28	About 38 weeks.

Which new Gemini Notebook features are limited to some plans?

Several of this year’s additions still depend on your plan, age or region. Here’s who has each one, per Google’s own pages:

• Live Voice Chat: Google AI Pro and Ultra, users 18+, in the mobile app (Google, 2026; Gemini Notebook on X, 2026).
• Notebooks as a source in Google Docs: Google AI Pro and Ultra, plus the Workspace editions listed in the September 23 entry.
• Cinematic Video Overviews: users 18+, English only (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026).
• Notebooks in AI Mode: English only, outside the European Economic Area (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026).
• Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity: named for Ultra and Workspace AI Expanded Access; the cloud computer is on Pro too.

Notice the order. Cinematic Video Overviews, the June upgrade with its cloud computer, and Live Voice Chat all started on Google AI Ultra or paid Workspace add-ons. The cloud computer then reached Pro in about eight weeks (June 8 to August 4), and Live Voice Chat in two (September 15 to September 29). On the free tier, in contrast, headline features have arrived last, if at all.

How does Kortex keep up with Gemini Notebook updates?

Kortex is a Chrome extension with 100,000+ users (Kortex, 2026). It works on both notebook.google.com and the old notebooklm.google.com address; as a result, the July rename didn’t break it. It adds what the 2026 updates still skipped: per-notebook export of sources, notes and chats, and organization across notebooks.

The new Studio outputs pile up fast, though. Kortex’s artifacts table lists every study guide, flashcard set, quiz and audio file across notebooks. Importantly, it exports them all at once as PDF, Markdown or ZIP. On Pro, for example, tagging a source can start a briefing doc and flashcards automatically. New to it? Start with getting started with Kortex.

Gemini Notebook will keep adding outputs, and each one lives in a single notebook until you gather it.

Frequently asked questions

What are the latest Gemini Notebook updates?

The latest came in October 2026. Since October 23, Gemini Notebook is a connected app in the Gemini app, and on October 19 Slide Decks and Video Overviews gained co-creation with a Review step. September brought compute-based limits, Live Voice Chat on mobile, notebooks as a source in Google Docs, more expressive speech and new study tools.

When did NotebookLM become Gemini Notebook?

Google announced the rename on July 16, 2026. It’s the same standalone research product, used by more than 30 million people at the time, now at notebook.google.com. The old notebooklm.google.com address redirects, so existing notebooks, sources and shared links keep working without any changes on your side.

What is the Gemini Notebook cloud computer?

It’s a secure cloud computer inside each notebook that writes and runs code for data analysis grounded in your sources. It began rolling out on June 8, 2026 for Google AI Ultra and Workspace customers with AI Expanded Access. On August 4, Gemini Notebook’s X account said every Pro account had the upgraded notebook.

Did Gemini Notebook usage limits change in 2026?

Yes. On September 2, 2026, fixed daily caps gave way to compute-based limits that refresh every five hours until a weekly limit. What a request costs depends on the prompt, the models and features used, and chat length. Google AI Plus gets twice the standard allowance, Pro four times, and Ultra 5x or 20x Pro.

Can you talk to Gemini Notebook with your voice?

Yes, in the mobile app. Live Voice Chat lets you speak with a notebook and interrupt at any time, and every answer is grounded in your sources. It’s for users 18+ on Google AI Pro and Ultra. It differs from Audio Overview’s interactive mode, where you join the AI hosts’ conversation, in English only.

Can you use a notebook as a source in Google Docs?

Yes. In Google Docs, type @ in the Gemini side panel or bottom bar and pick a notebook, and Gemini grounds its writing in that notebook’s sources with inline citations. Google lists it for Google AI Pro and Ultra, Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Plus and some add-ons.

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Editorial note: fact-checked against the official help pages and docs linked above on October 26, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Contact us and we will fix it, or read more about Kortex.