How to generate and download a NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) Audio Overview

3 minutes 7 steps Updated

Quick answer

Open the Kortex Workspace and find the notebook's row in the Notebooks table. Click Generate Audio. Choose a style, depth, sources and language. Add instructions if you want, and start. When it is done, click Listen to play it. Or click Download audio overview to save an .mp4 file.

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How to generate and download a NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) Audio Overview
Read the transcript

Here's how to make an Audio Overview for Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, from the Kortex Workspace, and save it as a file. Open the Kortex Workspace. The Notebooks table has an Audio Overview column.

A row shows Generate Audio if the notebook has no audio yet. Click Generate Audio, and the Generate Audio Overview window opens. The notebook needs at least one source.

Pick Deep Dive, Brief, Critique or Debate. Set the Depth to Short or Standard. Deep Dive also has In-Depth.

Then tick the sources to use. Choose the language. Under Instructions, tell the hosts what to focus on.

Then click Generate Audio. The row shows Generating while Gemini Notebook makes the audio. Activity, in the top bar, lists it too.

When it's done, open the row's audio and click Listen to play it. To save it, tick it and click Download. You get an M P 4 file.

Add to Podcast puts it in a private feed you can follow in a podcast app. Make an Audio Overview. Play it, or keep it.

  1. Open the Notebooks table

    Open the Kortex Workspace. The Notebooks table has an Audio Overview column. A row shows Generate Audio if the notebook has no audio yet.

    The Notebooks table in the Kortex Workspace: sources, tags, collections, dates and an Audio Overview column with a Generate Audio button on each row.
    Every notebook in one table.
  2. Click Generate Audio

    A Generate Audio Overview window opens. A notebook with no sources cannot make audio, so add at least one source first.

  3. Choose style, depth and sources

    Pick Deep Dive, Brief, Critique or Debate. Set Depth to Short or Standard. Deep Dive also has In-Depth. Under Sources, tick the ones to use.

  4. Pick a language and add instructions

    Choose the language. Under Instructions (Optional), tell the hosts what to focus on, such as the methods section.

  5. Wait for it to finish

    The row shows Generating... while Gemini Notebook makes the audio. Activity in the top bar lists it too.

  6. Listen or download

    Click Listen to play the audio. Click Download audio overview to save it. The file is an .mp4.

  7. Send it to a podcast, if you want

    Click Add to podcast to put the Audio Overview in a private feed. You can follow the feed in a podcast app.

If it doesn’t work

Generate Audio does nothing, or generation fails
Gemini Notebook has daily limits on Audio Overviews. Kortex cannot raise them. Try again after the limit resets, or check the Google account the notebook belongs to.
It says the notebook has no sources
Add at least one source before generating audio. Audio Overviews come from a notebook's sources.
I wanted an mp3
Downloads are .mp4 files. Most players open them. A video or audio converter can change the file to another format.
The audio is about the wrong things
Generate it again with fewer sources ticked. Use Instructions (Optional) to name what to cover.

Questions people ask

Something we missed? Ask us.

Does Kortex make the audio itself?

No. Kortex asks Gemini Notebook to make it, using your own Google session. Google's own limits on Audio Overviews still apply.

What file format is the download?

An .mp4 file. Most players open it. A converter can change it to another format.

Can I change the language?

Yes. The Generate Audio Overview window has a language choice.

Can I generate audio for every notebook with a tag?

Yes. An automation rule has a Generate audio action. It can run when a notebook is tagged or filed.

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