# Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) for marketing research > Use Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, for source-grounded research: interviews, reports, Audio Overviews, sales enablement and code runs. Source: https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-notebook-notebooklm-research Author: Dipuck Jones, founder of MentionX Updated: 5 November 2026 Level: Practitioner **Gemini Notebook, called NotebookLM until Google renamed it on 16 July 2026, is the Gemini tool that answers only from the sources you give it. Add interview transcripts, analyst reports, web pages, YouTube videos or Drive files, and you can ask questions, get answers with citations to the exact passage, and generate Audio Overviews, briefing documents and other outputs. For marketers it's the safest way to work with voice-of-customer research, positioning documents and sales enablement, because answers stay grounded in your material rather than the open web. Every notebook is now getting a secure cloud computer that runs code for data analysis.** > **Key takeaways** > > - Same standalone product, new name. Old NotebookLM links redirect, and notebooks also sync with the Gemini app. > - Answers cite your sources. Click a citation to see the passage it came from. > - Use it for customer interviews, win-loss notes, analyst reports, and a sales-enablement notebook the whole team can ask. > - Code execution in notebooks is live for AI Ultra and some Workspace add-ons, and rolling out to AI Pro on the web. > - Google says notebooks are coming to AI Mode in Search. *Checked 5 November 2026 (CET) against Gemini Apps Help, the Gemini release notes, Google Workspace Help, Google Search Central, Search Console Help, the Gemini API docs and the Google blog posts cited in Sources. Google renames and moves Gemini features often, so confirm labels and limits in your own account. "Our view" marks MentionX opinion. Ledgerline is a fictional company used for illustration.* ## What changed when NotebookLM became Gemini Notebook? From Google's 16 July 2026 announcement and the Workspace Updates post: | Change | Detail | |---|---| | Name | NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook, with a new logo rolling out over several weeks | | Product | Still standalone, "focused on being your premier research tool" | | Links | Automatic redirects keep shared notebooks and links working; no admin action needed | | Gemini app | Create and open notebooks in the Gemini app, with full sync | | Search | Notebooks are coming to AI Mode | | Code | Each notebook gets a secure cloud computer that writes and runs code over your sources | | Scale | Google says more than 30 million people and 600,000 organisations use it | Code execution is available now for Google AI Ultra users and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access. Google says it's rolling out to all Pro users on the web. ## When should you use Gemini Notebook instead of Deep Research? | You want | Use | Why | |---|---|---| | Answers only from your interviews, reports or docs | Gemini Notebook | Grounded in your sources, with passage-level citations | | A sourced report on a market or competitor from the web | Deep Research ([lesson 4](https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-deep-research-competitor-market)) | It searches for you | | Both | Run Deep Research, then add its report and the key source pages to a notebook | Your team can then ask follow-up questions | | A quick draft in your voice | Gemini app with a skill | Faster for writing | ## What sources can you add? You can typically add PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, web URLs, YouTube videos, audio files and pasted text. Check the add-source dialog in your account for the current list and limits per notebook. Google sets limits by plan, and paid plans raise them. Good marketing sources: - Customer interview transcripts (remove personal data first, or use a Workspace account under your company's policy). - Win-loss notes and sales call summaries. - Your positioning doc, messaging house and product release notes. - Analyst reports you're licensed to use. - Competitor product pages and documentation (as URLs). - Review exports as a document. ## What outputs are useful for marketers? | Output | Use it for | |---|---| | Chat with citations | "What are the top three reasons customers chose us over Competitor A? Quote them." | | Briefing doc or report | A one-page summary of 20 interviews for leadership | | Audio Overview | A podcast-style summary for sales reps to listen to on the go. AI Pro includes 5x more than free | | Mind map or study outputs | Onboarding new marketers to a complex product | | Notes | Save good answers as notes, then turn the notes into a source | > **Pro move:** ask for exact quotes, not summaries. "List every direct quote where a customer describes the problem before buying us, with the source name." You get messaging-ready language in your customers' words, and each quote links back to the transcript so legal can check it. ## How do you build a voice-of-customer notebook? 1. Create a notebook called "VoC - 2026 H2". 2. Add 10-30 interview transcripts. Name each file by segment and date, for example "Mid-market - 2026-09-14 - Controller". 3. Add your current positioning doc as a separate source. 4. Ask the core questions: - "What problems do customers describe in their own words before buying? Group by theme with quotes." - "Where does customer language differ from our positioning doc?" - "Which competitors are mentioned, and in what context?" - "What objections came up during evaluation?" 5. Save the best answers as notes. 6. Generate a briefing doc for leadership and an Audio Overview for sales. ## How do you build a sales-enablement notebook? Create one notebook per product line and add: - Battlecards and competitor teardowns from lesson 4. - Pricing and packaging docs. - Security and compliance FAQs. - Case studies. Share it with the sales team. Reps can ask "What's our answer when a prospect says Competitor B integrates with their ERP?" and get a cited answer from approved material. Update the sources monthly, and remove outdated documents so old answers don't come back. *Our view:* a notebook is only as good as its weakest source. One outdated pricing PDF will produce confident, cited and wrong answers. Give each sales notebook an owner and a monthly source review. ## What can code execution do? With the secure cloud computer, Gemini Notebook can write and run code over your sources. Practical uses where it's available: - Count how often each theme appears across 30 transcripts, then chart it. - Analyse a CSV of campaign results that you added as a source. - Compare pricing tables extracted from several competitor PDFs. Check how the numbers were calculated before you report them, since the code is generated for you. ## What about privacy and sharing? - Workspace accounts follow your organisation's Gemini data terms and admin settings. Admins can control Gemini Notebook access. - Shared notebooks can expose every source to the people you share with. Check the sharing level before you add sensitive documents. - For personal accounts, read the Gemini Apps privacy settings before adding customer data. ## Worked example: Ledgerline *Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Details are illustrative.* Ledgerline had 24 customer interviews from a messaging project, and nobody had time to read them all. | Question asked | Finding (illustrative) | Used for | |---|---|---| | Top pre-purchase problems, with quotes | "Chasing approvals in email" in 15 of 24 | Homepage headline test | | Language vs positioning doc | Customers say "approvals", not "workflow orchestration" | Messaging rewrite | | Competitors mentioned | Competitor C named in 7, always about ERP integrations | Battlecard update | | Objections | Implementation time, in 9 interviews | New onboarding FAQ page | ### Walkthrough 1. The product marketer removed names and emails from the transcripts and uploaded them to a Workspace-account notebook. 2. She added the positioning doc as a separate source, and asked the four core questions. 3. She saved each answer as a note and checked six quotes against the transcripts by clicking the citations. 4. She generated a briefing doc for the CMO and a 10-minute Audio Overview for sales. 5. "Chasing approvals in email" became a homepage headline test, and the onboarding FAQ became a content brief for lesson 16. ## Common mistakes - **Mixing drafts and final documents as sources.** Old drafts produce contradictory answers. - **Asking for summaries instead of quotes.** - **Not checking citations.** Click at least a few before you share findings. - **Sharing a notebook that contains sensitive sources.** - **Treating it as web research.** It only knows what you add, unless you use its source discovery features. ## Try it yourself Create a notebook with at least five customer interviews or sales call notes plus your positioning doc. Ask, "Where does customer language differ from our positioning?" Check three citations, save the answer as a note, and turn it into a one-page briefing doc. ## Quick quiz **1. When was NotebookLM renamed Gemini Notebook?** *Answer:* 16 July 2026. **2. Do old NotebookLM links still work?** *Answer:* Yes. Google set up automatic redirects. **3. What's the main difference from Deep Research?** *Answer:* Gemini Notebook answers from your sources. Deep Research searches the web. ## What should you check before the next lesson? - You have a VoC or sales notebook with clean, dated sources. - You've checked citations on your key findings. - Each shared notebook has an owner and a review date. Previous: [Gemini in Google Sheets for marketing data](https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-sheets-data-analysis). Next: [Nano Banana, Gemini Omni and Flow for campaign creative](https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-image-video-creative). Or return to the [Gemini for Marketers track](https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-for-marketers). Related: [ChatGPT market and audience research](https://mentionx.ai/learn/chatgpt/chatgpt-market-audience-research), [Perplexity market and audience research](https://mentionx.ai/learn/perplexity/perplexity-market-audience-research), [Gemini Deep Research](https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-deep-research-competitor-market). ## Common questions **What happened to NotebookLM?** Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on 16 July 2026. It is still a standalone product, old links redirect, and notebooks are also available in the Gemini app. **Is Gemini Notebook free?** Yes. The free Gemini plan includes Gemini Notebook. Paid plans raise limits, for example AI Pro includes 5x more Audio Overviews. **How is Gemini Notebook different from Deep Research?** Gemini Notebook answers from the sources you add, with citations to those sources. Deep Research searches the web for you and writes a report. ## Sources - Google Blog, [NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/) - Google Workspace Updates, [NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/07/notebooklm-now-gemini-notebook.html) - Gemini Apps, [Subscriptions](https://gemini.google/subscriptions/) - Google Workspace, [Pricing](https://workspace.google.com/pricing) - All accessed 5 Nov 2026. ## Frequently asked questions ### What happened to NotebookLM? Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on 16 July 2026. It is still a standalone product, old links redirect, and notebooks are also available in the Gemini app. ### Is Gemini Notebook free? Yes. The free Gemini plan includes Gemini Notebook. Paid plans raise limits, for example AI Pro includes 5x more Audio Overviews. ### How is Gemini Notebook different from Deep Research? Gemini Notebook answers from the sources you add, with citations to those sources. Deep Research searches the web for you and writes a report. --- Written and reviewed by Dipuck Jones for MentionX Learn. The HTML version of this page: https://mentionx.ai/learn/gemini/gemini-notebook-notebooklm-research