Notebooks in Gemini
The Notebooks feature serves as a personal knowledge hub within Gemini, Google explained in a blog post. It allows users to create a notebook from the app’s side panel. They can organise conversations, upload files like PDFs and documents, and provide custom instructions to guide Gemini’s responses.
Once the setup process is complete, Gemini leverages the curated content within a notebook alongside its web search and AI capabilities. This results in more contextual and relevant answers, as per the company. Users can also revisit ongoing topics without having to re-enter context repeatedly. Google said the introduction of Notebooks makes it easier to manage multi-step tasks such as research projects or exam preparation.
Notebooks in Gemini are integrated with NotebookLM. Any notebook created in Gemini syncs automatically with NotebookLM. This, as per the company, allows users to quickly switch between platforms.
Providing an example, Google mentioned that a user could upload study material in Gemini, generate structured insights in NotebookLM, such as video overviews or infographics, and then return to Gemini to draft summaries or essays based on the same data. As per the tech giant, Notebooks in Gemini will support more sources depending on the user’s subscription tier, enabling larger and more complex workflows over time.
The Notebooks feature is rolling out to Gemini AI Ultra, Pro, and Plus subscribers on the web. Google will introduce support for mobile devices, additional regions, including parts of Europe, and free-tier users in the coming weeks. However, this is just an initial rollout, and the company will expand the feature with more capabilities in future updates.
The introduction of notebooks in Gemini, notably, draws comparisons to ChatGPT Projects, which was first introduced by OpenAI in December 2024. Like Notebooks, this feature also helps users organise chats, files, and instructions into structured workspaces.
