Google upgrades NotebookLM with Gemini 3.5 and agentic research tools

The source-grounded AI tool will gain expanded reasoning, code execution, source discovery, and downloadable reports, slides, spreadsheets, charts, and study materials.

Google is upgrading NotebookLM with Gemini 3.5, expanded reasoning, source discovery, and new downloadable output format

Google is adding agentic research features to NotebookLM, giving the AI tool new capabilities to search for sources, show reasoning steps, run code, and generate downloadable outputs from trusted materials.

The update will roll out on the web to Google AI Ultra users and Workspace customers with AI Expanded access. Google plans to expand access to other users over time.

NotebookLM already allows users to upload PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, Google Slides, and other source material. The latest release moves it further into research and productivity workflows by allowing users to begin with questions, build a source repository in chat, analyze material with a secure cloud computer, and export outputs in formats used across education and work.

The changes apply globally on the web for eligible users. Schools, universities, researchers, and workplace teams using Google’s AI products will be among those able to test the new capabilities first.

NotebookLM will show more of its reasoning

The chat experience will run on Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity, with expanded thinking steps shown directly in chat. Google says the change responds to user demand for more transparency around how NotebookLM reaches answers.

Each notebook will also include a secure cloud computer, allowing NotebookLM to write and run code for deeper research and analysis. Google says the system includes more than 100 curated software skills designed to help users work across the sources in their notebooks.

In side-by-side evaluations against its previous system, Google says the upgraded NotebookLM achieved an average win rate of more than 65 percent across its top five core evaluation dimensions. It reports a 69.9 percent win rate in large document analysis and a 78.2 percent win rate in advanced web research and source discovery against the prior baseline.

NotebookLM will continue to keep users in control of the sources added to a notebook. Google says sources will remain attributed, allowing users to check answers against the material being used.

Users can export reports, charts, slides, and spreadsheets

NotebookLM will also generate more finished artifacts from chat. Users will be able to create reports, charts, documents, spreadsheets, slide decks, structured data files, and images, then download them from the studio panel.

Supported formats include PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, CSV, JSON, markdown, PNG, SVG, JPG, GIF, and text files.

Google says users can provide detailed instructions to shape the outputs and make edits after artifacts are generated. The update also supports multilingual workflows, allowing users to give directions in one language and create outputs in another.

Google gives examples including PDF reports with charts and tables, budget spreadsheets, bespoke student worksheets, simplified technical guides, slide decks, and step-by-step roadmaps. The expanded formats move NotebookLM closer to the point where source analysis and output production happen in the same workspace, rather than across separate tools.

Research can start from questions

Google is also changing how users begin a NotebookLM project. Instead of requiring users to start with a prepared set of sources, NotebookLM will allow them to begin with ideas or questions and build a source repository directly in chat.

NotebookLM can use Google Search to find relevant sources from the web and add them to a notebook. Google says users will still decide which sources are added, with clear attribution continuing across the work.

The feature is designed for research tasks such as finding primary sources in other languages, identifying related works by an author, or building context around a new topic. It also gives NotebookLM a more direct role in early-stage research, when users may not yet know which documents or sources should shape a project.

Existing NotebookLM features include source-grounded summaries, citations, Audio Overviews, flashcards, quizzes, and dynamic reporting. Google says the new capabilities will begin rolling out globally on the web from June 8 for Google AI Ultra users and Workspace customers with AI Expanded access, with more output formats and wider access planned later.