NotebookLM is changing how I work with content
Working in tech communications means dealing with a lot of information: reports, interviews, transcripts, articles… and turning it all into something clear, useful, and (ideally) meaningful. I enjoy the process, but let’s be honest, it can get messy.
That’s where Google’s NotebookLM has made a big difference for me. It’s a free AI tool that’s helped me bring more structure and clarity into the way I research and create content.
Recently, I was pulling together insights about the state of AI in Africa, specifically around generative AI and where the biggest opportunities lie for businesses across different sectors. I used Gemini and Perplexity to find and summarise useful articles and reports. Then I dropped everything into NotebookLM.
That’s when things started to come together.
Ask questions, get answers — fast
NotebookLM lets you ask natural questions about your own content and get clear, summarised answers, with links to your sources. So instead of rereading the same 20 pages looking for a quote, you can just ask. It saves hours.
Smart tools, ready to go
It also gives you a bunch of exportable tools, all created from the content you uploaded:
A Study Guide (with essay and test-style questions — ideal for teachers and students)
A Timeline that picks out dates from your sources and lines them up in order
An FAQ page built from your content
A Briefing Doc that pulls everything into one neat summary
An Audio Overview, which I used as a starting point for a podcast episode
And a Mind Map, which gave me a bird’s-eye view of the structure
Listening back to the audio summary actually helped me see the shape of the story in a way I hadn’t before.
A better way to work through complex topics
The mind map alone was worth it. NotebookLM grouped the major themes for me, from policy and ethics to real-world applications in agriculture, education, and finance. It helped me see how the dots connected... and what was missing.
If you’re working through a lot of research or trying to get your head around a complex topic, NotebookLM is genuinely worth trying. I think it's especially useful if you’re in strategy, research, education, content, or communications.
Many moons ago, I was a teacher (I qualified as a senior primary and high school teacher), and honestly, this would have been a dream back then. Teachers — you need to try this!
Give it a go and let me know what you think. If you're already using NotebookLM, I’d love to hear how it’s helping you.
You can try it out here: https://notebooklm.google.com
I've included screenshots below showing how I used it for my AI in Africa research.
Perplexity-generated insights on African AI adoption, linked into NotebookLM. That's the free version of Perplexity.
NotebookLM brings together all your sources in one view. You can ask questions, generate overviews, and create content directly from this screen.
Mind map generated by NotebookLM showing interconnected themes and structure across my research.
Quiz and study guide generated directly from my AI in Africa documents.
