This Fall, USC ITS approved NotebookLM for the campus community under an enterprise license. This Google-developed AI research assistant offers a powerful way to organize, understand, and interact with your own materials. 

NotebookLM - Now Available for All USC Users

Every USC community member with a USC.edu account now has FREE access to ‘Notebook’ (colloquial). NotebookLM is a source-grounded research assistant that works exclusively with materials you provide. Upload documents, PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, YouTube videos, websites, and more to create a personal knowledge space. 

NotebookLM analyzes your sources and lets you ask questions, generate summaries, create content, and brainstorm – all with precise citations linking back to specific passages in your materials. According to some research like Tozuka et al. (2024), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) via NotebookLM reduces the risk of AI-generated misinformation making it particularly reliable for research and learning. See Kortemeyer (2024) for more on RAG in higher education.

Click here to access NotebookLM 

Use caution when uploading content you don't own. If you don't have the license terms in front of you, ask for clarity.

Key Capabilities (October, 2025):

  • Upload up to 50 notebooks, source limits unknown
  • Generate Audio Overviews that transform your sources into engaging "Deep Dive" discussions (think Podcasts) 
  • Create summaries, reports, mind maps, quizzes, and flashcards
  • Current daily limits yet unknown for USC
  • Advanced sharing available within USC

Your Own Personal Podcast

“I now make PDF collections of all kinds of data and then listen to a podcast with connections and ideas that I would have never come up with. Changed my life.” - Anonymous

Here's an Audio Overview that I created with 10 sources, four different file formats, in less than 10 minutes with zero prompting. 

Data Security and Privacy

NotebookLM is designed with data protection in mind. Your sources are private and are not used to train the underlying AI model. Because NotebookLM operates as a "closed domain" system – working only with the materials you provide – its responses are accurate, relevant, and tailored to your specific context. Notebook also offers Audio Overviews in over 50 languages (2025, April).

Getting Started

NotebookLM is particularly valuable when your information is scattered across different locations, formats, or mediums. Its citation-based approach promotes transparency and accountability, making it an excellent tool for research, coursework, and professional projects. 

As with all AI tools, users should verify the accuracy of generated content and maintain critical judgment, especially when making important decisions based on AI-assisted analysis. In other words, even with NotebookLM; if your use of any material is consequential, confirm the origin and provenance of the information before use.

 

References

Google. (2025, April). NotebookLM launches Audio Overviews in over 50 new languages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJg37fVPy9I 

Google Cloud. (2025, May 28). NotebookLM demo. https://youtu.be/6dHmu1GALmA?si=hiDDeq-F8C8FMDrR 

Kortemeyer, G. (2024). Tailoring chatbots for higher education: Some insights and experiences. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.06717

Tozuka R., Johno H., Amakawa A., Sato J., Muto M., Seki S., Komaba A., Onishi H. (2024, November). Application of NotebookLM, a large language model with retrieval-augmented generation, for lung cancer staging. Japanese Journal of Radiology, 43(4), 706-712. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-024-01705-1 

Wang, B. (2024, September 11). NotebookLM now lets you listen to a conversation about your sources. Google Company News, Technology, AI [Blog]. https://blog.google/technology/ai/notebooklm-audio-overviews/