NotebookLM Could Soon Get Textbooks as a Source

NotebookLM is one of the most interesting AI tools out there, with little competition to speak of. While it can be used by anyone, Google’s put a large focus on tools students can take advantage of, and it may receive a new feature to make it even more powerful for those looking to learn. 

The Gemini-powered AI research assistant tool is different because it only uses the sources you provide it with as its data. Compare this to something like the standard Gemini AI chatbot, which will scour the entire internet to find an answer to your question — and the internet is full of conflicting information. If your sources don’t have the answer, NotebookLM won’t attempt to make one up for you. 

According to a Threads post from AI-focused tech site Testing Catalog on Wednesday, NotebookLM may get a new source that you can add: Textbooks. If and when it arrives, this could open up an entire world of ways students can use the tool as a study buddy. 

Textbooks will join a growing number of source options for NotebookLM. You can already add files, websites, audio clips, Google Play Books and more. Now, adding in an academic textbook for a test you need to cram for? That sounds like a win for all students. 

Testing Catalog shared a screenshot that shows textbooks as an option to be a source, but little else is known about what it truly entails. Given that you could essentially scan the pages of any book and add them as a source, it seems that there may be some sort of partnership in play here. 

Last year, Google partnered with OpenStax, a provider of free, peer-reviewed textbooks, when it introduced Public Notebooks. Whether the new source option is limited to OpenStax textbooks or if there’s another partnership in the works remains to be seen. 

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.