How do you use NotebookLM for studying?
Open NotebookLM, sign in with a Google account, create a notebook and add your sources: PDFs, Google Docs, web links or YouTube videos. Ask questions in the chat, which answers from your sources with citations, then use the Studio panel to make study guides, flashcards, quizzes or mind maps. Keep one notebook per course or exam.
NotebookLM is Google's free assistant that answers from the sources you give it. Each answer carries citations you can click. A source can be a PDF, a Google Doc or Slides file, a web page, pasted text, an audio file or a public YouTube video with captions. A free notebook holds up to 50 sources (as of October 2026, check Google's help page for current limits). Google also uses the name Gemini Notebook on some pages, so you may see either.
It helps most with quick cited answers, summaries of a long reading and a first pass at a new topic. The Studio panel can generate audio overviews, video overviews, mind maps, reports such as a study guide or FAQ, flashcards and quizzes.
Its focus is questions and generated study aids. It is not built to score what you know per topic over a whole semester or to plan your revision to an exam date, so pair it with something that tests you.
- 1Open NotebookLM and sign in with your Google account.
- 2Create a new notebook and name it after the course or the exam.
- 3Add sources: upload your PDFs and slides, paste links to web pages, add Google Docs or a YouTube video that has captions. Stay under 50 sources.
- 4Read the automatic summary, then ask specific questions in the chat. Click the citations to check each answer against the source.
- 5Open the Studio panel and generate a study guide, flashcards or a quiz for the part you are studying.
- 6Test yourself before you look: try the quiz first, then check the answers.
- 7Save useful answers as notes, and add new lecture files as the course goes on.