Notebooks you can run from a normal chat is a small change that makes Gemini feel more like a real workspace and less like a search box. I have always viewed Notebook LM, now called Gemini Notebook, as the “sleeper” tool. I used it a lot early on for research and to understand more complex topics. I also introduced it to one of my daughters to help her understand complex biology topics (hint: the podcast feature is truly amazing for learning).
Just yesterday, I started walking my wife through how to use it, as she is taking courses as well. Now that Notebook is more integrated into the Gemini ecosystem, I think it is an even more powerful tool, and I’m looking at ways it could help me research building new apps or solutions, or understanding marketplaces more thoroughly.
Regardless, if Notebook is not on your radar, get it on there! It’s easy to use and quite powerful. They just introduced a new video shorts output that creates a minute-long, portrait video based on your research materials. A word of warning: the number of video outputs is limited by your account type.