# NotebookLM (Google)

Source: https://useronboarding.ai/companies/notebooklm

- Category: Onboarding for AI products
- Type: Productivity
- Product: https://notebooklm.google.com

NotebookLM starts with the user's own sources, not a blank chat. The Add source button is the largest control in the left panel. Each upload gets an auto-generated Source Guide (summary plus key topics), and the flow runs Inputs → Chat → Outputs (Studio).

## Notes

- Design lead Jason Spielman built the mental model around the creation journey "Inputs → Chat → Outputs". The Source panel is "the starting point of the user's journey", and Add source is "one click away, visibly anchored as the largest button on the panel" (jasonspielman.com/notebooklm).
- Spielman kept chat as the center on purpose: "Chat remains the most intuitive and digestible way for users to engage with AI, acting as a familiar anchor", while context-aware actions surface newer features like Audio Overviews "at the right moment" (jasonspielman.com/notebooklm).
- The case study says the three-panel layout took "what felt like a thousand iterations", and the team's principle is "building products with our users, not just for them" (jasonspielman.com/notebooklm).

## Patterns

bring-your-own-content first run, auto summary on upload, chat as familiar anchor

## Screens

- ![Annotated Sources panel: 'Add source' as the primary one-click action, with each source listed by type icon](https://useronboarding.ai/images/notebooklm-1.jpg) Annotated Sources panel: 'Add source' as the primary one-click action, with each source listed by type icon (source: https://jasonspielman.com/notebooklm)
- ![Source panel states (closed, default, open), with the auto-generated Source Guide summary and Key Topics chips](https://useronboarding.ai/images/notebooklm-2.jpg) Source panel states (closed, default, open), with the auto-generated Source Guide summary and Key Topics chips (source: https://jasonspielman.com/notebooklm)

## Articles

- [Designing NotebookLM](https://jasonspielman.com/notebooklm): Jason Spielman portfolio case study (by the product team)
- [Google NotebookLM's Raiza Martin and Jason Spielman on Creating Delightful AI Podcast Hosts](https://sequoiacap.com/podcast/training-data-google-notebooklm): Sequoia Training Data podcast (by the product team)