Google’s NotebookLM tool, designed for organizing information and generating summaries, has secretly generated video overviews, with findings suggesting the technology is ready for a public launch.
Video summaries are being tested internally for the research and education platform.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 26, 2025
Google is actively developing its NotebookLM platform, a tool already aiding researchers, students, and professionals in managing information and summarizing uploaded content. While audio overviews have been a feature for some time, offering a hands-free way to digest notes, the company announced video overviews more than two months ago at Google I/O. These spoken, narrated video summaries of NotebookLM content are not yet available to the public.
In July, a new feature called Shared Notebooks was released. This allows users to explore curated notebooks, interact with their sources through chat, and access pre-generated audio summaries. Recent findings have revealed that Google has already created video overview files within this Shared Notebooks environment. Specifically, video overviews exist for topics such as “Yellowstone Park” and “Human Ageing.” However, these files are not accessible to general users and require internal clearance to view.
The discovered video overviews follow a consistent, factual format. They consist of a series of slides featuring text, diagrams, and static images against a white background, all accompanied by a voiceover. There is no animation or dynamic motion present. Each video includes a watermark and basic playback controls for navigation and sharing.
What are the new features being rolled out for NotebookLM?
NotebookLM is enhancing its capabilities with features like Shared Notebooks and upcoming video overviews.
These video artifacts are distinctly factual and slide-based, differing from more animated or character-driven content. They appear designed for users who benefit from direct, structured learning, such as students, researchers, and educators. This contrasts with projects like Sparkify within Google Labs, which focus on emotive video explainers. The existence of these video overviews suggests that the technical development may be complete, and Google could be strategically timing the public launch, potentially in response to market trends or academic schedules.
NotebookLM’s current trajectory clearly emphasizes accessible, factual learning resources. The discovery of these unreleased features also highlights the value of independent analysis in uncovering upcoming developments before official announcements, offering a preview of future functionality.
Key Takeaways
- Google’s NotebookLM platform is developing video overviews.
- Video summaries for “Yellowstone Park” and “Human Ageing” have been generated internally.
- These videos are slide-based with voiceovers, lacking animation.
- The feature is not yet publicly available but may be nearing a launch.
