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Whenever I’m made aware of a new book, movie, video game, musical artist or general topic of interest, I quickly get sucked into a vortex of looking up every minute detail about whatever caught my attention.
During my introduction to the wonders of AI chatbots, all my more savvy advocates of the technology made me aware of ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude’s strong general research skills. For a good while, I’d utilize all three AI tools to do a deep dive into subjects I’d write about and ones that just happened to pique my interest once I found out about them (when a friend of mine told me a Brazilian mafia protected Michael Jackson during a local video shoot, I just had to see if it was true!).
After taking the time to see whether it’s worth all the hype, I quickly realized that NotebookLM is at the top of my list of AI chatbots that offer the most comprehensive information on any topic I look up.
From fast research to deep research in seconds
Opening NotebookLM for the first time revealed a dashboard that can generate text, audio and even video overviews on nearly any topic. One of its most useful features is the ability to include your own sources — including uploaded files, websites, YouTube videos, Google Drive documents and copied text.
To test its research capabilities, I started with a simple question: “What are the 10 most influential video games of all time?”
NotebookLM offers two options when gathering information: Fast Research and Deep Research. Since this was a broad query, I chose Fast Research to see how quickly it could compile reliable sources.
Within about a minute, NotebookLM assembled relevant materials and generated a concise summary I could save as a notebook for future reference. I titled it The Most Influential Video Games of All Time.
The overview highlighted how landmark titles like "Super Mario Bros." and "Street Fighter II" helped revive the gaming industry and establish competitive standards, while games like "Half-Life" and "Dark Souls" pushed immersion through cinematic storytelling and challenging gameplay. It also touched on Pong’s role in launching commercial gaming, the rise of platforms like Steam and the growing influence of player-created content.
What set NotebookLM apart from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude was its ability to suggest smart follow-up questions that deepen research. In my case, it prompted:
- How have iconic games like Street Fighter and Mario shaped industry trends?
- What makes a game influential enough to enter the Hall of Fame?
- How do player-creators keep games like Skyrim relevant for years?
With everything saved in one place, the notebook evolved into a deeper research hub I ultimately renamed “Revolutionary Milestones and the Evolution of Modern Gaming.”
It also gives its users a wealth of options to create subject overviews
For my next topic, I chose to go the deep research route on a specific musical genre with this request: “Who are considered the top producers across the current electronic music landscape?”
NotebookLM took a lengthy amount of time to bring up the sources it needed for this music-based notebook and produced the top 38 sources it could find. After importing it all into a summarized piece, NotebookLM broke it down as follows:
“The provided sources offer a comprehensive overview of the global electronic dance music landscape in 2025 and 2026, highlighting major festival lineups, industry awards, and emerging genre trends. High-profile events like Coachella, Ultra Miami, and Skyline feature legendary acts such as Marco Carola and David Guetta alongside rising stars like Hannah Laing and Ninajirachi.
Industry reports from Beatport and DJ Mag track the commercial success of artists like HUGEL and Alok, while also noting the critical acclaim of producers like Tame Impala and Kaytranada.
The texts also identify a shifting sonic tide, where established styles like house and techno are being influenced by amapiano, UK garage, and hard techno. Furthermore, the collection explores the growing impact of micro-communities and technological innovations, such as AI-assisted production, on the future of the scene. Overall, these documents portray a vibrant, evolving industry defined by massive live performances, cross-genre collaborations, and a strong sense of community.”
NotebookLM includes several features that go above and beyond when putting your sources to work. I got a kick out of listening to an AI-produced podcast “between two hosts with shockingly high levels of personality” that cited all of the information I just researched. NotebookLM also gives its users the chance to produce an explainer video, a mind map, reports, flashcards, an interactive quiz, an infographic, a slide deck and a data table based on all the sources you find on any given issue.
Besides the aforementioned podcast, I was excited to see how the explainer video turned out. I began the AI video-making process by choosing the video’s format (I went with a more structured explainer instead of a brief one), its language, a visual style, and what my new AI tutorial hosts should focus on (“present this to a room full of electronic music fans”).
The final result was a pretty cool eight-minute-long video overview that I wouldn’t mind showing off to a group of electronic music enthusiasts and casual music lovers looking to dive into the genre for themselves.
Final thoughts
Chatbots are useful whenever I’m trying to find quick answers, but after taking NotebookLM for a spin, I recognized just how beneficial it can be for doing deeper research. It turns any topic I can think of into easily digestible formats that make learning easier and more enjoyable.
Listening to an AI-produced podcast about the best international cuisines, watching an AI-video explainer about the most important wars in American history and building an infographic around the worst comic book storylines from Marvel are just a few examples of the ways NotebookLM can turn a carefully researched topic into something more palatable for anyone eager to learn.
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More from Tom’s Guide
- I made a digital twin of myself in ChatGPT — and it changed how I work every day
- Perplexity Voice works as a Siri alternative on iPhone — here's how to use it
- Stop using 'summarize' — this Claude prompt extracts the insights you actually need
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