Google’s NotebookLM adds ‘Deep Research’ tool, support for more file types

Google is updating NotebookLM, its AI note-taking and research assistant, with a new tool to help users simplify complex research, along with support for additional file types.

The service is rolling out “Deep Research,” a tool that will automate and simplify complex online research. Google says the tool acts like a dedicated researcher, as it can synthesize a detailed report or recommend relevant articles, papers, or websites.

Deep Research can take your question, create a research plan, and then browse websites on your behalf. After a few minutes, it will present you with a source-grounded report that you can add directly into your notebook. While Deep Research runs in the background, you can continue to add other sources.

The idea behind Deep Research is to help you create a deep, organized knowledge base on a topic without having to leave your workflow.

You can access Deep Research by starting a search in the source panel and selecting “Web” as a source. Then, you can choose your research style. You can select “Deep Research” when you’re looking for a full briefing and in-depth analysis. Or, you can choose “Fast Research” if you want a quick search.

As for the additional support for more file types, you can now upload Google Sheets, Drive files as URLs, PDFs from Google Drive, and Microsoft Word Documents. The tech giant says this change will allow users to do things like generate summaries from spreadsheets and quickly copy-paste multiple Drive files as URLs.

Google says these new updates should be available to all users within a week.

Since its launch in late 2023, Google has been building out NotebookLM with additional functionality. Earlier this year, Google introduced Video Overviews to NotebookLM to allow users to turn dense multimedia, such as raw notes, PDFs, and images, into digestible visual presentations. The addition builds on the Audio Overviews feature, which generates an AI podcast based on documents shared with NotebookLM, such as course readings or legal briefs. In May, Google released the NotebookLM apps for Android and iOS, making the service available beyond desktop.