Google’s NotebookLM has quietly but decisively expanded how people turn notes and research into digestible media: custom Video Overviews, short, AI-narrated slide videos built from the documents you upload, are now fully rolled out to all users. The feature, first introduced as part of NotebookLM’s Studio, arrives alongside a redesigned Studio panel that makes creating and storing multiple outputs (Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, Mind Maps and Reports) easier than before.
Below is a practical, search-backed guide to what NotebookLM Video Overviews are, how they work, the best prompts and presets to get higher-quality results, use cases, limits you should know, and concise FAQs you can use in a help page or blog post.
What is NotebookLM?
NotebookLM, Google’s artificial intelligence-powered note-taking and research tool, is designed to help you understand how to summarise, organise, and edit your documents. Instead of asking general queries like an ordinary AI chatbot, NotebookLM specialises in Source-based reasoning. It reads the uploaded files (PDFs, notes, documents, and hyperlinks) and provides you with answers from the source.
Key Things NotebookLM Can Do
- Documents are summarised into concise notes
- Answer questions using your sources exclusively (grounded answers)
- Generate Video Overviews and Audio Overviews
- Create structured timelines, reports, outlines, mind maps, and other outputs.
- Cross-analyse multiple documents
- Discuss concepts on any difficulty (student up to professional)
What are Video Overviews?
Video Overviews are short, AI-generated narrated slide shows produced from the contents of a NotebookLM notebook. They combine a spoken narration (an AI “host”) with visuals pulled or generated from your source documents, images, data points, diagrams and quotes — and present them in either a brief or an explainer format depending on your selection. Think of them as a visual alternative to NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews, optimised to clarify complex diagrams, demonstrate processes, or provide a compact training/teaching artefact.
How the feature works (step-by-step)
- Create or open a notebook and upload your sources (PDFs, docs, spreadsheets, screenshots). You must have edit access to generate outputs.
- Open the Studio panel, choose “Video Overview,” and request a new overview. The system generates the video and stores it in the Studio list for that notebook.
- Customize before generation (or edit an existing overview): pick a format (Explainer or Brief), select language, choose a visual style (Classic, Whiteboard, Watercolor, Retro Print, Kawaii, Anime, etc.), or provide a custom visual style description. You can also add a steering prompt to tell the model what to emphasize (audience, depth, topic focus).
- Play, navigate, and share — the player has standard controls (speed, seek, full screen), and you can share overviews with people who have access to the notebook.
These steps reflect the official documentation and Google’s product posts discussing the rollout and Studio updates.
Why this is meaningful
- Faster knowledge transfer: complex papers, long reports, and meeting minutes can be converted into a 60–180 second narrated slide deck that’s easy to watch and share. This helps learners and teams skim material faster.
- Customization at scale: the steering prompt and format options let you generate multiple overviews targeted at different audiences (executive summary vs. technical deep dive) without reassembling the source material manually.
- Better for visual material: because Video Overviews pull visuals and can generate illustrative slides, they’re particularly useful when diagrams or data visuals matter (research papers, onboarding flows, product docs).
Practical presets and effective prompts
NotebookLM allows a “Visual Style” setting and a free-text steering prompt. Here are tested prompts and presets you can paste or adapt:
Presets
- Brief (Executive) — format: Brief; steering: “Give me a 90-second executive summary focusing on major outcomes, key metrics, and action items.”
- Explainer (Technical) — format: Explainer; steering: “Explain the technical process step-by-step for a software engineer familiar with distributed systems; include a slide that highlights the algorithm pseudocode and complexity.”
- Teaching (Student) — format: Explainer; steering: “Assume this is for a college student seeing this topic for the first time; include intuitive analogies and a slide listing three suggested exercises.”
Steering prompt templates
- “Target: [audience, e.g., product managers]. Focus: [what to emphasize]. Length: [brief/explainer]. Voice: [conversational/academic]. Include: [list of slides or elements].”
- Example:
Target: new hires in product ops. Focus: onboarding flow and key metrics. Length: brief. Voice: clear and actionable. Include a slide with onboarding timeline and a checklist of first-week tasks.
Visual style examples
- “Whiteboard — minimal illustrations and hand-written annotations for teaching.”
- “Retro Print — print-friendly slides focused on typography and high-contrast callouts.”
Use these templates to iterate quickly; you can save multiple outputs per notebook and compare versions.
Use cases — who benefits
- Educators & students: convert research papers or lecture notes into study guides and quick lecture slides.
- Product and marketing teams: produce onboarding videos, campaign summaries, or product briefs from spec docs.
- Researchers & analysts: make shareable visual summaries of complex data with cited visuals pulled from source files.
Limitations and Responsible use
- Accuracy & hallucination: NotebookLM warns that Video Overviews are AI-generated and can contain inaccuracies or audio glitches — always verify facts and data before relying on them in production.
- Privacy and sharing: Video Overviews reflect the content of a notebook; only users with access to that notebook can view overviews shared via link, but you should manage confidential sources carefully.
- Language and style support: initial rollouts focused on English, with more languages planned — verify language availability in your account.
Best Practices for High-quality Overviews
- Clean your sources: remove irrelevant pages or label sections so the model finds the right content.
- Use focused steering prompts: shorter prompts like “explain for managers, focus on KPIs” beat vague instructions.
- Iterate: generate two versions (Brief + Explainer) and pick the best for circulation.
- Fact-check outputs: always cross-verify numeric claims, quotes and citations before distribution.
Final Thoughts
NotebookLM’s Video Overviews add a fast, visual, and customizable channel for converting dense material into watchable, shareable summaries. By combining selective visuals, narration, and customizable prompts, the tool is especially useful for educators, product teams, and researchers who need rapid knowledge transfer. As with all AI-generated content, treat the outputs as a draft — verify facts, iterate on prompts, and tailor the visual style to your audience.
FAQs
1. Where can I find Video Overviews in NotebookLM?
Open a notebook, click the Studio panel and pick “Video Overview.” You can customize or create a new overview there.
2. Can I change the visual style?
Yes, choose from predefined styles (Classic, Whiteboard, Watercolour, Retro, Kawaii, Anime, etc.) or pick “Custom” and give a style description.
A: The feature launched in rolling releases earlier in 2025 and Google’s NotebookLM materials state Video Overviews are rolling out to all English users; the product’s social channels have also announced that new styles are fully rolled out to all users.
3. Can I share or export the video?
You can play and share overviews with users who have access to the notebook. Always check your notebook’s sharing settings before distributing.
4. Is the video editable?
You can regenerate overviews with different steering prompts or visual styles; the Studio panel stores multiple outputs for comparison.
