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Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
While I\u2019ve long wanted to organize my Gemini chats and files into projects, when the feature arrived as Gemini Notebooks<\/a>, I initially felt disappointed.<\/p>\n However, after playing around with the feature using both Gemini and NotebookLM, it\u2019s more useful than I expected.<\/p>\n Have you tried Gemini’s new Notebooks feature?<\/p>\n 298 votes<\/p>\n Yes, and I’m disappointed.<\/p>\n 5%<\/p>\n Yes, and I like it.<\/p>\n 15%<\/p>\n No, not yet.<\/p>\n 80%<\/p>\n My first impression of Notebooks wasn\u2019t what I\u2019d hoped<\/p>\n Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n When I envisioned a projects feature in Gemini, I wanted it to be a useful place to organize files and chats into folders. This was based on my experience with Claude<\/a>, especially its own projects feature, which makes it easy to organize files and chats under a specific folder.<\/p>\n But when Notebooks arrived on Gemini, I didn\u2019t enjoy its NotebookLM<\/a> integration. It felt like it was just a way for Google to push users to use both products rather than refining each separately.<\/p>\n The fact that your Gemini Notebooks also automatically sync to NotebookLM can be a drawback, since you don\u2019t have unlimited notebooks available for your account.<\/p>\n After using the feature a bit more over a few days, I did come to appreciate its approach to organization \u2014 even if it wasn\u2019t quite what I had hoped for. However, it\u2019s when I realized what these notebooks could do for my NotebookLM research<\/a> that I really came to value the integration of the two tools.<\/p>\n I realized my Gemini Notebooks had a built-in superpower<\/p>\n Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n When using Gemini Notebooks, I realized that my chats with the AI were synced to NotebookLM as a source. This may seem redundant at first since NotebookLM also has chatbot features, but it unlocks one powerful tool that NotebookLM doesn\u2019t really have \u2014 access to the web.<\/p>\n NotebookLM grounds itself in your sources, meaning that it cannot pull information from the wider web to add context to your responses. This is useful when it comes to preventing hallucinations, but can limit the AI tool\u2019s insights.<\/p>\n Once I realized that my chats with Gemini were being synced as NotebookLM sources, I figured out how to use these chats to add context. NotebookLM can pull links from the web that you can use as sources, but this is a somewhat clunky process that doesn\u2019t always surface the best information.<\/p>\n I can now use Gemini’s web access to easily add context to my NotebookLM notebooks without needing to find and upload additional sources.<\/p>\n It also requires there to already be a source on the topic available \u2014 which is more difficult to find when it comes to niche context. I\u2019ve also found that it\u2019s not always easy to find sources relevant to your local context if you don\u2019t stay in a Western market.<\/p>\n But with my Gemini chats, I can now add context without needing to add a separate note or source to my notebook. I can also troubleshoot problems with Gemini and have the solution applied to my NotebookLM projects.<\/p>\n Importantly, only chats within Gemini Notebooks are synced to NotebookLM. You can also select which chats you want NotebookLM to use for a response, or delete a specific chat entirely.<\/p>\n Gemini Notebooks have become an invaluable tool<\/p>\n Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n The first NotebookLM project where this feature was immensely helpful was my garden care notebook. In it, I store information related to caring for the plants in my garden.<\/p>\n With Gemini, I could add the context that I live in Cape Town, South Africa. I then asked the AI about how often I should water a specific plant in my garden during the summer. It could use this context, including my region\u2019s lack of rainfall during summer, to plan out a watering schedule for the plant.<\/p>\n Telling Gemini where I live gave NotebookLM important context for the watering guidelines for my garden notebook.<\/p>\n I also used it to figure out why another plant was experiencing yellow leaves. While most sources mentioned potential root rot, I could add the context about a recent heat wave. The AI concluded that heat stress was the more likely culprit based on my watering habits.<\/p>\n Back in NotebookLM, I could generate a more accurate watering schedule based on my sources and my Gemini chats. This proved to be more in line with my plants\u2019 real-world requirements than the context-free suggestions from the sources. I also finally got a watering schedule for my grass, which no source was able to determine before.<\/p>\n My next project is to create a NotebookLM hub to explore chronic kidney disease in cats, since my cat has recently moved from Stage 1 to Stage 2. Gemini\u2019s ability to easily add context will be helpful, since I will be able to use information about my cat without needing to upload it separately.<\/p>\n While Gemini\u2019s propensity to ask follow-up questions does annoy me at times, it\u2019s also useful for seeing where I might have gaps in context.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a-series-of-notebooks-in-gemini.jpg\"\/ "\\"a")
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