Short answer: NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook. Google announced the rename on 16 July 2026. It's the same product with your notebooks intact, it lives at notebook.google.com, and old links redirect. What changed around it is bigger than the name: usage now runs on a budget that refreshes every 5 hours, images and scanned PDFs are supported sources, chat can call connected apps, and notebooks show up inside the Gemini app and Google Search.
What changed
- The name and the address. NotebookLM became Gemini Notebook, at notebook.google.com. The help centre moved to Gemini Notebook Help, and Google said the new name and logo would roll out across its apps over several weeks.
- Usage limits. Google now uses compute-based limits: the cost of each request depends on your prompt, the models and features you use, and how long the chat has run. Your quota "refreshes every 5 hours until you reach your weekly limit". Our Gemini Notebook limits guide decodes the new messages.
- Images and scanned PDFs. Images are now a supported source type, and scanned PDFs read. The old advice to OCR a scan before uploading is no longer required for a clean scan. See can Gemini Notebook read scanned PDFs?
- Connected apps. On the web, chat can use other apps when your prompt mentions them, listed under Settings, then Connected apps. In October 2026, Notion, Confluence, Slack and OneDrive are not among them; here are the workarounds.
- Code on your sources. Coverage of the launch reports that each notebook gets an isolated cloud computer that can write and run code on your sources, starting with Google AI Ultra and business customers, with Pro users to follow.
- It appears in more places. Notebooks can be used inside the Gemini app and in AI Mode in Google Search, as well as in the standalone app.
- Generate later. When you're out of usage, Studio outputs can be queued with Generate later on the web, and you're notified when they're ready.
What didn't change
- Your notebooks and sources carried over, and shared links keep working.
- Source limits: up to 50 sources per notebook on the free plan, and up to 500,000 words or 200 MB per source.
- Citations still point answers back to your sources.
- Studio outputs are all still there: Audio and Video Overviews, mind maps, flashcards and quizzes, infographics, slide decks and reports.
- The free plan still exists, now described as standard limits rather than a fixed daily count.
Gemini Notebook, the Gemini app and NotebookLM
The rename makes three names easy to mix up:
| Name | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Notebook | The research tool formerly called NotebookLM | notebook.google.com |
| NotebookLM | The old name for Gemini Notebook, until 16 July 2026 | Redirects to notebook.google.com |
| Gemini app | Google's general AI assistant, which can use your notebooks | gemini.google.com |
If a PDF won't load in the general assistant, that's a different set of rules: see why Gemini can't read your PDF.
Should you change how you work?
Mostly no. If you already use NotebookLM for research projects, Gemini Notebook does the same job with better image handling. Two things are worth adjusting. First, watch the usage bar: long chats and Studio outputs now draw on a budget, so start fresh chats and select only the sources you need. Second, if you avoided scanned PDFs, try them again.
If what you need is to question documents where they already live, a wiki page, a PDF in Drive or SharePoint, a Google Doc, without building a notebook first, an in-browser reader fits better. Sidenote reads the page you have open, read-only, and answers with a citation that scrolls to the exact sentence. It doesn't make Audio Overviews; Gemini Notebook remains the stronger tool for synthesising a large, curated set of sources. Compare the two in Sidenote vs Gemini Notebook, or see our Gemini Notebook alternatives.