NotebookLM might not be such a blank page anymore as Google fills it with curated guides.
The company just launched "featured notebooks" inside its experimental NotebookLM tool, giving users curated, interactive collections of content sourced from public articles, expert partners, and nonprofits. The move expands on NotebookLM's public sharing feature and aims to make the platform more useful to casual readers—not just power users building their own AI study guides.
"This is the first AI-focused partnership The Economist has signed," said Luke Bradley-Jones, President of The Economist, in Google's announcement post, "and we are excited for NotebookLM users to explore a selection of articles from The Economist's annual special issue, The World Ahead 2025."
NotebookLM, originally pitched as an AI notebook that uses your own sources, launched in Google Labs as a way to turn documents into personal research assistants. Users could upload PDFs, meeting notes, or web pages, then ask questions or generate summaries based on that material. It was useful, but only if you already had high-quality content to feed it. With this update, Google is taking that homework out of your hands and offering ready-made notebooks filled with trusted material.
The initial set of featured notebooks pulls from established publications, academics, and government-backed researchers. Each notebook can be explored using NotebookLM's signature features: AI-generated summaries, question-based exploration, citations, audio overviews, and interactive mind maps. It's a structured way to dig into complex material without starting from scratch.
Here's what's available so far:
- The World Ahead 2025 from The Economist
- Longevity advice from Eric Topol
- Arthur C. Brooks' How to Build A Life essays
- Our World In Data wellbeing trends
- Yellowstone Park geology and biodiversity guide
- Science-backed parenting from Techno Sapiens
- The Complete Works of Shakespeare
- Q1 earnings reports from top global companies
For the average user, this update means you don't need to bring your own research to get value out of NotebookLM. Whether you're looking for academic context, practical advice, or just trying to follow economic news, Google has pre-stocked the shelves with content you can immediately explore.
The featured collections are available to all desktop users starting today. Google says more are on the way, including additional sets from The Economist and The Atlantic.
NotebookLM remains a Google Labs project for now, but the company is clearly testing how AI can make curated reading feel more dynamic. Whether people want an AI-powered research assistant for school, work, or just understanding economic trends remains to be seen.
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