Google’s latest update changed the way I feel about NotebookLM

I completed my university education years ago, but I still consider myself a student. It helps me do my job better, but I also learn because there has never been a better time to be a student.

Each one carries the same weight, pushing me to learn something new every day. I doubt I’d have made learning a daily habit if the same barriers from my academic days still existed.

I use NotebookLM extensively to learn tech, politics, and different economics through YouTube. I use it most for learning, as it turns complex ideas into easily digestible lessons through video overviews, saving me time.

I’m satisfied with what NotebookLM offers, but my feelings about it have recently shifted. I still love it, but I found myself using the tool less than I did just a few days ago.

Its performance hasn’t degraded; only my curiosity has gone elsewhere, thanks to Google’s latest Gemini update.

With interactive images in Gemini, learning has never felt more fun

Every tech company is trying to build something around Artificial Intelligence because the hype is undeniable.

However, it hasn’t changed all my everyday tech habits as dramatically as the hype suggests. It may be true for many other users for varying reasons.

I can’t tell what doesn’t work for others, but I know why I don’t like to depend on AI for everything. I just don’t like to talk to a machine beyond the point where I get real benefits.

I’ve set a rule not to use it beyond learning for this reason. The majority of my AI usage happens on NotebookLM, but I can see the Gemini chatbot coming close to occupying the second spot.

I rarely used the Gemini chatbot for finding answers to anything serious, nor did I find the fun Nano Banana a compelling reason to start using it. Instead, what caught my attention was its interactive images, a feature that Google recently rolled out without much fanfare.

The interactive images capability does exactly what the name suggests: it allows you to interact with images to learn more. You can click different text labels to learn about each of them in the same window.

@testingcatalog first showed a demo of the feature, where they asked Gemini to reveal different parts of a plant cell. In addition to answering it in text, it displays an interactive image of a plant cell with clear labeling of each cell part.

You can click each to learn more about it, all on the same page. I wish I had this when I was learning biology in high school. The next thing I wondered was what NotebookLM could do if it had this capability.

Interactive images matter more to me in NotebookLM

Google, take note

Interactive images make more sense in NotebookLM than in Gemini because it’s a tool built specifically for learning, and not for chatting with an AI bot. I see interactive images as something that can complement NotebookLM’s Mind Map capability.

While Mind Map in NotebookM shows relationships between different ideas, interactive images will give you a deep dive into details through mini explainers.

For example, if you upload a video that discusses different parts of the human respiratory system and create a mind map, instead of showing each component in text notes, you get interactive images of each.

This way, you can get an interactive image of the lungs, with clickable text labeling to learn more about what’s inside. It’s something that would take my learning experience in NotebookLM to the next level.

It shouldn’t be that hard because Gemini models power Google’s NotebookLM.

I’m not out of love with NotebookLM

YouTube 2025 Recap has dropped, and based on my watch pattern, it shows my dominant persona is “Tech savvy.” It couldn’t be more accurate, because I watched a lot of smartphone reviews on YouTube.

However, I’m curious whether YouTube will still identify me as “tech-savvy” next year, now that I recently stopped watching phone reviews directly. I now consume them using NotebookLM.

Watching tech videos, especially phone reviews, isn’t my daily habit, but I do watch them several times a week using NotebookLM. That’s one of the ways it’s slowly made its impact on my life beyond pure learning.

I don’t know if this is something I need to worry about, but when I watch a new video on YouTube, I wonder how NotebookLM would present it. That’s how indispensable it has become.

I don’t regret relying on it so much because I love what I get from it. However, the support for interactive images raised my expectations for NotebookLM, though my admiration is still intact.

I’m not out of love with NotebookLM. I only need it to do better.