Google’s NotebookLM adds Deep Search tool, support for more file types

Google is updating NotebookLM, its AI-powered search and note-taking assistant, with a new tool to help users simplify complex searching, along with support for additional file types.

The service is launching “Deep Search,” a tool that automates and simplifies complex online searches. Google says the tool acts as a specialized searcher, where it can compile a detailed report or recommend relevant articles, research papers or websites.

Deep Research can answer your question, create a search plan, and then browse websites for you. After a few minutes, it will provide you with a source-based report that you can add directly to your notebook. While Deep Research is running in the background, you can continue to add other sources.

The idea behind Deep Research is to help you create a deep, organized knowledge base on a topic without having to leave your workflow.

You can access Deep Research by starting a search in the Source panel and choosing “Web” as the source. Then, you can choose your search method. You can select “Deep Search” when you are looking for a full summary and in-depth analysis. Or you can choose “Quick Search” if you want a quick search.

As for additional support for more file types, you can now upload Google Sheets and Drive files as URLs, PDFs from Google Drive, and Microsoft Word documents. The tech giant says this change will allow users to do things like create summaries from spreadsheets and quickly copy and paste multiple Drive files as URLs.

Google says these new updates should be available to all users within a week.

Since its launch in late 2023, Google has been building NotebookLM with additional functionality. Earlier this year, Google introduced the Video Overviews feature to NotebookLM to allow users to transform dense multimedia, such as raw notes, PDFs, and images, into digestible visual presentations. The extension builds on the Audio Overviews feature, which creates an AI podcast based on documents shared with NotebookLM, such as course readings or legal briefs. In May, Google released NotebookLM apps for Android and iOS, making the service available beyond desktop.