Never Miss a NotebookLM Update Again — Every New Feature, Explained the Day It Ships
NotebookLM shipped 6 major updates in 6 months. Cinematic Video Overviews, Slide Revisions with PPTX export, Data Tables, Deep Research, 1M-token chat, and custom personas. This page tracks every release with what changed, why it matters, and how to use it — updated monthly. Your go-to source outside Google's own blog.
Mar 2026: Cinematic Video Overviews, Slide Revisions, 10 infographic styles, EPUB support, PPTX export, improved flashcards/quizzes, artifact creation in chat. Jan 2026: Custom Chat Personas, saved conversation history, 1M-token context for all plans. Dec 2025: Gemini 3 engine upgrade, Data Tables. Nov 2025: Deep Research, Word & Sheets as sources. Oct 2025: 1M-token context window, custom goals, Notebook-to-Gemini connection.
Quick Reference: Every Major Update at a Glance
Click any row to jump to full details
| Date | Update | Key Features | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2026 | Studio Expansion | Cinematic Video Overviews, Slide Revisions, 10 infographic styles, EPUB, PPTX export, improved flashcards/quizzes, artifact creation in chat | Details ↓ |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Slide Editing + Export | Prompt-based slide editing (Pencil UI), PPTX download, Gemini 3.1 Pro | Details ↓ |
| Jan 22, 2026 | Smarter Chat | Custom Chat Personas, saved conversation history, 1M-token context for all plans, 6× multi-turn capacity | Details ↓ |
| Dec 19, 2025 | Gemini 3 + Data Tables | Gemini 3 engine, Data Tables, improved reasoning, Notebook → Gemini connection | Details ↓ |
| Nov 14, 2025 | Deep Research + Sources | Deep Research agent, Word (.docx) + Sheets as sources, Discover Sources (web + Drive search) | Details ↓ |
| Oct 22, 2025 | 1M Context + Goals | 1M-token context window, custom goals per notebook, mobile app camera, flashcards/quizzes on mobile | Details ↓ |
Complete Update Timeline
Newest first. Each entry includes what changed, why it matters, and links to our guides.
Studio Expansion: Cinematic Video, Slide Revisions, 10 Infographic Styles, EPUB, PPTX Export
Studio Cinematic Video Overviews
Immersive, deep-dive videos with fluid animations and rich visuals, powered by Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3. Goes beyond narrated slides to create documentary-quality visual narratives. Ultra plan required.
Studio Slide Revisions (expanded)
Revise presentation content, ask for changes, or fix issues on both desktop and mobile. Submit stylistic or factual feedback per slide; slides regenerate as a new deck in Studio. Now works on mobile.
Studio 10 New Infographic Styles
Manually choose from: Sketch Note, Kawaii, Professional, Scientific, Anime, Clay, Editorial, Instructional, Bento Grid, and Bricks. Auto-select still available by default.
Source EPUB Support
Upload EPUB files (standard eBook format) directly as sources. Interact with long-form digital books without conversion.
Export PPTX Export
Download generated slide decks as PowerPoint files (in addition to PDF). Slides are image layers inside the PPTX container — presentable as-is, but complex layout edits need external tools.
Studio Improved Flashcards & Quizzes
Progress saved across sessions. Mark cards as "Got it" or "Missed it." Shuffle decks. New results screen to rerun missed cards. Delete individual cards or questions. Works on web and mobile.
Chat Artifact Creation in Chat
Transform chat conversations into Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, reports, and more — directly from the chat panel. No need to switch to Studio.
Slide Editing + PPTX Export + Gemini 3.1 Pro
Studio Prompt-Based Slide Editing (Pencil UI)
Target a specific slide with instructions like "fix slide 3" or "make slide 5 more concise." Queue multiple edits before regenerating. Only edited slides update — the rest stay intact.
Export PPTX Download
Initial launch of PowerPoint export for slide decks. Expanded and refined in March update.
Engine Gemini 3.1 Pro
Engine upgrade from Gemini 3 to 3.1 Pro. Improved slide customization and visual quality.
Studio Banner Images (testing)
Ability to add custom banner images for notebook customization. Observed in testing; not yet fully rolled out.
Custom Chat Personas + Saved History + 1M-Token Context for All Plans
Chat Custom Chat Personas (Goals)
Set a specific goal, voice, or role for each notebook. Tell NotebookLM to act as a teacher, game master, executive coach, or any persona. The AI adapts its responses to match.
Chat Saved Conversation History
Conversations are now automatically saved and kept private. Close a session, resume later without losing context. Delete history at any time. In shared notebooks, your chat is visible only to you.
Engine 1M-Token Context for All Plans
Full 1 million token context window of Gemini enabled across all plans (free included). Multi-turn conversation capacity increased 6×. 50% improvement in user satisfaction with large source collections.
Chat Deeper Source Insights
NotebookLM now automatically explores sources from multiple angles, going beyond your initial prompt to synthesize findings into a single, more nuanced response.
Gemini 3 Engine Upgrade + Data Tables + Notebook → Gemini Connection
Engine Gemini 3 Upgrade
The "brain" behind NotebookLM changed. Significantly improved reasoning, multimodal understanding, and less hallucination. Better at connecting disparate dots across complex texts.
Studio Data Tables
Scan uploaded documents and synthesize variables into structured tables. Convert qualitative text into quantitative grids. Export to Google Sheets with one click. Ideal for competitive analysis, curriculum mapping, and literature reviews.
Engine Notebook → Gemini Connection
Add NotebookLM notebooks as a source directly inside the Gemini app. Gemini answers questions grounded in your notebook's content — building a "second brain" that Google's most powerful AI can access.
Deep Research + Word & Sheets Sources + Discover Sources
Source Deep Research
An autonomous research agent. Give it a topic — it creates a research plan, searches hundreds of quality web sources, and compiles a citation-backed report you can import as a notebook source. Free: 10 sessions/month.
Source Word (.docx) & Sheets as Sources
Upload Microsoft Word documents and Google Sheets directly. No more converting to PDF first. Sheets bring structured numerical data alongside unstructured text.
Source Discover Sources (Web + Drive Search)
Fast Research: search the web for relevant sources to add. Deep Research: automated synthesis. Drive search: find existing documents without leaving NotebookLM.
Studio Mobile App Expansion
Flashcards and quizzes added to mobile app. Audio Overviews with offline playback. Camera for quick image-to-source upload.
1M-Token Context Window + Custom Goals + New Pricing Tiers
Engine 1M-Token Context Window
Massively expanded processing capacity. Analyze entire book-length document collections in a single conversation. Foundation for all subsequent upgrades.
Chat Custom Goals per Notebook
Early version of what became Custom Chat Personas in January. Set notebook-level goals that orient all AI responses toward your specific project needs.
Engine Four-Tier Pricing
New structure: Free ($0), Plus (~$14/mo), Pro ($19.99/mo), Ultra ($249.99/mo). Student discount: $9.99/mo. Enterprise: $9/license/mo.
Get Optimized Prompts for Every New Feature
Cross-source synthesis, multimodal extraction, slide optimization, Studio customization, troubleshooting diagnostics, and advanced multi-AI workflows — for researchers, business professionals, and educators.
Category Bundle — one-time access
Get Category Bundle — $19.99 All-Access — $49.99 one-timeFrequently Asked Questions
What are the latest NotebookLM updates in 2026?
Six major updates from Oct 2025 to Mar 2026: 1M-token context (Oct), Deep Research + Word/Sheets (Nov), Gemini 3 + Data Tables (Dec), Custom Personas + saved history (Jan), Slide Revisions + PPTX (Feb), and Cinematic Video + 10 infographic styles + EPUB (Mar). See the full timeline above.
Does NotebookLM support slide editing now?
Yes. Since February 2026, you can revise individual slides without regenerating the entire deck. Submit stylistic or factual feedback per slide. Also available on mobile since March 2026. See our Pencil UI & Revisions guide.
What are Cinematic Video Overviews?
Launched March 2026, these are immersive deep-dive videos with fluid animations and rich visuals, powered by Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3. They go beyond narrated slides to create documentary-quality visual narratives. Requires the Ultra plan ($249.99/mo). Standard Video Overviews remain available on all plans.
Can NotebookLM do Deep Research?
Yes, since November 2025. Deep Research acts as an autonomous agent: give it a topic, it searches hundreds of web sources, compiles a citation-backed report, and lets you import findings as notebook sources. Free tier: 10 sessions/month.
How often is this changelog updated?
Within 48 hours of each major Google release. We cross-reference the official Google Workspace Updates blog, 9to5Google, and hands-on testing. Minor updates are batched monthly. Bookmark this page and check back after any Google announcement.
What is NotebookLM pricing in 2026?
Free ($0, 100 notebooks, 50 sources, 50 chats/day), Plus (~$14/mo), Pro ($19.99/mo, 300 sources), Ultra ($249.99/mo, Cinematic Video, watermark-free). Student: $9.99/mo. Enterprise: $9/license/mo. Full breakdown on our Pricing & Limits page.
Does Google use my NotebookLM content to train AI?
No. Google's privacy policy states that personal data and uploaded content are not used to train AI models. Your notebooks remain private.