NotebookLM
Google · United States
What it is
Google’s source-grounded research tool. Rather than answer from the open web, NotebookLM answers from sources you upload — documents, PDFs, slides, audio, even YouTube links — and summarises them, builds study guides and briefings, and generates Audio and Video Overviews, always with citations back to the source. If the answer is not in your material, it will say so rather than invent one, which makes it a good fit for working over a defined set of documents.
How it works
NotebookLM runs on Google’s Gemini models, but with retrieval over your uploaded sources (grounding) rather than free generation. So its answers are tied to, and cite, the material you give it. (The underlying Gemini version moves quickly; we describe the family.) It is a separate product from the Gemini assistant, with its own privacy terms.
Who is behind it
- Owner
- Google LLC, part of Alphabet Inc. NotebookLM began in Google Labs (as "Project Tailwind") and is "built by Google, powered by Gemini". CEO Sundar Pichai.
- Founded
- Launched as "Project Tailwind", renamed NotebookLM on 12 July 2023.
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California, United States.
Plans
- NotebookLM — Free, and via Google AI Plus / Pro / Ultra · Consumer (free / paid)The consumer tier. Uploaded sources are excluded from model training by default, but submitting explicit feedback triggers an exception allowing human review and a 3-year data retention window.
- NotebookLM in Google Workspace · TeamCore enterprise service. Contractually exempt from training and human review, regardless of user feedback. NB: Because the application creates an isolated copy of data, domain-level Drive file-sharing and standard data-region settings do not apply; native DLP token filtering is not supported.
- NotebookLM Enterprise (Google Cloud) · Enterprise / WorkspaceThe “Fortress” tier. Fully contained within an isolated Google Cloud Project. Features total institutional IAM control, Cloud Audit Logs, VPC Service Controls, CMEK encryption, and explicitly locked US or EU multi-region residency.
How it handles your data
The trust boundary depends entirely on your account tier. On personal consumer accounts, your uploaded files and chats are natively excluded from training pipelines by default. However, submitting explicit thumbs-up/down feedback on a consumer account overrides this, allowing human review and a 3-year retention window. By contrast, Google Workspace and NotebookLM Enterprise accounts are completely ring-fenced. Google contractually commits to zero training and zero human review on these tiers, even if your users submit active feedback. NotebookLM Enterprise hosts data entirely within your secure Google Cloud project perimeter, supporting Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) and strict US or EU multi-region processing locks. Note that external data-loss prevention (DLP) filters must be handled at your network proxy or endpoint layer rather than natively inside the tool.
Sources for this description
- Privacy and Terms of Use in NotebookLM — Googlelive sourcePerma.cc recordas at 31 May 2026
- What is NotebookLM Enterprise? (Cloud data residency, VPC-SC, CMEK) — Googlelive sourcePerma.cc recordas at 31 May 2026
- Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub — Googlelive sourcePerma.cc recordas at 31 May 2026
- How Gemini for Google Cloud uses your data — Googlelive sourcePerma.cc recordas at 31 May 2026
- Google Privacy Policy — Googlelive sourcePerma.cc recordas at 31 May 2026
- About Google / Alphabet (company facts) — Alphabetlive sourceas at 31 May 2026
What is safe, on which plan
Each cell summarises what the provider’s terms and the applicable rules say. The colour is our summary of the sources, not advice — select a cell to read the reasoning and follow the sources yourself.
- Green
- Amber
- Red
- Black
- Not yet assessed
| Data category | Consumer (free / paid) | Team | Enterprise / Workspace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Public information | |||
| 2. Internal non-confidential | |||
| 3. Internal confidential (non-privileged) | |||
| 4. Legally privileged | |||
| 5. Personal information (Privacy Act 2020) | |||
| 6. Sensitive personal information | |||
| 7. Children’s information | |||
| 8. Court-protected material |
1. Public information
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
2. Internal non-confidential
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
3. Internal confidential (non-privileged)
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
4. Legally privileged
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
5. Personal information (Privacy Act 2020)
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
6. Sensitive personal information
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
7. Children’s information
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
8. Court-protected material
- Consumer (free / paid)
- Team
- Enterprise / Workspace
Select any cell to see what the sources say and why.
Statements about provider terms, plans, and defaults will go stale. This profile names its last review date above.
Where to next
Our framework
The reference behind every answer: the eight kinds of information, the five plans, and what each colour means.
Our frameworkGuidance
Our view on the four questions to ask before you use a tool — confidentiality, privilege, privacy, and the professional rules.
GuidanceAbout us
Who is behind this, how we keep it reliable, and why you can trust it.
About us