Supercharge Your Workflow With ChatGPT and NotebookLM
When you think of AI, ChatGPT is probably the first name that comes to mind. It has dominated the conversation since its release, and for good reason. It’s a brilliant tool, but I’ve found that it doesn’t meet all my needs on its own.
That's where Google's AI-powered research assistant, NotebookLM, comes in. For me, NotebookLM is what ChatGPT is to most people—a true game-changer for productivity. This led to a simple but powerful realization: why not pair the two? Combining them has been one of the best decisions I've made for my workflow all year.
Turn Lengthy AI Responses into Engaging Podcasts
One of the biggest promises of AI is saving time. However, when you ask ChatGPT for help with research, you often get a lengthy essay in return. While useful, it can be overwhelming to process. What if you could get the key points without reading the whole thing?
This is where one of NotebookLM's standout features, Audio Overviews, shines. It converts your text sources into an engaging, podcast-style discussion between two human-like AI hosts. They sound natural, throw in witty remarks, and raise thought-provoking questions.
My process is simple: when ChatGPT gives me a wall of text, I copy its response and create a new notebook in NotebookLM. I paste the text as a new source and generate an Audio Overview. Within minutes, I have an insightful discussion ready to download and listen to on the go, whether I'm doing chores or taking a walk.
Let NotebookLM Fact-Check ChatGPT's Research
It's no secret that AI models like ChatGPT can "hallucinate," or invent facts. Relying solely on its output without verification is a risky move. While NotebookLM doesn't browse the web for new information, it excels at analyzing and comparing documents you provide.
To counter AI hallucinations, I use NotebookLM as a dedicated fact-checker. For instance, after asking ChatGPT about the specs for a new phone, I copy its response into NotebookLM as one source. Then, I add the official press release or specs page from the manufacturer's website as a second source.
I can then prompt NotebookLM to compare the two sources. For example:
Can you compare the specs from ChatGPT in Source 1 with the official details in Source 2?
In seconds, NotebookLM highlights the differences and confirms what matches up. The best part is that it cites every claim, linking it back to the exact sentence in your source document. This means you aren't just trusting another AI; you're using it to quickly verify information against a trusted source.
Organize and Analyze Entire ChatGPT Conversations
A research session with ChatGPT can easily spiral into a long, chaotic conversation thread. It's easy to lose track of key points or specific replies. Instead of endlessly scrolling, I simply paste the entire conversation into NotebookLM.
While you can't just share a ChatGPT link, you can copy the full text and add it as a source in a new notebook. From there, the possibilities are vast. You can ask NotebookLM to:
- Summarize the entire conversation.
- Identify the main takeaways.
- Organize the content by topic.
- Generate a Mind Map to visualize how different ideas connect—a fantastic feature for visual learners.
And, of course, you can turn the entire chat into an Audio Overview to recap everything you discussed.
You're Missing Out If You Haven't Paired These Two
I've paired NotebookLM with many tools, including Perplexity, Excel, and Google Docs. But trust me when I say that ChatGPT and NotebookLM create an incredibly powerful combination. One excels at broad, creative research, while the other excels at grounded, source-based analysis. If you're only using one, you're not getting the full picture.
