NotebookLM
Audience: All BYU-Idaho employees and students with an active BYU-Idaho Google Workspace account.
Prerequisites: You must sign in using your BYU-Idaho institutional Google account (@byui.edu). Personal Google accounts are not covered by BYU-Idaho's data use agreements and do not carry the same privacy protections.
Prerequisites: You must sign in using your BYU-Idaho institutional Google account (@byui.edu). Personal Google accounts are not covered by BYU-Idaho's data use agreements and do not carry the same privacy protections.
What is NotebookLM?
NotebookLM is a Google AI research and note-taking assistant that helps you understand, summarize, and work with your own documents. Unlike general-purpose chatbots that draw from the broader internet, NotebookLM grounds every response exclusively in the sources you provide — so you get answers based on your actual materials.
You can upload PDFs, Google Docs, Google Slides, website URLs, copied text, and YouTube video links as "sources," then ask questions, generate summaries, create study guides, or produce an Audio Overview — a podcast-style conversation that walks through the highlights of your content.
NotebookLM is particularly useful for:
- Reviewing research papers or lengthy reports
- Preparing for classes or meetings using your own notes
- Synthesizing multiple documents into a single briefing
- Creating study materials from course readings
- Generating a quick audio summary you can listen to on the go
Getting Started with NotebookLM
Step 1
Sign In with Your BYU-Idaho Account
Go to notebooklm.google.com.
Click Sign in and enter your @byui.edu email address.
When prompted, choose Sign in with Google and authenticate through your BYU-Idaho Google Workspace account.
Note: Do not sign in with a personal Gmail address. Only your institutional account is covered under BYU-Idaho's Google Workspace agreement.
Click Sign in and enter your @byui.edu email address.
When prompted, choose Sign in with Google and authenticate through your BYU-Idaho Google Workspace account.
Note: Do not sign in with a personal Gmail address. Only your institutional account is covered under BYU-Idaho's Google Workspace agreement.
Step 2
Create a New Notebook
Click New Notebook on the NotebookLM home screen.
Give your notebook a descriptive name so you can find it later.
Each notebook is a separate workspace — you can create as many as you need for different projects, courses, or topics.
Give your notebook a descriptive name so you can find it later.
Each notebook is a separate workspace — you can create as many as you need for different projects, courses, or topics.
Step 3
Add Your Sources
Click Add sources inside your notebook.
Upload or link the materials you want NotebookLM to work from. Supported source types include:
Note: NotebookLM only answers based on what you upload. It will not pull in outside information. Review BYU-Idaho's data classification guidelines before uploading any internal or confidential materials.
Upload or link the materials you want NotebookLM to work from. Supported source types include:
- Google Docs and Google Slides
- PDFs and text files
- Website URLs
- Copied and pasted text
- YouTube video links (NotebookLM reads the transcript)
Note: NotebookLM only answers based on what you upload. It will not pull in outside information. Review BYU-Idaho's data classification guidelines before uploading any internal or confidential materials.
Step 4
Start Exploring Your Content
Use the chat panel on the right to ask questions about your sources.
Try the suggested questions NotebookLM generates automatically, or type your own.
From the Notebook guide panel, you can also generate:
Try the suggested questions NotebookLM generates automatically, or type your own.
From the Notebook guide panel, you can also generate:
- A FAQ based on your sources
- A Study guide with key terms and questions
- A Table of contents or outline
- A Briefing document summarizing the main points
- An Audio Overview — a two-host, podcast-style conversation about your content
Data & Privacy with NotebookLM
When you access NotebookLM through your BYU-Idaho institutional Google Workspace account, your data is governed by BYU-Idaho's agreement with Google. Your sources, questions, and responses are not used to train Google's AI models under this institutional agreement.
Always follow BYU-Idaho's data classification guidelines when deciding what to upload:
Always follow BYU-Idaho's data classification guidelines when deciding what to upload:
- Public data — safe to upload
- Internal/confidential data without PII — safe to upload using your institutional account
- Internal/confidential data with PII — safe to upload using your institutional account; follow the CES Privacy Principles
- Restricted data — never upload to any AI tool
Troubleshooting
Make sure you're visiting notebooklm.google.com and entering your @byui.edu email address. If Google defaults to a personal account, click your profile icon in the top-right corner, select Add another account, and sign in with your BYU-Idaho credentials.
NotebookLM only draws from content you have uploaded to that notebook. Make sure your sources were successfully added (you'll see them listed in the Sources panel). If a source shows an error, try re-uploading it or pasting the content as plain text instead.
Audio Overviews can take a few minutes depending on the length of your sources. If it fails, try refreshing the page and generating again. Very large documents (over 500 pages total) may exceed NotebookLM's processing limits — try splitting your sources into smaller uploads.
Click your profile icon in the top-right corner of NotebookLM. Your account email is displayed there. It should show your @byui.edu address. If you see a personal Gmail address, sign out and sign back in with your BYU-Idaho account.
Delete the source immediately from your notebook (click the three-dot menu next to the source and select Remove). Then contact IT to report the incident.