Google announced the expansion of the Audio Overviews feature in NotebookLM on Tuesday. This artificial intelligence (AI) feature can create engaging podcast-style audio discussions on any topic when a source is added to a note. Audio Overviews feature two AI hosts, a male and a female voice, who discuss the topic, react to it, and contextualize the information in a conversational manner. Google is now expanding this NotebookLM feature to more than 50 different languages.
NotebookLM was first released in June 2024 as a research assistant. Users can upload documents, Web URLs, and copy-paste text as sources. Based on these sources, the platform can generate summaries, briefs, study guides, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). A Gemini-powered chatbot can also answer user queries about the topic.
While the platform was useful, it did not gain much popularity until September 2024, when the Mountain View-based tech giant added a unique feature dubbed Audio Overviews. This tool could instantly turn any document into an audio podcast, making the platform popular among users.
Previously, Audio Overviews could only generate audio sessions in the English language. However, Google has now announced that the AI feature will be available in more than 50 languages, including Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Hindi, Malayalam, Portuguese, Russian, and Tamil.
To change the output language, users need to go to Settings and locate Output Language. In the new menu, users can navigate to the top-right corner to update the language. By default, the Output Language is set to the user’s Google Account language.
Google highlights that non-English language support is currently available in beta and may contain mistakes. Users should double-check the generated audio for any inaccuracies.
The tech giant mentioned that the new expansion can help teachers share study resources with students in various languages. Students can then generate an Audio Overview of the key insights in their preferred language. Additionally, the tool will enable content creators to produce non-English content online.
