This feature allows users to build a dream team of trusted advisors and experts based on the foundational books and references they actually own.
Article Index:
- Launch of the expert intelligence feature and global publishing sources
- How the tool works and building a virtual advisor team
- Featured notebooks and participation from elite authors
- Copyright protection and digital access mechanisms
- Future plans and expansion toward academic papers
- Frequently asked questions
Launch of the expert intelligence feature and global publishing sources
Google launched the new “expert intelligence” feature on Thursday for its AI-powered note-taking app Gemini Notebook (formerly known as NotebookLM), which allows users to integrate directly purchased ebooks as trusted sources for AI-generated content. Described by Google as a “cross-company cross-functional initiative,” the feature enables readers to query texts from books they own, generate infographics, create audio overviews, and build interactive quizzes based entirely on the original references.
The tool debuts with massive support encompassing over 100,000 book titles from major academic and commercial publishers worldwide, including Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, De Gruyter Brill, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan Publishers, and O’Reilly Media. Google is also offering one free book to users in the United States as part of the launch promotional campaign while supplies last.
How the tool works and building a virtual advisor team
The workflow enables users to add specific ebooks purchased through the Google Play Books platform directly to their Gemini notebook, letting the artificial intelligence answer complex inquiries based exclusively on the content of those books.
During a press briefing with The Verge, Steven Johnson, editorial director at Google Labs, demonstrated how to leverage the tool to generate innovative recipe collections from Michael Pollan’s book *The Omnivore’s Dilemma* and apply management advice extracted from Kim Scott’s *Radical Candor* to everyday workplace scenarios. Johnson commented: “I am deeply passionate about the idea of building a collection of figures and thinkers whose work you deeply appreciate, creating your own kind of dream team of advisors and experts available to help you wherever you go.”
Featured notebooks and participation from elite authors
Google has established official partnerships with more than 15 prominent authors—including Michael Pollan, Kim Scott, renowned psychologist Steven Pinker, and writer Jennifer Wallace—to create “featured notebooks” backed by additional research sources and exclusive introductory materials that enrich the reader’s experience.
These ready-made notebooks help users and researchers explore authors’ intellectual insights and engage with their conceptual arguments through interactive dialogues built strictly on the text of their works.
Copyright protection and digital access mechanisms
Google has implemented strict protection controls to prevent copyright infringement; if a user shares a notebook containing a purchased ebook, other collaborators who do not own a copy of the book will see it listed in the sources list, but they will not be able to read the full text or access detailed extracted information from it.
Instead, the system presents collaborators with a direct link directing them to the Google Play Books platform to purchase their own legal copy. Johnson stated: “We want to create a space that allows users to bring in the knowledge and expertise that matter to them and put it to work, while ensuring new and sustainable revenue streams and profit windows for authors and publishers alike.”
Future plans and expansion toward academic papers
Google intends to expand the expert intelligence feature to the general Gemini app and the AI search mode in Google Search.
The company also plans to integrate academic papers, peer-reviewed research documents, magazines, and international journals into the ecosystem in the future, transforming Gemini Notebook into the premier reference platform for scientific research and in-depth studies worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What is the expert intelligence feature in Gemini Notebook?
Answer: It is a feature that allows users to integrate purchased ebooks, query them, and generate charts and audio summaries from them accurately.
Question: How does Google protect authors’ and publishers’ rights when sharing notebooks?
Answer: It prevents collaborators who do not own the book from reading its texts and directs them to purchase it from the Google Play store to view the analyses.
Question: What knowledge sources does Google plan to add in the future?
Answer: It plans to integrate the feature into Google Search and the Gemini app, and expand to include scientific papers, newspapers, and international magazines.
