Google has announced the broadening of its Audio Overviews feature within NotebookLM, unveiled on Tuesday. This innovative artificial intelligence (AI) capability enables the creation of dynamic, podcast-style audio discussions on any subject, provided a source is included in a note. The Audio Overviews incorporate two AI voices—one male and one female—to facilitate engaging conversations around the topic, offering reactions and contextual insights.
NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews Now Support Hindi
First launched in June 2024, NotebookLM serves as a research assistant, allowing users to input documents, web links, and text excerpts as sources. The platform leverages this information to produce a range of outputs, including summaries, briefs, study guides, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Additionally, it features a chatbot powered by Gemini, capable of responding to user inquiries on various topics.
While initially underutilized, the platform gained significant traction in September 2024 after Google introduced the Audio Overviews feature. This tool transformed any document into an audio podcast, quickly enhancing user engagement and popularity.
Previously, the Audio Overviews function was limited to generating audio in English. However, in a recent blog post, Google announced the expansion of this feature to over 50 languages. Among the supported languages are Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (both Simplified and Traditional), French, Hindi, Malayalam, Portuguese, Russian, and Tamil.
To switch the output language, users can access the Settings menu and find the Output Language option. From there, they can update their preferences in the top-right corner. The default setting for output language is aligned with the user’s Google Account language.
Google underscores that the non-English language support is currently in beta, which may lead to occasional inaccuracies. Users are encouraged to review the generated audio for any potential mistakes.
Highlighting the practical applications of this feature expansion, Google asserts that it can assist educators in sharing study materials with students across various languages. Students can also generate Audio Overviews of essential insights in their preferred languages. Furthermore, this tool opens avenues for content creators to develop non-English content online.
