You Can Now Ask Questions During Google AI Podcasts
Google’s NotebookLM AI podcast tool recently went mainstream thanks to a collaboration with Spotify Wrapped , but with a recent update it’s suddenly a lot more interactive. Now, instead of just sitting back and listening, you can join the conversation .
According to Google, NotebookLM users have already created “over 350 years of audio reviews,” which essentially take downloaded documents and turn them into two-way conversations hosted by AI to make them easier to digest. The idea is that you can submit a 50-page research paper, for example, and the podcast will give you a summary that you can listen to while doing other things.
This may be because Google uses the same voices for each audio review, but in my experience they usually sound very similar to the real thing back and forth, if not without some jerkiness or robotic harshness. However, for a tool that’s supposed to make complex topics easier to understand, it gives users little control over how to have conversations with artificial intelligence—until now.
As part of a larger update that changes the user interface and adds some additional features for enterprise customers, Google now also lets you join AI podcasts. A feature called “Join” won’t let you chat directly with your AI hosts, but rather will interrupt the podcast to ask a question and direct the conversation. For example, if you’re listening to a summary of important dates in American history, but your presenters get distracted by talking about the state’s birds, you can pause them to get them back on track. Alternatively, you can simply ask them to go deeper into a specific topic or review what they have already discussed.
This feature is currently in beta and unfortunately I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet. If you’re luckier than me, Google says you can try it by following these steps:
Create a new audio review
Click the New Interactive Mode (BETA) button and click Play.
While listening, click Join. The presenter will call you.
Ask your question!
The company has posted an example of how this feature works, and it looks like you’ll need to click “join” for every question you ask. It looks like Google is using more of a question and answer format here rather than treating you as a third host.
The result reminds me a bit of Gemini Live , which similarly lets you talk to Google’s artificial intelligence in real time, but had some quirks in terms of accuracy or understanding when I tried using it in the past. So it makes sense that Google would reiterate that the Join feature is “experimental” and that hosts may be “uncomfortable with pausing before responding and may sometimes introduce inaccuracies.” Also, this feature will only work for new podcasts, so don’t expect to suddenly recreate conversations you’ve already created.