Google is trying to incorporate its amazing NotebookLM technology into its Android Gemini app. This will allow users to turn PDFs into podcasts with the click of a button, providing a new way to interact with content.

Android Authority found this update in the latest beta version of the Gemini app. It includes a string that suggests generating audio and labeling it as a podcast prompt.

NotebookLM launched last July, but its most popular feature, audio overview, was only added this October. This feature allows users to create podcasts in which two human-like hosts discuss the contents of a notebook.

The beta does not currently allow podcasts to be created from PDFs, but according to the code, it appears to be coming soon; Android Authority was able to get a hint that it works, but only with a text preview, not an audio overview.

The exact details are unknown, as they were gleaned from three lines of code in the beta release of the Gemini app, but it is suggested that it will be a simple prompt with a PDF attached. This would simply add audio to the existing PDF description feature.

Once fully implemented, Gemini will likely provide the option to create an Audio Overview when submitting the appropriate type of content, such as a PDF report or research paper.

Process the data and create a podcast. It can also be an audio-based analysis instead of a two-person discussion.

Given the success of NotebookLM's podcasting capabilities and the increasing competition in this area, this is a logical addition to Gemini. Eleven Labs announced its own podcasting feature, GenFM, in its reader app last week.

I suspect something like NotebookLM could be incorporated more broadly into the Gemini Gems feature, which allows users to create customized Gemini's for their own data and specific uses. Gems audio overview, updated regularly in discussions, would be a useful add-on.