Quick Verdict
On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. It's the same standalone research tool — the interface, the sources-based approach, and the pricing model haven't fundamentally changed — but it now sits explicitly inside the Gemini product family, syncs with the Gemini app, and is gaining a genuinely new capability: every notebook gets its own secure, sandboxed cloud computer that can write and execute code natively for deeper data analysis on your sources.
This isn't a full hands-on retest of the underlying product — Gemini Notebook is the tool formerly known as NotebookLM, which we've covered before, and the core research experience is unchanged. What's new here is the rebrand itself and the code-execution feature, both confirmed directly by Google's own announcement and corroborated by independent reporting from TechCrunch. We'll update this page once the code-execution feature has rolled out broadly enough for us to test it firsthand.
Our take: 8.0/10 — a trusted, widely used research tool (30M+ users, 600,000+ organizations) getting a meaningful upgrade, held back only by a confusing rename and a code-execution feature that's gated behind Google's priciest tiers at launch.
What Is Gemini Notebook?
Gemini Notebook is Google's AI-powered research and note-taking tool — the same product previously known as NotebookLM, which itself launched publicly in 2023 after debuting at Google I/O as "Project Tailwind." The core idea hasn't changed: you upload sources (PDFs, Google Docs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, slide decks), and the tool answers questions, summarizes, and generates content — Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, study guides, and more — grounded strictly in those sources, with citations pointing back to the exact passage it used.
What changed on July 16 is twofold. First, the branding: Google folded the product into its Gemini naming scheme, giving it a new blue-and-purple Gemini-style logo and deeper integration with the rest of the Gemini ecosystem — notebooks are already accessible inside the Gemini app, and Google says they're coming to AI Mode in Search soon. Second, and more substantively, Google began rolling out a "secure cloud computer" for every notebook: a sandboxed environment where Gemini Notebook can write and run code against your uploaded sources to do calculations, build charts, and handle analysis a pure language model can't do reliably on its own.
Existing NotebookLM users don't need to do anything — the product automatically became Gemini Notebook, and notebooklm.google.com still works, with old shared notebook links redirecting automatically.
Gemini Notebook Pricing: What You Get at Each Tier
Gemini Notebook itself doesn't have a separate subscription — access and usage limits are bundled into Google's general AI subscription tiers, the same ones that cover Gemini, Search, and the rest of Google's AI products. Here's how those tiers map to what you actually get inside Gemini Notebook, based on Google's own tier documentation as of this writing.
| Plan | Price | Gemini Notebook access |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Standard Gemini Notebook access with baseline usage limits; no code execution |
| Google AI Plus | $7.99/month | "Enhanced" Gemini Notebook access with higher usage limits, per Google's tier breakdown; code execution not yet included |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99/month | Higher usage limits; the secure cloud computer / code-execution feature is rolling out to Pro on the web "in the coming weeks" per Google — not yet live for every Pro user at launch |
| Google AI Ultra ($100 or $200/month tiers) | $100–$200/month | Full access to the secure cloud computer / code execution today, plus the highest usage limits |
| Google Workspace (Business, with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access add-ons) | Varies by Workspace plan | Same code-execution access as AI Ultra, for eligible business customers |
In short: if you just want the classic Gemini Notebook experience — upload sources, ask questions, generate an Audio Overview — the free tier still covers that. The new code-execution feature is the part that's gated, and at launch it's limited to Google AI Ultra subscribers and qualifying Workspace business customers, with standard Pro users told to expect access "in the coming weeks" rather than immediately.
Try Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) directly
Open Gemini Notebook →What's New: The Secure Cloud Computer
The headline feature isn't the name change — it's what Google is calling a "secure cloud computer" attached to every notebook. In practice, this gives Gemini Notebook the ability to write and execute code natively, directly against the sources you've uploaded, rather than just reasoning about them in text. Google frames this as enabling "entirely new output formats and deeper analysis" — think pulling numbers out of a set of PDFs and actually running the math, or generating a chart from data buried across several documents, instead of asking the model to eyeball the numbers and describe a chart in words.
- Sandboxed per notebook: each notebook gets its own isolated compute environment rather than a shared execution context.
- Grounded in your sources: the code-execution capability is designed to work against the specific documents, sheets, and files you've added to that notebook, not general-purpose coding.
- Staged rollout: live today for Google AI Ultra subscribers and Workspace business customers with AI Ultra Access or AI Expanded Access; Google says it will extend to all Pro users on the web "in the coming weeks," with no exact date confirmed as of this writing.
Key Features
- Source-grounded research: upload PDFs, Google Docs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, and slide decks; every answer cites back to the specific source passage it drew from.
- Native code execution (new): the secure cloud computer described above, for data analysis and calculations that go beyond what a language model can reliably do by reasoning alone.
- Audio Overviews and Video Overviews: Gemini Notebook can turn your sources into a podcast-style audio discussion or a narrated video summary — carried over unchanged from NotebookLM.
- Cross-app sync: notebooks are already accessible inside the Gemini app, with full sync between the Gemini app and the standalone Gemini Notebook experience; Google says AI Mode in Search access is coming soon.
- Enterprise support: a Workspace-integrated plan remains available for organizations, carried over from NotebookLM's existing enterprise offering.
- Backward compatibility:
notebooklm.google.comstill resolves, and previously shared NotebookLM links redirect automatically to Gemini Notebook — nothing breaks for existing users.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Genuinely new capability (native code execution) added to an already-trusted, widely used product — 30M+ users, 600,000+ organizations, per Google | Code execution is gated behind Google AI Ultra ($100–$200/month) or specific Workspace add-ons at launch — not available to Free, Plus, or (yet) most Pro users |
| Free tier still covers the core research/summarization experience — no forced upgrade for existing use cases | Another rename in Google's AI product line, which TechCrunch explicitly framed as part of a broader "renaming streak" that can confuse users switching between products |
| Backward-compatible: old NotebookLM links and the notebooklm.google.com domain keep working | Google hasn't published a specific date for when code execution reaches all Pro users, only "coming weeks" |
| Deeper Google ecosystem integration — already synced with the Gemini app, with AI Mode in Search access promised soon | AI Mode in Search integration isn't live yet — it's an announced next step, not a shipped feature |
| Confirmed by Google's own announcement and corroborated by independent reporting (TechCrunch) | This review covers the rename and new feature, not a full hands-on retest of the underlying research experience, which we've evaluated before as NotebookLM |
Who Should Use Gemini Notebook?
Worth using if you are:
- Already a NotebookLM user — nothing changes for you except the name, a new logo, and (if you're on Ultra or a qualifying Workspace plan) access to code execution today.
- A student, researcher, or knowledge worker who wants a free tool to summarize and query large document sets with source-cited answers.
- Already paying for Google AI Ultra or a qualifying Workspace plan and want to run real data analysis — calculations, charts — directly against your uploaded sources.
Probably not the right fit yet if you:
- Specifically want the new code-execution feature but are on the Free, Plus, or Pro tier — you'll either need to upgrade to Ultra or wait for the promised Pro rollout.
- Find Google's frequent AI product renames confusing and would rather wait for the naming to settle before investing time in a new workflow.
- Need AI Mode in Search integration today — it's announced but not yet live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NotebookLM gone?
No — it's the same product under a new name. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026. The notebooklm.google.com domain still works, and previously shared NotebookLM links redirect automatically to Gemini Notebook.
Is Gemini Notebook free?
Yes, for the core experience. The Free tier still covers standard Gemini Notebook access with baseline usage limits. The new code-execution feature (the "secure cloud computer") is limited at launch to Google AI Ultra subscribers ($100 or $200/month tiers) and qualifying Workspace business customers, with Pro users ($19.99/month) told to expect access "in the coming weeks."
What is the "secure cloud computer" feature?
It's a sandboxed compute environment attached to each notebook that lets Gemini Notebook write and execute code directly against your uploaded sources — for deeper data analysis and calculations that go beyond what a language model can do by reasoning in text alone. Google says it's rolling out to Google AI Ultra users and eligible Workspace business customers first, with Pro access coming later.
Do my old NotebookLM notebooks and shared links still work?
Yes. Google confirmed that notebooklm.google.com continues to work, and existing shared links redirect automatically to the new Gemini Notebook experience — nothing you've already built or shared breaks.
When will Google AI Pro users get code execution?
Google has said the feature will roll out to all Pro users on the web "in the coming weeks," but hadn't published an exact date as of this writing. Check notebooklm.google or your Gemini Notebook settings for current availability.
How many people use Gemini Notebook (NotebookLM)?
Per Google, more than 30 million people and over 600,000 organizations were using the product (as NotebookLM) at the time of the July 16, 2026 rebrand.
Final Verdict
Gemini Notebook is a case where the substance matters more than the headline. The rename itself is cosmetic — and, per TechCrunch's coverage, part of a pattern of Google AI product renames that can genuinely confuse users trying to keep track of what's now called what. But the secure cloud computer feature underneath it is a real, meaningful addition to a tool that already had 30 million-plus users: turning a research assistant that could describe your data into one that can actually compute against it.
The catch is access. If you're not already paying for Google AI Ultra or sitting inside a Workspace plan with the right add-ons, you'll be using the same NotebookLM experience you had last week, just with a new name and logo, until the Pro rollout catches up. That's not a knock on the free tier, which remains genuinely useful — it's just a reason not to expect the new code-execution headline to change your day-to-day workflow immediately unless you're already on a qualifying plan.
Rating: 8.0/10 — a trusted research tool getting a real upgrade, with the new capability currently reserved for the higher tiers.
