Yes. NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, is free with a Google account, with a usage budget that refreshes over time. Paid Google AI plans raise the limits.

Is NotebookLM now called Gemini Notebook?

Yes. In our October 2026 test the app at notebook.google.com was branded Gemini Notebook.

Can NotebookLM make a podcast in Arabic?

Yes. We set the language to Arabic and got a 5:52 podcast in natural Modern Standard Arabic, not a dialect.

How long is a NotebookLM audio overview?

From one article, the default podcast was about 12 minutes; the Short option gave about 6 minutes.

Is the NotebookLM video overview good?

In our test the narration was good but the visuals were basic, so it works as a quick summary rather than a publishable video.

NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) Tested: Podcasts in Arabic, Videos and Infographics from One Article (2026)

Key takeaways

NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook and is free with a Google account.
From one article it made a 12-minute podcast with two natural-sounding hosts and no invented facts.
A short Arabic podcast (5:52) used natural Modern Standard Arabic.
The video overview had a good voice but basic visuals, and we hit the free usage warning after six generations.

NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, is Google's free AI notebook: you give it your own sources (a web page, a PDF, a document) and it answers questions about them, or turns them into podcasts, videos, flashcards and infographics. We tested it on a free account in October 2026 with a single source, our own Google Pomelli review, and generated everything we could in one hour, including a podcast in Arabic.

How we tested

Free Google account, on notebook.google.com, with the interface in French.
One source: the URL of our Pomelli article, added with Add sources (pasting a link into the chat box does not add it; we made that mistake first).
We generated a video overview, two audio overviews (default and Arabic), flashcards and two infographics, and checked them against the article.

First impressions

As soon as the source was added, Gemini Notebook wrote a source guide: a short summary that caught the main point of our article (Pomelli is a valuable but imperfect tool for online sellers), with topic buttons to explore. It also named the notebook by itself ("Test de Google Pomelli"). The summary was written in French, the language of our account, even though the article is in English.

Gemini Notebook with our Pomelli article as the only source, an automatic source guide on the left and a 1 minute 15 second video overview on the right — Our notebook: the source and its automatic guide on the left, the video overview on the right.

Video overview: good voice, weak visuals

The video overview was 1 minute 15 seconds long, in English, titled "How Google Pomelli Generates P…". The narration was clear and the voice sounded good. The visuals were the weak part: simple images that did not look professional and did not really show what the article was about. Fine for a quick summary, but not something we would publish on YouTube.

Audio overview: the star feature

The default audio overview was a 12-minute podcast in French between two hosts, made from one article. It was genuinely impressive: the two voices sounded like real people having a natural conversation, and the information was correct, with no invented facts.

Before generating, you can customise the podcast:

Format: Deep Dive (a lively two-host conversation), Brief (a short summary), Critique (expert feedback on your content) or Debate (two hosts with different views).
Language, length (Short or Default) and which sources to use.
A focus instruction, for example "explain to small sellers how to make the most of the photos and campaigns".

Gemini Notebook audio overview settings with the formats Deep Dive, Brief, Critique and Debate, the language set to Arabic, Short length and a focus prompt — Customising the audio overview: we chose Arabic and Short.

The podcast in Arabic

We generated a second, short podcast in Arabic. It was 5 minutes 52 seconds long, with a fitting Arabic title ("Pomelli between creativity and hallucination"). The hosts spoke Modern Standard Arabic (fusha), not a dialect, and the pronunciation was natural. For Arabic speakers, this is one of the easiest ways to turn an English article into an Arabic audio summary.

Gemini Notebook Studio panel playing a 5 minute 52 second Arabic audio overview about Pomelli — Our short Arabic podcast: 5:52, in natural Standard Arabic.

Flashcards and infographics

Flashcards: 30 question cards ("What is Google Pomelli?", "What key brand elements are extracted when Pomelli scans a website?"), with buttons to mark what you know. Useful for students, and the questions matched the article closely.

Card 4 of 30, generated from our article.

Infographics: we made one in Arabic and one in English. Both summarised the article correctly in a clean layout: the main features on one side (Photoshoot, Campaigns, Websites) and the pros and cons on the other (100% free, accurate details, English only, a website tool that invents claims). The Arabic version was laid out right to left. One detail: the English infographic illustrated Pomelli with generic perfume, sneaker and handbag images, not the hamsa design we actually tested.

Arabic infographic generated by Gemini Notebook summarising Google Pomelli's features, pros and cons — The Arabic infographic.

English infographic titled Google Pomelli: AI Marketing Tool Performance Test with strengths and limitations — The English infographic: accurate text, generic images.

The free plan limit

After about an hour and six generations (one video, two podcasts, flashcards and two infographics), we saw the message "You're getting close to your AI usage limit. Limit resets at 13:57." The free plan is generous, but the budget refreshes in time windows, so heavy users will hit it. A usage bar in the audio settings shows how much a generation will cost before you start.

Pros and cons

👍 Pros	👎 Cons
Free with a Google account	Video visuals look basic
Podcasts sound like two real people	Output language follows your account language unless you change it
Accurate: no invented facts in our test	Usage limit after a few generations
Natural Standard Arabic audio	Infographic images can be generic
Many formats from one source	Pasting a link in the chat does not add it as a source

Who should use it?

Students: turn course notes into a podcast, flashcards and a quiz.
Bloggers and creators: turn an article into an audio version or an infographic for social media, in several languages.
Arabic speakers: listen to an Arabic summary of English documents.

Compare it with other free assistants in our ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Claude test, or see the best free AI chatbots.

The verdict

Gemini Notebook (NotebookLM) is one of the best free AI tools we have tested. From a single article, it produced an accurate 12-minute podcast with two natural-sounding hosts, a short podcast in natural Standard Arabic, 30 flashcards and two correct infographics in about an hour. The video overview is the weak spot, with basic visuals, and the free usage limit arrives faster than you might expect. But for learning, summarising and repurposing your own content, it is hard to beat, especially at no cost.