NotebookLM is dead. Long live Gemini Notebook. Google rebranded its research tool on Thursday, dropping the NotebookLM name for Gemini Notebook, a change that folds the product into the company's broader AI family while keeping it a standalone application. The official blog post from Josh Woodward, VP of Google Labs, confirmed the tool now serves more than 30 million people and 600,000 organizations. The real news is what comes with the name change.
Cloud code execution, previously locked to Ultra subscribers at $99.99 per month, is rolling out to Pro users ($19.99 per month) on the web over the coming weeks. The feature gives each notebook a secure cloud computer that can write and run Python scripts directly against uploaded sources, processing tables and generating visualizations without leaving the document.
Last month's under-the-hood upgrade also moved the tool onto a new reasoning engine and added support for generating PDFs, JSON files, and PowerPoint decks, according to Digital Trends. Free-tier users remain locked out of code execution with no timeline for expansion.
Google is pushing notebooks into more surfaces across its product line. Users can already create and access notebooks inside the Gemini app with full cross-app syncing.
Notebooks will also land in Google Search's AI Mode, though the company did not share a release date. The logo is getting a refresh too, swapping the old design for a blue and purple Gemini gradient.
What started as Project Tailwind at I/O 2023 has evolved from a source-grounded research aid into what CNET called "possibly the best AI product the tech giant has produced so far." The tool only answers from materials users upload, refusing to search the open web when sources don't contain an answer. That constraint, not the new name, remains its strongest differentiator in a market flooded with chatbots that hallucinate freely.
