NotebookLM could be preparing for discoverable notebooks

Google’s popular NotebookLM tool already lets you share notebooks publicly with a simple link, in the same way you might share a Google Doc. However, finding other people’s projects still isn’t really part of the experience. A new leak hints that this could potentially change in the future. Newly spotted customization options suggest NotebookLM may soon let creators display more personal identifiers, hinting at discoverable user projects down the line.

According to an X post from TestingCatalog, Google appears to be experimenting with new settings that let notebook creators show their avatar and creator name, plus replace the automatically generated notebook summary with their own description. A screenshot shared in the post shows toggles for all three potential features. A couple of weeks ago, the same tipster spotted Google testing banner images for notebooks — another feature designed to make projects easier to recognize at a glance.

If these latest changes roll out, they may be nothing more than fairly simple personalization tweaks. NotebookLM currently leans heavily on auto-generated summaries, so letting creators attach their own description and add a bit of identity could make projects easier to recognize at a glance, especially if they’ve been shared via link.

But the additions also raise an interesting possibility. As of now, there’s no built-in way for users to discover what others have created in NotebookLM. Details like creator names, avatars, and custom summaries start to make a lot more sense if notebooks are meant to be seen by people who weren’t directly sent the link. Platforms like GitHub and Substack rely on similar creator profiles and short descriptions to help people discover projects or publications, and NotebookLM could be laying the groundwork for something along those lines.

That’s exactly what TestingCatalog hints at, and it remains speculation at this stage. But it’s the general direction many platforms seem to be heading, and NotebookLM could soon start to feel a bit less like a private research assistant and a bit more like a place where knowledge projects are shared and explored more openly.