Summary

  • Google might make NotebookLM a default Chromebook app, making productivity even smoother.
  • There’s no official confirmation yet, but clues in Chromium’s code suggest it’s coming.
  • If built into ChromeOS, users can skip navigating to notebooklm.google.com and access the web app from the app drawer on Chromebooks.

Google’s NotebookLM is changing the way we handle information with AI. Powered by the Gemini AI model, it goes way beyond basic note-taking; it can quickly scan huge amounts of text, break it all down, and serve up easy-to-digest summaries. That makes it a life-saver for students, researchers, or anyone drowning in data. Now, Google seems to be looking to make NotebookLM a built-in feature on Chromebooks.

Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman spotted a clue in the Chromium Gerrit repository suggesting that NotebookLM might be joining the list of default Chromebook apps. While it’s not set in stone yet, this tweak to the app manifest makes it pretty likely.

A desk with a laptop and other office items, with the NotebookLM logo in the center.


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NotebookLM is a free experimental AI tool designed to make managing information a whole lot easier. It blends note-taking, collaboration, data collection, and organization into one platform, bringing all your research, documents, and ideas under one roof. While there’s still debate about AI’s role in academia—and some skepticism about NotebookLM’s reliability for research—Google is pushing forward, refining and expanding its capabilities.

NotebookLM could make Chromebooks even more powerful productivity tools

If Google rolls out this change, NotebookLM will instantly reach a much bigger audience. What’s unclear, though, is whether this update will hit existing Chromebooks or just come preloaded on new ones.

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Assuming NotebookLM gets baked into ChromeOS, users won’t have to bother with navigating to its web page; it’ll be ready to access via a dedicated web app. By making it this easy to access, Google is clearly hoping more people will give it a spin.

Meanwhile, to use NotebookLM like a standalone app on PCs, just open Google Chrome, ensure you’re signed in to the right account, and head to notebooklm.google. Click the install icon near the bookmark button in the address bar, confirm the installation, and NotebookLM will open in its own window. For quicker access, you can pin it to your taskbar or add a desktop shortcut.