TL;DR
- Google is launching Project Tailwind to a small group of users in the US.
- Project Tailwind is an AI-powered app aimed to help with notetaking.
- Google is changing the name of the app to NotebookLM.
One of the more impressive surprises at Google I/O earlier this year was the reveal of a prototype AI-powered notes app called Project Tailwind. Now the organization appears to be ready to let people get some hands-on time with the experimental software.
Google has announced that it is launching Project Tailwind to a small group of users in the US. Along with the launch, the app is getting a brand new name — NotebookLM (LM standing for language model).
As the company explains, NotebookLM is a language model you “ground” in your notes and sources. Grounding refers to the fact that the AI only has access to the information you give it, rather than it having access to the internet like other chatbots. It’s meant to help users get faster critical insights from the notes they take. Google claims that this localization “creates a personalized AI that’s versed in the information relevant to you.”
The current version of the app that’s rolling out today is said to allow you to feed it content from your Google Docs. Once you select which Google Docs to give it, you’ll be able to do three things: get a summary, ask questions, and generate ideas.
When you add a document, the app will automatically create a summary and provide key topics and suggested questions, as you see in the image above. Asking questions will reportedly allow you to dive deeper into your notes. An example Google provides involves a medical student uploading a scientific article about neuroscience. That student could tell NotebookLM to “create a glossary of key terms related to dopamine.”
As for generating ideas, Google gives two examples. “A content creator could upload their ideas for new videos and ask: ‘Generate a script for a short video on this topic.’” The tech giant adds, “Or an entrepreneur raising money could upload their pitch and ask: ‘What questions would potential investors ask?’”
While the app is localized to the Google Docs you upload, the company warns that there’s still a possibility for its AI to “hallucinate.” So fact-checking is still recommended. As it did during its reveal, NotebookLM still appears to be mostly targeted at students and researchers. But if you’re among that group or you just want to give it a try, you can sign up to join the waitlist.
