Audio Overviews Now Speak Your Language With Several New Options
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Google has dramatically expanded the linguistic capabilities of its AI research tool NotebookLM, adding support for more than 50 languages to its innovative Audio Overviews feature. Previously limited to English, the tool can now process and synthesize research in dozens of languages, including Filipino, Arabic, German, Italian, Japanese, Swahili, and more. The update also introduces an intuitive Output Language selector, allowing users to switch between languages on the fly or create multilingual content by mixing sources across different languages. This significant enhancement transforms NotebookLM into a truly global research companion that adapts to users’ linguistic preferences rather than forcing them to adapt to the tool.
Google‘s NotebookLM tool officially rolled out last year, but language support was a little lacking following the initial rollout. If you’re not familiar with NotebookLM, it’s an AI-powered notebook tool on the web that is designed primarily for helping you research. It can also act as a writing assistant, and it’s fueled by sources you upload directly to it, kind of like you would physically write down notes in a real notebook. The nice thing about NotebookLM is that it uses AI to help you in a number of ways that writing down your notes can’t. Only, it’s much more useful when the language support includes your language.
NotebookLM Audio Overviews now support more than 50 languages
When the Audio Overviews were first made available, they only supported the English language. This obviously made it impossible for people who don’t speak English to use the feature. While also making it less convenient for people whose first language isn’t English. Google is now rectifying that with the inclusion of more than 50 new languages for it. There’s a long list of every supported language on the official NotebookLM help page, but some of the newly supported languages include Filipino, Arabic, German, Italian, Japanese, Swahili, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
To use Audio Overviews in your native language, or at least the language of your choice from those supported, you need to have your default language set in the NotebookLM tool. More specifically, the Audio Overviews work off the language set for your account. So if it’s set to English, it’ll still play the overviews in English.
You can change the language of the audio and chat responses at any time
Even if you set a default language for Audio Overviews, it’s possible to change the language at any time. Rather easily, we might add. As part of today’s update, Google added another new feature NotebookLM. An option to change the output language from the settings with a new ‘Output Language’ option.
Google says this allows users to create multilingual content by mixing and matching resources in different languages. So, basically, part of your research can be in English, part of it in Spanish, and yet another part in Chinese. The Output Language option is located in the settings. So you just have to click the little gear icon to bring that up. Then, select “output language.” Google says it’ll be working to improve NotebookLM further. What’s more, it’ll be taking user feedback and using that to refine the tool. Audio Overviews will also be coming to Google Docs in the near future.
