Google’s AI note-taking app, Gemini Notebook, can now draw on the contents of books users have purchased, according to a briefing with The Verge. The new feature, called Expert Intelligence, lets people bring titles from Google Play Books directly into the app and then ask questions about the material. It can also generate plans, infographics, and AI podcasts based on the book’s content, and users can view the full text of a book within Notebook.
The feature was demonstrated using Michael Pollan’s Food Rules to create a recipe book and Kim Scott’s management book Radical Candor to answer a question about a difficult conversation with an employee. More than 100,000 books from publishers including Penguin Random House, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan Publishers, and O’Reilly Media will support Expert Intelligence at launch. Google also collaborated with 15 authors, including Pollan, Scott, Steven Pinker, and Jennifer Wallace, to create “Featured Notebooks” that each writer customizes with additional source material and introductory letters. Titles that support the feature will display a “Gemini Notebook” badge under the “Tools” section in Google Play Books.
Google built safeguards into Gemini Notebook to prevent users from accessing material from books they have not purchased. If a user shares a Notebook that includes a purchased book, someone without the title will see it listed as a source but will not be able to view the full text or related information. Clicking that source will redirect the user to Google Play Books, where they can buy the book.
Steven Johnson, editorial director at Google Labs, told The Verge that he is interested in the idea of letting people build a collection of authors whose work they value, creating a kind of personal team of advisors available wherever they go. He also said the goal is to create a space where users can bring relevant knowledge and expertise while also creating new revenue possibilities for authors and publishers. The feature is intended to give users access to material they already own, without opening up content to those who have not paid for it.
Google plans to bring Expert Intelligence to AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, both of which already can pull information from Gemini Notebook. Johnson also said the company intends to expand the feature to support scholarly articles, magazine articles, and newspapers in the future. The Verge reported that the rollout starts with the book titles listed above, with more content types planned.
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