NotebookLM has garnered quite a bit of love since its Google launched the AI app back in 2023. Since then, Google has continued to update its AI-notebook app with new features, eventually even bringing NotebookLM to Android and iOS devices. While this made the app much more accessible, especially when traveling, it was also missing some of the best features that the desktop website offered users, including flash cards and quizzes. One of the most notable missing features, though, was Video Overviews. Thankfully, Google has finally brought this much-adored feature to the mobile version of NotebookLM.
For those who haven’t messed around with NotebookLM, the app is essentially a digital notebook. You add various sources to it — you can even have Google find them for you if you prefer — and then you can ask it specific questions about the sources. It’s really handy for watching long videos and getting bullet points created for them, or just for keeping track of word-heavy documents that you don’t always have time to sift through.
Over time, Google has updated the app, added some really great features like Audio Overviews — which can create realistic podcasts of your sources using AI — and even Video Overviews. However, despite launching Video Overviews in the online version of NotebookLM in 2025, Android and iOS users have had to wait almost a year for the option to make an appearance in the mobile app.
How to use video overviews in NotebookLM’s Android and iOS app
It is worth noting that the update hasn’t hit everyone’s devices just yet, but you should hopefully see the option to generate Video Overviews in the app soon. To get started using Video Overviews in NotebookLM on a smartphone or tablet, all you need to do is launch the app and then tap the Studio option at the bottom. From here, you should be able to select the Video Overview option from the generation list. If you don’t see it just yet, make sure you have the latest update available for your device and then try again.
The release notes listed on the app’s iOS app store page also suggest that some other features should be coming, like the ability to customize what kind of infographics the Video Overview generates. However, we’re not seeing these in all updates of the app just yet. Once enabled, though, you should be able to choose between two different formats — detailed and presenter — which will drastically change how the video comes together. You should also be able to change the output language settings, as well as the length of the slides. Being able to easily generate entire video overviews of your information, and even customize how they are generated right from your phone, is a really nice update to the NotebookLM app.
Why people love NotebookLM
One of the biggest advantages of NotebookLM over traditional AI like Gemini or ChatGPT is the fact that NotebookLM only pulls from the sources you give it. That means you can worry less about AI hallucinations in the data it generates. It typically only pulls from direct sources that you add, though some users have shared on Reddit that it might miss key information or pick up on the wrong information based on the questions you ask it. You should always double-check any work that you do with AI programs.
Google has also received a lot of praise for NotebookLM, especially in regard to its various features like Audio Overviews, the quiz system, and more. Additionally, the overall reception to Video Overviews was positive when it was first released. The best part is that now you don’t have to log into the desktop app just to create video overviews anymore. You can do it right from the comfort of your phone, no matter where you are.
