Welcome, AI Explorers

📨 Read this first - Tools Special

This issue is a Tools Special. We go A → Z on one tool so a first-time reader can use it today.
Our pick: NotebookLM - turn your own files into clear answers, summaries, and quick explainers.

Read time: 4 minutes

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🧩 Pairs nicely with today’s tool - 3-minute how-to videos

When your NotebookLM brief is ready, some teammates will still ask for a show me version. A quick add-on is Guidde: record your screen once, and it turns the clicks into a step by step visual guide with voiceover, blur, and a share link.

Tiny example:

• You tidy a scattered project folder using NotebookLM and export a one-pager.

• Open Guidde, record 60 seconds of you filing assets and naming a doc.

• Guidde auto-writes the steps with captions and a voiceover.

• Drop that link next to your NotebookLM summary so anyone can watch and follow.

(NotebookLM explains the what and why; Guidde shows the how in under 3 minutes.)

Create How-to Videos in Seconds with AI

Stop wasting time on repetitive explanations. Guidde’s AI creates stunning video guides in seconds—11x faster.

• Turn boring docs into visual masterpieces

• Save hours with AI-powered automation

• Share or embed your guide anywhere

How it works: Click capture on the browser extension, and Guidde auto-generates step-by-step video guides with visuals, voiceover, and a call to action.

Best part? It’s 100% free.

👉 Download the extension now

 🚀 Quick Take: What it is & why it matters

• Ask questions about your files. Get answers with source links you can click and verify.

• Works with Docs, Slides, PDFs, web links, YouTube, and audio you upload.

• Turn sources into briefs, FAQs, timelines, quizzes, flashcards, and audio or video overviews.

• Free plan has generous limits; upgrade if you hit caps.

Who it’s for: Students, creators, freelancers, founders, parents planning events, anyone who works from files.
Who it’s not for: Times when you want live web answers added automatically. NotebookLM focuses on your sources. You can add web pages as sources first.

Start now in 3 steps

1. Create a notebook at notebooklm.google and add sources.

2. Ask a plain question, save helpful replies as notes.

3. Make an overview (brief, quiz, audio or video) and share.

 🧭 What makes it different

• Always shows its work. Answers include citations back to your files.

• Explainers you can hear or watch. Audio and video turn heavy reading into a quick teach back.

• One click outputs. Build quizzes and flashcards for fast revision.

• Simple sharing. Send a public link so others can view and interact.

• Clear privacy line. Google says personal data from NotebookLM is not used to train it.

When to pick it: Use NotebookLM when you want the answer to come from your material. If you need fresh facts from the web, add those pages as sources first or use a web-first tool.

💳 Setup, pricing, privacy & integrations

Onboarding (about 2 minutes)

• Sign in with a Google account, create a notebook, click Add sources, then Ask.

Pricing & limits (Free plan)

• Typical free limits include many notebooks, dozens of sources per notebook, large files, and daily caps for questions and overviews. You can upgrade if you outgrow it.
   (Exact limits can change. The app shows your current caps inside Settings.)

Privacy in plain words

• Your personal data in NotebookLM is not used to train it.

• You choose what to share. Use public link only when you want others to view.

Integrations you will use

• Add from Google Drive (Docs, Slides), PDFs, web pages, YouTube, audio, and common office files.

• Re-sync a Drive file after edits so answers stay fresh.

Copy to Google Docs to style and comment with your team.

 🧰 Features & how it works (with beginner workflows)

Feature → Outcome

Workflow A — The 10 minute study pack

1. Add a chapter PDF, class slides, and one helpful article.

2. Ask: “Give me 5 key ideas with short quotes from the sources.”

3. Create a quiz and flashcards from those ideas.

4. Make an Audio or Video Overview to revise on the go.

Workflow B — The client one pager

1. Drop in last quarter’s deck, the plan Doc, and 2 competitor pages.

2. Ask: “Write a one page brief for the client with goals, risks, next steps. Add source links.”

3. Save the best reply as a note so it stays.

4. Share a public link with your team for a quick check.

🧪 Real life use cases + 2 mini case studies + prompts & pro tips

Five quick uses

1. Study helper: Make a glossary and quiz in minutes.

2. Project brief: Turn a messy folder into a clean one pager.

3. Meeting recap: Get decisions and action items from notes.

4. Onboarding FAQ: Convert policies into a friendly Q and A.

5. Policy explainer: Turn a long PDF into a five minute audio summary.

Case study 1 — Student exam week, one day left

Situation: Priya has a 40 page chapter, slide deck, and a past exam.
Move: She uploads all three, asks for 7 core ideas with citations, clicks Create quiz, then makes a Video Overview for last minute revision.
Outcome: A tidy study pack with a practice quiz and a watchable summary before bed. Time spent learning, not stitching materials together.

Case study 2 — Freelancer weekly update in 30 minutes

Situation: Omar must send a client update. He has a proposal Doc, a client deck, and a meeting audio.
Move: He adds all three, asks for progress, blockers, next steps in 8 bullets with source links, saves the best answer as a note, then generates a two minute Audio Overview.
Outcome: A crisp 8 bullet email and a short audio the client can listen to on the move. Both grounded in the client’s own files.

Starter prompts

Pro tips

• Ask specific questions to get sharp answers.

• Save to note to keep a reply you like.

• Re-sync a Drive file after edits.

• Use public link for quick sharing.

Hitting caps often? Upgrade for higher limits.

⚠️ Tips, limits, and alternatives

Pitfalls to avoid

• Chat panel resets. Save good replies as notes so you do not lose them.

• Short quote, long citation. If it cites the whole doc, ask with more context.

• Edits not showing. Click re-sync on the source.

When not to use it
If you need fresh web answers without adding sources first, use a web-first tool or add those pages before you ask.

Alternatives

• Perplexity — choose it for web answers and fast research pages.

• Notion Q and A — choose it if your team lives in Notion.

• Obsidian with local plugins — choose it if you want a local notes setup.

 👋 Closing note

I am planning a short follow up with audience examples next week. Which one would you try first with NotebookLM—study helper, client one pager, or something else? Hit reply and tell me your use case, and I will pick a few to build live.

Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring!

Srini

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