Same product, new name, one real new feature. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on 16 July 2026: “It’s the same standalone product, now doing more across the Google ecosystem and updated with a secure cloud computer.” The old address still works — notebooklm.google.com redirects to notebook.google.com.Google, NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook, 16 Jul 2026, read at source 16 Sep 2026. First-hand: this site followed the redirect on 16 Sep 2026.
A rename with one addition that matters: your notebook can now run code. The rest of Google’s 2026 reshuffle is on every Google AI tool in 2026.
- Renamed 16 July 2026. Google calls it “the same standalone product”.
- The old link still resolves — it redirects to the new address.
- New: code runs inside a notebook, for deeper data analysis.
- It syncs with the Gemini app, both ways.
- Notebooks are coming to AI Mode in Search, per Google, with no date given.
What actually changed?
The name, and a computer. Google’s phrase for the addition is “a secure cloud computer”, and what it does is run your code where your sources are: “You can now run code directly within your notebooks for deeper data analysis.”
That is a real change of kind. A research tool that only summarises is limited by what it can read; one that can execute can also count, chart and check. It is also the feature most likely to need a paid plan — Google says code execution is “available today for Google AI Ultra users and Workspace business customers” and “will roll out to all Pro users on the web over the coming weeks”, in a post dated 16 July 2026.
If you used NotebookLM to summarise sources, nothing you know is out of date except the name. If you wanted it to do arithmetic on them, that is the new part.
Does it still work the same way?
Google is explicit that it “remains a standalone product focused on being your premier research tool”, while also living inside the Gemini app: “You can already access and create notebooks directly within the Gemini app, with full cross-app syncing between the Gemini app and the standalone Gemini Notebook experience.”
Why rename it at all?
Google does not give a reason in the post, so neither will this page. What can be said is the pattern: this is the same year Vertex AI became Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and Gemini CLI became Antigravity CLI. The brand is being consolidated under one word, and the dates are on the rename tracker.
What arrived in September 2026
Notebooks in the Gemini app reached schools and organisations. Google’s Workspace post of 17 September 2026 says “students of all ages, educators, and professionals can access notebooks”, and sets a limit: “You can add up to 10 sources to your notebook.” That limit is for notebooks inside the Gemini app; the post gives none for Gemini Notebook itself.Google Workspace Updates, Notebooks in Gemini: a dedicated workspace for focused, organized work, now for schools and organizations, 17 Sep 2026, read in a browser 22 Sep 2026.
A second post, on 18 September 2026, added three things to the Gemini Notebook mobile app and to learning:Google Workspace Updates, new back-to-school features and learning tools in Gemini Notebook, 18 Sep 2026, read in a browser 22 Sep 2026.
- An audio recorder in the mobile app, “to capture lectures or record thoughts on the go”.
- Real-time conversation with notebooks on mobile, for “Users 18 years or older”.Google Workspace Updates, 18 Sep 2026, as above.
- Short Video Overviews, which Google calls “bite-sized ~60-second videos”.Google Workspace Updates, 18 Sep 2026, as above.
What this page could not verify
- Whether the Pro rollout has finished. The post says “over the coming weeks”; it was written two months ago.
- When notebooks reach AI Mode in Search. Google says “soon”, with no date.
- What the free tier includes now. Not stated in the post read here.
Google, NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook, 16 July 2026, read at source 16 September 2026. The redirect was checked from this machine the same day.