Google: NotebookLM loses key employees, gets "call-in"
Google's search tool is facing a turning point: important team members are leaving NotebookLM. However, a function announced in May has now been implemented.
NotebookLM has recently been available as a Plus version. Now there are further changes – both good and bad.
(Image: Screenshot Google)
What's next for NotebookLM? After the research tool with podcast function, which had caused a lot of hype in the meantime, was expanded in mid-December to include a Plus service for intensive users and business customers, there are now major changes in the team of the service, which was created as part of Google's Lab department. They concern important personnel.
Team of three found their own start-up
Three well-known NotebookLM employees are leaving Google in the coming year, or have already done so – including project manager Raiza Martin. Together with software expert Stephen Hughes and interaction designer Jason Spielman, who both previously worked with her at Google, she is founding "something new", as all three people announced on LinkedIn. Martin and the other departures were employed at Google for a comparatively long period of time – Martin five and a half years, Spielman seven and a half and Hughes more than eight.
Videos by heise
"Jason is one of my best employees and I have worked with him on various teams for more than four years now. (...) Stephen is exactly the kind of person I hoped to meet at Google: brilliant, thoughtful, creative – and a true 10x engineer," says Martin. She did not reveal what exactly she is up to now – only that they are in the early stages of rebuilding. Given the ongoing AI boom in Silicon Valley, it should not have been difficult for ex-Googlers to raise a decent amount of venture capital. A placeholder website from Martin & Co. already exists. It is called Werebuilding.ai ("We build AI"), but contains no further information apart from a field to sign up for a newsletter. Steven Berlin Johnson, well-known non-fiction author and one of the initiators of NotebookLM, still seems to be working at Google, at least he continues to diligently post songs of praise for NotebookLM on X. Google Labs boss Josh Woodward in turn emphasized that they still have "so many ideas for NotebookLM next year". They are looking forward to "helping you understand and communicate everything in 2025".
No desire for commercialization?
It is unclear why Martin and her colleagues are leaving NotebookLM now of all times. They may have been interested in building it, but no longer wanted to participate in the commercialization that Google has now initiated. Because NotebookLM ran as a Labs project, the employees not only had a small, fast-moving team, but also a lot of freedom reminiscent of that of a start-up. Apparently, Martin, Spielman and Hughes now want to implement this "for real". Whether their new company is going in a similar direction or planning an entirely new AI application is unclear.
"I would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of NotebookLM – especially our early users who have shaped the product with their feedback. Working with you was the highlight of my time at Google," said Martin in her farewell letter. There is "still a lot to do" at NotebookLM. She is confident that "this team and this product" will continue to "inspire millions of people" in the future.
NotebookLM implements long-awaited function
Things had actually recently become exciting again for NotebookLM. The podcast function "Audio Overviews", which has received a lot of praise since the fall and creates realistic-sounding audio broadcasts with two hosts in English from simple or even complex documents, has been expanded to include a long-awaited feature. As announced at Google I/O in May 2024, it will now be possible to "jump in" to existing conversations and ask the AI moderators questions in the form of a "call-in", which they will then respond to. However, this function is still in beta and will not be offered to all users.
Finally, Google has also revised the look of NotebookLM – interestingly, with a design that (also) comes from Abgang Spielman. The interface can now be customized to look like a desktop to improve the workflow. Technically, the team calls the idea "Studio". According to Martin, it is "the final piece of what we dreamed up almost two years ago". "It's a powerful interface that takes all the inputs that are important to users" to create a powerful AI-powered editor.
(emw)
