Google's AI-powered research assistant, NotebookLM, is one of the few tools that truly gets AI right. I've been using it since before most people even knew about it, and it's completely transformed my workflow. Though I haven't stopped testing new AI tools since discovering NotebookLM, none of them have fit into my workflow quite like it does.

But a major mistake I made for months was using NotebookLM in isolation. It took me way too long to realize that leveraging NotebookLM's strengths by pairing it with other productivity tools takes its potential to the next level. So, I decided to pair it with my note-taking app, Apple Notes. To my surprise, the combination completely changed how I take and work with notes.

PSA: NotebookLM doesn’t replace Apple Notes for me

It’s a post-processing tool, not a note-taking one

As much as I love NotebookLM, there's one thing I'll simply never agree with: the idea that NotebookLM is a "note-taking" tool. Ironically, even when you search for "best note-taking apps" on Google, the "Applications / note taking" section lists NotebookLM as one of the entries, and I feel like that's entirely wrong.

NotebookLM isn't a note-taking app, and it’s not designed to be one or to replace your current note-taking apps. Instead, it's meant to enhance how you use your current note-taking apps. So, that's exactly what I did. I integrated NotebookLM into my note-taking setup by pairing it with Apple Notes. This meant I continued taking notes as usual in Apple Notes.

Though I primarily take handwritten notes on my iPad using my Apple Pencil on apps like Goodnotes, Notedrafts, and, of course, Apple Notes, out of all of them, NotebookLM works best with typed notes. Thankfully, I only take handwritten notes for my math-heavy courses and prefer typing out my notes for the rest of my courses in Apple Notes.

This means most of my reading-heavy subjects, where NotebookLM can actually help me out, are already typed and ready to go, making it the perfect setup.

I use NotebookLM to revisit and make sense of Apple Notes

NotebookLM helps me actually understand what I wrote

NotebookLM's strength lies in helping you engage better with information you already have on hand. It isn’t designed to help you find new sources or learn something you’re completely unfamiliar with. Instead, it’s meant to help you better understand what you already have.

When I'm in class taking notes in the Notes app, it's a race against time. Most of the time, I'm trying to jot everything down before the professor moves on, all while still trying to actually understand what's being said. Though Apple Notes’ recording feature has come in handy and saves me the headache of rushing to write down everything my professor says, sometimes the information just doesn’t stick. This is exactly where NotebookLM comes in handy. What I essentially do is export the Apple Note I’d like to understand further as a PDF and upload it as a source for a new NotebookLM notebook. Now, I can ask NotebookLM any questions I have about the notes I jotted down, and it'll give me answers directly, referencing the actual notes I uploaded.

The best part is that you don’t need to be an expert in the content for it to understand you. You can use completely natural language, and it’ll leverage its AI capabilities to break things down, explain confusing terms, and even highlight patterns or connections you may have missed. There are times when I open my notes after weeks and suddenly don't recall a single concept I studied. Though re-reading my notes all over again is an option, a more time-friendly alternative would be to convert them into an audio summary and listen to it while I take a walk or do some chores around the house. NotebookLM lets me do exactly that – convert my notes into engaging Audio Overviews! And when I have any doubts about the concepts the hosts are discussing in the podcast (which I surely will), I can switch to the Interactive Mode, which is in beta right now, and directly ask the AI hosts my questions!

What’s great about NotebookLM is that you're not limited to adding only a single source in a notebook. In the free version, you can add up to 50 sources per notebook (and 300 in the paid tier). So, I typically have one "master" notebook for each course, where I add notes I take each class. This way, I have my entire semester's content in a single notebook, which makes revising for exams really simple. When things get too jumbled up, I like to generate a quick Mind Map to see how different concepts interconnect, and essentially view all the content I’m trying to absorb in a visual format.

NotebookLM helps fills in the gaps in my notes

I don’t need to re-read every single slide anymore

Taking notes in class is simply not enough. There’s always something I might’ve missed during the lecture, and I almost always need to revisit the slides or assigned readings afterward. Before I started using NotebookLM, I’d manually go through my never-ending lecture slides and try to spot what I might’ve missed or misunderstood. Though this did help, it often took a lot more time than I had. NotebookLM makes this effortless, and it actually manages to surface a lot more than I’d have ever spotted, thanks to its AI capabilities.

Instead of skimming through dozens of slides trying to connect the dots, I can just upload the file, ask NotebookLM specific questions, or even get a high-level overview of the key themes. The biggest problem with most AI tools is that they hallucinate and end up pulling information from the internet or making things up entirely. But NotebookLM is different. It only pulls information from the sources you upload, which means the answers it gives are always grounded in your actual lecture slides, notes, or readings.

I can also ask NotebookLM to format the output in a way that fits into my existing Apple Note so I can copy it over seamlessly without disrupting my original structure. Whether I want a clean bullet list, a summary of everything I missed, or even flashcards, NotebookLM adapts to whatever format I need.

Together, NotebookLM and Apple Notes make note-taking effortless

Apple Notes is far from the only productivity tool I’ve paired with NotebookLM. I’ve also used it alongside Perplexity, Excel, and a bunch of other similar tools. The reason why this combination in particular works so well is because it’s a two-way street. I can use NotebookLM to make sense of my Apple Notes, and I can use my Apple Notes to capture what I learn from NotebookLM.