I’m not a PKM power user. I use apps like Obsidian and AFFiNE the same way most people do - just to keep track of my ideas and research, and to organize my projects and tasks. My setups aren’t complex, perhaps a little messy, but I’m not the type to spend hours fine-tuning workflows. I just like tools that are easy to navigate and help me stay organized.

And what’s easier to navigate than NotebookLM? It has become an integral part of my workflows this year; I can’t imagine going without it anymore. Two of its best features are the simple interface, and that it’s a multi-tool. I’ve set it up as my primary note-taker before, used it as a design instructor, to learn new software, and paired it with other apps to boost their functionality.

I have a lot of project manager and PKM-type apps on my computer, but not every single one of them can be my go-to tool for notes and knowledge management; it's just too much to keep track of. So I wanted to tap into NotebookLM’s diverse capabilities and see if it could handle my management needs on its own. Here’s how it’s been going…

Why turn NotebookLM into a PKM tool?

It can handle almost anything

I wanted to cut back on all the PKM apps I’ve been hoarding and have something reliable and functional to turn to. And I couldn’t think of a better tool than NotebookLM to do this. NotebookLM has a simple interface, is easy to navigate, and has proven itself to be a multi-tool. Although not marketed as a PKM tool, it absolutely does function as a knowledge manager when I think of all the ways I’ve been using it.

Of course, there’s also the AI aspect to it. It’s context-aware and lets you turn it into whatever kind of assistant you need at the moment - a researcher, an explainer, a writing partner, even a project manager. Unlike traditional PKM apps, you don’t have to search through folders and tags to find what you need. NotebookLM can summarize, cross-reference, and retrieve information instantly - all with relevant context. This level of flexibility makes it more than just a notes and research repository, but an active collaborator - a second brain if you will.

Setting up and using NotebookLM as a PKM tool

There’s not much to it

Setting up NotebookLM as a PKM tool isn’t that different from using it as you normally would - it’s all in how you customize and use your notebooks. The only challenge is in trying to replicate some of the functionality you get from PKM apps. First up is linking; you don’t get backlinks or graph views like in Obsidian, but you can still build connections between ideas by using the link embed function in Notes. So after NotebookLM gives me a response and I’ve taken some notes, I’ll actually insert the links to the sources it cited. There’s also the Mind Map feature, which kind of replaces graph views in terms of showing links between your sources.

Then there’s tagging and categorization. NotebookLM automatically organizes your sources alphabetically, but to get a custom order, I add numbers in front of them, from 01-50. Inside the text and document sources themselves, I also type out some tags at the top so NotebookLM knows exactly what I’m referring to in my prompts, for example, “design notes Oct 2025”. I’m using Notes for this, too - I’ll copy over NotebookLM’s responses, add my own thoughts, and then just add some keywords in the top title panel.

And lastly, searching and filtering. Nothing complicated about it, I just rely on the chat panel and ask NotebookLM to surface whatever I need. This is where my organization comes in handy because now I can reference those little custom “tags” in my sources, with the added benefit of the AI’s context.

Where NotebookLM falls short as a PKM tool

It’s versatile, but not built like PKM apps

The biggest issue in NotebookLM right now is the lack of chat history. It clears your entire chat whenever you exit a notebook - you can see how this would be a problem for knowledge management. Reportedly, there’s an update on the way to fix this issue so users will be able to access their chat history. Until the update reaches me, I’m just relying on the “Save to Note” function to keep NotebookLM’s answers in my notebook permanently.

Another downside of using NotebookLM as a PKM tool is that it doesn’t have table features. I love creating tables to get a more visual overview of my projects and to manage them with database tools. You can request table views in your prompts, and can then save the tables to a Google Doc, but you never really know what exactly you will get with an AI. So I’m definitely missing that customization. And lastly, you can’t embed images. This isn’t the biggest deal to me as I don’t normally store images in PKM apps that often, but it would be nice if NotebookLM could either read images or at least let you attach images to your notes.

NotebookLM has diverse capabilities, but it doesn't fully replace my PKM tools

As I was writing this article, I actually realized how much I’ve been using NotebookLM as a PKM tool for a long time now without even trying. I’ve been relying on it to organize my notes and connect ideas without really thinking of it as a system; it just naturally became one. It’s not a full PKM replacement, as it lacks many core functions such as databases, but it’s much more capable than most AI tools. If you’re looking for a dead-simple and streamlined way to manage your notes and resources, you could pull it off with just NotebookLM.