Google recently announced that the paid version of NotebookLM Plus is now available to individual users subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan. This announcement comes less than two months after the enterprise version of NotebookLM Plus was launched on Google Cloud and Google Workspace, highlighting Google's commitment to the needs of individual users.
NotebookLM Plus was first introduced last December as an AI-driven note-taking and research assistant designed to offer users higher usage limits and more advanced features. Compared to the free version, NotebookLM Plus users can access five times more resources daily, allowing the creation of up to 500 notebooks, with each notebook containing a maximum of 300 sources. Additionally, users can perform 500 chat queries and generate audio 20 times per day.
For individual users, the subscription cost for the Google One AI Premium plan is $20 per month, but Google is offering a 50% discount specifically for students in the U.S. aged 18 and older, bringing their monthly fee down to just $9.99. Google’s product lead Kelly Schaefer stated in an interview, “We have always wanted NotebookLM Plus to serve both enterprises and consumers, and we are seeing a very high interest from consumers, especially students.”
NotebookLM was launched as a project in 2023 and gained significant attention last September with its audio summarization feature. This feature allows users to generate podcast-like audio conversations based on uploaded content, attracting imitation from companies like ElevenLabs and Meta. Google continues to update this area to enhance user experience, including support for generating multilingual audio conversations.
Schaefer revealed that Google plans to enhance NotebookLM’s audio summarization feature to support languages other than English. She mentioned, “We are considering how to prioritize languages and ensure that the generated audio feels natural and smooth.”
Although Google has not disclosed the exact number of users for NotebookLM, data from market intelligence firm Similarweb indicates that the AI assistant received 28.18 million visits in the past three months, with nearly 9 million in January alone. Google is also considering launching a mobile app for NotebookLM to provide users with a more convenient experience.
Even though NotebookLM Plus is now open to individual users, Schaefer emphasized that Google will continue to support non-paying users and ensure they also enjoy a high-quality experience. She added, “We place great importance on the experience of free users and want to provide them with excellent service while continuing to offer more features to Plus users.”
