【✨Gemini Breaking News】Notebook menu added to free plan! (April 2026)

Today, when I opened my Gemini, I was surprised to see the word "Notebook" in the menu.
I had heard it was introduced in the paid plan, but it seems it has finally started rolling out to the free plan as well.

It has been implemented on my work free account, but not yet on my personal free account. There seems to be a time lag depending on the account, so if you don't have it yet, please wait a little longer.
Now, I would like to share a quick report on a few things I've tried. For those who haven't had it implemented yet, I'll provide plenty of images.

1️⃣ Gemini: "Notebook" menu

Gemini is now directly connected to NotebookLM on the same account.
You can add NotebookLM sources directly on Gemini. Of course, you can also check what sources are registered.
This means you don't have to go out of your way to open tabs or windows to operate NotebookLM.

2️⃣ Gemini: "NotebookLM" button

There is also a button in the top right of the chat screen to open NotebookLM in a separate window.
This means you don't have to go out of your way to find the relevant NotebookLM in a separate window.

3️⃣ Number of NotebookLM sources that can actually be handled in Gemini

I checked how many sources can be handled in the free plan using a NotebookLM with 41 sources registered. This is data as of today.

Notebook menu -> 10 sources

Select NotebookLM from the + button in the chat -> 15 sources

Unfortunately,
・Even if you can register sources,
・Even if you can see 41 source names on the screen,
it seems you cannot utilize all sources on Gemini. It's truly a shame...

4️⃣ Gemini: Chat display screen

Chats about NotebookLM display the thread name below the chat input screen. In the image below, "Creating a slide structure based on materials" is the thread name.
It's a display format similar to Gem threads.

5️⃣ NotebookLM: Gemini chat thread

Finally, I will report on what kind of impact this has on the NotebookLM side.
The chat about NotebookLM that I had on Gemini is registered as a source. I didn't register it; it was registered automatically.

What do you think?
It's an exciting feature, but for now, I haven't thought of how to utilize it lol
I will continue to introduce good ideas as I get used to using it.

#StartedWithAI