AI-Powered Podcasting: How Google's NotebookLM is Changing the Game

Of course this image is AI generated - what would you expect!

For those of you who know me - know that I love tech and the whole area of AI has been a particular fascination of mine.

I have experimented with many many different platforms out there to see what is the best or what are the particular features of each one - ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Jasper, Genmo, Fireflies, Notion, Perplexity, Invideo - just to name a few! They all have different quirks etc but I find many of them are extremely useful in my day to day work.

However, I came across a new one today that I have found amazing. Google recently launched NotebookLM. At first glance, it seems pretty simple – nothing revolutionary about the interface. You could even say it's pretty basic.

However - there is a feature called "Audio Overview" which I found absolutely incredible. You give it some info, and a few minutes later, it generates an audio conversation between two people based on that info. It’s not just a robot reading text – it genuinely sounds like two people chatting, with changes in tone, pace, and even a bit of overlap as they bounce off each other. It’s honestly fascinating to listen to.

Naturally, I had to test it out, so I uploaded some details about a company I’m pretty passionate about – Reput8ion Dynamics! I linked our website, a few blogs, and a credentials document I’d written up before. That was it – no extra info (and nothing confidential!!)

What came back was a surprisingly polished conversation about the company. Is it perfect... no. Are there some expressions etc in there that I don't like - absolutely. (My personal favourite is "It's like Dunny is taking his years of experience navigating crises and coaching executives and distilling it all into this philosophy of transparent and relatable communication.") Some of it is a bit bland - but there is no doubt that through some management it can create very listenable content.

What is next is the interesting piece. This early model is already creating content that feels natural and engaging. Soon, it’ll be easy to customise the voices – you could even use your own or pretty much anyone else’s. You’ll be able to publish in multiple languages and even add supporting video.

I’m not entirely sure where all this is heading, but I’m convinced that anyone creating content, especially podcasts, should be paying close attention. This tech is evolving fast, and it’s going to open up a lot of opportunities.

It reminds me of a conference I spoke at about 15 years ago. We were talking about the future of content in a world where you could create a massive amount of it quickly. At the time, the consensus was that the key would be the aggregators – the ones you trust to sift through the noise and bring you the best content. Back then, we thought the big media houses would take the lead, but now the opportunity is with companies and brands to create their own content and become those trusted sources themselves. Can that be done with AI? Time will tell but I have absolutely no doubt that AI will be part of the solution.

If you're curious, I highly recommend giving NotebookLM a spin. Here’s the audio it created about Reput8ion Dynamics if you fancy a listen. Who knows – it might spark some ideas for your next podcast!