Google expands NotebookLM with content from The Economist and The Atlantic

Google has expanded NotebookLM to include featured notebooks from major publishers including The Economist and The Atlantic, along with content from scientists, nonprofits, and authors covering topics from Shakespeare to parenting advice. The collaboration arrives amid deep divisions in the publishing industry over AI partnerships, with some publishers choosing licensing deals while others pursue litigation against AI companies.

What you should know: The new featured notebooks offer curated content from established publishers and experts across multiple domains.

• The Economist’s notebook features articles from “The World Ahead 2025,” their annual special issue examining key trends and events shaping the year.
• The Atlantic contributes content based on Arthur C. Brooks’ “How to Build A Life” columns, providing expert advice on wellbeing.
• Additional notebooks include science-backed parenting advice from psychology professor Jacqueline Nesi’s Substack newsletter, a geological guide to Yellowstone National Park, and the complete works of William Shakespeare.

How it works: Users can explore these notebooks through NotebookLM’s full suite of AI-powered research tools.

• The platform generates AI-powered audio overviews and Mind Maps that create illustrated diagrams connecting themes and ideas from the source material.
• Users can ask questions directly to NotebookLM’s integrated AI assistant and receive natural-language responses with citations to original sources.
• Google introduced a notebook-sharing feature last month that has already been used more than 140,000 times.

The big picture: This expansion highlights the growing divide in how publishers are approaching AI partnerships.

• Major publishers like News Corp, Axel Springer, and the Financial Times have signed content-licensing deals with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
• Meanwhile, other prominent publishers have chosen litigation, with The New York Times suing OpenAI and Microsoft, and ZDNET’s parent company Ziff Davis also pursuing legal action against OpenAI.
• The collaboration represents publishers’ efforts to experiment with AI while maintaining control over their content distribution.

What they’re saying: Publishing leaders see this as an opportunity to explore AI’s potential while maintaining editorial standards.

• “This public notebook will feature our forward-looking journalism, examining what we view to be the most important trends and events shaping this year,” said Luke Bradley-Jones, president of The Economist.
• “This is one of many ways The Economist is experimenting with AI. We look forward to learning from this collaboration.”
• Google emphasized that users “can read the original source material, but you can also pose questions or explore specific topics in depth, and get answers grounded in the original material, with citations.”