Google is expanding the capabilities of its popular tool, NotebookLM, and announces support for more than 50 new languages — including Hebrew — a move that will allow users to produce podcasts and audio content in Hebrew and other languages.
The discussed feature, Audio Overviews, allows converting information sources such as documents, articles, and reports into audio summaries in podcast style. According to Google’s announcement, this upgrade aims to make the learning and reading experience interactive and personalized.
Good news for teachers and students
Until now, the service was available only in English, but now, thanks to an update to the Gemini AI model, additional languages have been added, including Hebrew. As of now, the service is not perfect in the holy tongue: one may still encounter occasional translation errors or mispronunciations. Nevertheless, it is a significant leap forward in voice-based AI.
Among the improvements now introduced to the service is the ability to set the output language in the settings, so users can easily switch between languages and produce customized content.
For example, a teacher wishing to prepare a lesson about the legal system in Israel can combine various sources in different languages, such as a documentary about famous trials in Israel, an academic article in English about judicial activism, statistical reports — and provide students with an interesting and concise podcast in Hebrew that will focus them on the most important facts.
Not just for learning
On the Medium website, it is noted that the audio overview is one of the most interesting features of NotebookLM. Imagine you need to study a cumbersome academic article, a presentation from a challenging college course, or even just a complex topic you want to become more knowledgeable about but don’t have the time or patience to read long articles.
Instead of actively sitting down for this task, you can turn it into an audio overview and listen to it while commuting, exercising, or doing other daily tasks.
The company emphasizes that this is just the first step, and the system will continue to be updated and improved based on user feedback. “We hope that expanding language support will allow people to discover new insights and enjoy easier access to information in their native language,” Google stated.
The service is already available for trial at: notebooklm.google
Barak Ben Hamo is the owner of Barak Media. He is a digital marketing expert, lecturer at colleges, and advisor to companies and organizations in Israel.