NotebookLM, an AI for Allied Health tool – keep everything in one place.

If you are anything like me, you have folders full of articles, bookmarked webpages, and powerpoint slides you swear you’ll go back to. Maybe you’re researching the best interventions for DLD, or telepractice for voice intervention. This is where NotebookLM, AI for allied health tool, helps organise, summarise, and interact with all those sources in one tidy spot.

In NotebookLM you can upload up to 50 sources into one “notebook”. And the sources can be almost anything!

• Journal articles

• YouTube clips (transcribed automatically)

• Voice notes (in MP3 format)

• PowerPoint slides

• Word docs

• Websites (I love this because I have way more websites to remember than can be sensibly stored in Bookmarks!!)

  
  

Each notebook acts like a container for a specific topic - the Marie Condo for work!

How It Works

Upload your chosen sources and then you use AI to interact only with those sources not the whole internet. In NotebookLM you know the information is credible because you choose it. Below you can see my sources on the left. I handpick sources and research articles. In the middle panel is a summary of all these chosen sources and here I can chat with my chosen sources (not the whole internet). For instance, I can ask things like, “What are the key components of this intervention?” or “What other sources should I consider adding?”. It is like having your own research assistant who knows your personalised content!!

The right side column has more powerful features. I used to think podcasts made by AI were a gimmick, until I asked NotebookLM to turn four research articles into a podcast. In under five minutes, it had created a short podcast that I played while making dinner. But wait there’s more…. it is an interactive podcast - so you can join in and ask more specific questions like, “What is the evidence for the most effective training for families?” It felt like personalised PD in my kitchen. I am creating podcasts more than expected!

Other features in the right column are great too. Timelines are helpful for scaffolding writing or planning presentations. Study guides an absolute gift for students - imagine putting all your lectures and readings in one notebook. Have a QI project? Put all your PDFs, research articles and Word documents in one notebook. Gold!

I love the simplicity of the interface:

Left: sources

Middle: AI chat

Right: productivity tools

This means no more flipping between windows or digging through your downloads folder. It keeps everything together — so you can focus on the thinking and researching, not the sorting.

In May 2025, Google released the NotebookLM app. How does that change the use of NotebookLM? It means you can listen to audio overviews offline when you are in the car or on a walk. See it in action here:

NotebookLM App

Pricing

I use the free version which includes:

• 100 Notebooks

• 50 sources per Notebook (up to 500,000 words per source - that’s a lot of words)

• 50 daily chats

• 3 daily overviews

  
  

This is plenty for me! Google owns NotebookLM and it is impressive that such a powerful tool is free.

The paid version is $20US a month and would only be needed for those who are using it all day. The paid version includes 500 notebooks, 300 sources per notebook, 500 daily chats, 20 daily audio overviews and the ability to share notebooks.

Privacy Note

NotebookLM is designed for managing documents of all sizes. I don’t use NotebookLM for any case management or personalised information.

---

AI for Allied Health Practical Takeaways

Pick a clinical topic you have a few articles and websites about you have been meaning to read (e.g. intervention for discourse in aphasia, or vocabulary intervention in the classroom). Gather five to ten good sources, upload them to a new notebook, and ask it to generate a study guide. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can get your head around the big picture — and how good it feels to have it all in one place.

Bonus Tip

Use the app to create a podcast. Download and listen to it offline while you are driving - personalised professional development that fits in with your day.

Until next time,

Megan

from

Speech Pathology Leaning and Supervision Hub - SPLASH

If this saved you even 5 minutes, forward it to a fellow speech pathologist who’d love to make working life easier:

SPLASH Newsletter Subscription