Google Renames NotebookLM and Lets You Run Instacart and Canva Straight From Search

Google made two practical changes this week that you might actually notice in daily use. First, its research tool NotebookLM is becoming Gemini Notebook. Second, Google Search is starting to connect to other apps, so you can do things from a search box, not just read about them.

Start with the notebook. NotebookLM lets you upload your own documents (PDFs, notes, articles) and then ask questions that get answered only from those files, so it won’t wander off and invent things from the open web. Google says about 30 million people and 600,000 organizations already use it. The renamed Gemini Notebook adds a notable feature: each notebook now gets its own “cloud computer” that can write and run small programs for you, useful if you want it to crunch numbers or reshape data rather than just summarize text. In Google’s own comparisons the new version was preferred over the old one more than 65 percent of the time, rising to 78 percent for deeper web research. That’s Google grading its own homework, so treat it as a direction, not a guarantee. It’s rolling out first to paying Ultra and Workspace customers, with more people added over the coming weeks.

The second change is arguably more useful for everyday life. Google Search is gaining “connected apps.” Starting this week in the US, you can link services like Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music and use them right inside Search’s AI Mode: add ingredients to an Instacart cart, pull up Canva templates, or build a YouTube Music playlist without leaving the page. More partner apps are expected to follow.

Here’s the shift underneath both moves. For twenty years, a search engine’s job was to hand you links and send you elsewhere. Google is turning Search into a place where you get things done. That’s why the same feature that answers “what do I need for carbonara” can also drop those items into a shopping cart. The line between “looking something up” and “doing the task” is disappearing.

What this means for you: If you use Google Search in the US, keep an eye out for the option to connect apps, it can save a few steps on everyday chores like shopping lists and playlists. If you research or study, Gemini Notebook is worth trying because answering only from your own uploaded documents makes it far less likely to make things up than a general chatbot. And a fair caveat: connecting apps means giving Google more access to what you do across services, so it’s worth a moment’s thought about which apps you actually want linked.

Sources

• NotebookLM is becoming Gemini Notebook (Google)
• Connected apps in Search (Google)
• The Decoder coverage