Lesson Overview

This lesson introduces you to the powerful Customize option in Google NotebookLM’s audio overview feature. Rather than settling for a generic summary, you’ll discover how to direct the AI to create podcasts that fit exactly what you need—whether you’re preparing content for a specific audience, summarizing only the most important insights, or focusing on a particular application such as online education or business. Customization opens the ability to control both what information is included and how it’s presented, making the output more suitable for sharing with colleagues or external audiences.

You’ll also see how follow-up prompts can keep the discussion going after the initial podcast, allowing you to dig deeper into points of interest or clarify complex topics. The lesson provides a range of prompt examples to inspire your own use cases. This content is especially helpful for anyone who wants more than just a default summary—ideal for making meeting recaps, educational content, or focused business briefings that actually fit your goals.

By learning these techniques, you’ll move beyond passive summaries and toward creating active, targeted audio content that’s valuable and purposeful.

Who This Is For

Customizing audio overviews and using follow-up prompts is useful if you’re:

• An educator needing topic-relevant and age-appropriate learning podcasts
• A marketer creating industry- or audience-focused discussions for campaigns
• A team lead or manager sharing tailored briefings within your group
• An entrepreneur or small business owner seeking practical advice from complex topics
• A student or self-learner wanting concise takeaways and actionable summaries
• Anyone who wants control over what and how AI summarizes or presents content

Where This Fits in a Workflow

You’ll likely use customization and follow-up prompts in the planning or content creation stage—right after NotebookLM has pulled together your materials but before you share or distribute the podcast. For example, if you’re preparing an industry report, you can customize the audio summary to spotlight only business opportunities for entrepreneurs, or filter the discussion for educators on the implications for online learning. Follow-up prompts can help clarify details or draw out additional insights before you finalize or present the content.

Using these features means your audio overviews are always relevant, on-message, and more immediately useful—whether you’re collaborating with a team or developing standalone learning materials.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

Customizing audio overviews saves time versus rewriting or editing a summary after recording. Instead of listening to a one-size-fits-all podcast and picking out what matters, you instruct NotebookLM beforehand—resulting in output that’s ready for immediate use. For instance, you can go straight from a complex research dump to a clean, 10-minute summary for a client. This targeted approach is more efficient than the old way of listening, noting, and editing by hand.

Selective source control and focused prompts mean you don’t get overwhelmed with irrelevant commentary. When audio content is customized for each use case and audience—like creating separate versions for general audiences, entrepreneurs, or students—you increase both clarity and impact. Follow-up prompts further boost the value, letting you dig in deeper without starting over or losing your place.

Practice Exercise

Try creating your own customized audio overview in NotebookLM using these steps:

1. Gather a set of documents and media in a new NotebookLM project (for example: articles, transcripts, or videos on AI in education).
2. Click the “Customize” button when generating your audio overview.
   - Enter a prompt like: “Summarize the three main practical uses of AI for online teachers.”
   - Alternatively, copy one of the example prompts provided in this lesson.
3. Listen to your generated podcast. Then, use Interactive Mode to ask a follow-up question, such as: “What key challenges might educators face when implementing these tools?”

How did the customized output differ from a default summary? Was it more useful for your intended audience or purpose?

Course Context Recap

This lesson builds on earlier coverage about generating and organizing audio overviews in NotebookLM. Now that you can customize and deepen those outputs, you’re ready to create shares and briefings that really fit the people you’re working with or the decisions you need to make. Up next, you’ll look at advanced AI tools and strategies for boosting research and creative workflows inside and alongside NotebookLM. Keep going to get the most value from your AI-powered productivity tools.