Most coaches are more familiar with Albanian basketweaving than they are with NotebookLM.
Fascinating though Albanian basketweaving is, this is urprising when you consider it’s the most powerful free AI tool available, not called ChatGPT-5
It launched in July 2023 to crickets and a little bit of tumbleweed, but then started to create a lot of buzz when Google added Audio Overviews towards the end of 2024.
That one feature lets you turn boring documents into lifelike podcast-type conversations that initially fooled avid podcast listeners…..like me.
But many people soon got bored with the podcast element and, thinking it was a one-trick pony, moved on.
But NotebookLM is far more than a mildly interesting party trick; it’s an important tool that literally every fucking coach should be using.
At its heart, NotebookLM lets you upload massive documents into a “notebook” and then interrogate them like Torquemada after a day of drinking.
It’s source grounded, which means it only uses what you feed it.
So it doesn’t pull ideas out of its arse, and more importantly, there is no hallucinating because it is only working from what you give it.
You can add up to 50 sources (PDFs, text files, links, etc) per notebook (or 300 if you upgrade to Plus).
Each notebook and individual files have a limit of half a million words, which in real terms, means you could upload the complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Cicero and Voltaire, and it still wouldn’t break a sweat.
This is where it destroys general chat tools for specific jobs.
You don’t have to keep re-uploading the same stuff; instead, you can keep building upon previous uploads within that library.
So leyt’s take a look at 7 reasons all coaches should be using NotebookLM.
Important note: When you work with client material, always get consent to record, store, and analyse. I have yet to have a client decline, and I doubt you will have when you explain the benefots to them and the fact that it’s secure and won’t end up on the internet.
1. Keep a searchable record of every client call
Record coaching sessions (with permission) and upload the transcripts.
You can then query the entire history of a client’s calls in seconds.
No more frantically flipping through old notes, wondering what the hell you talked about three months ago.
I’ve got notebooks for long-term clients that go back into late 2024, and as time progresses, they will become increasingly valuable.
The other day, a client suggested we try a particular marketing approach, and I was reasonably sure I’d mentioned it before.
A quick search through his notebook, and there it was. I’d suggested it in January 2025, then again twice in April.
This isn’t about being smug (although I confess to a little bit of smugness creeping in) or proving you’re right.
Sometimes you can say, “Actually, we discussed this back in January – here’s what stopped you from implementing it then. Do you feel better equipped now?”
Other times, you can hold your hands up and say, “You know what, that’s brilliant – I should have thought of that months ago. Let’s fucking do it.”
Either way, you know where you stand instead of second-guessing yourself or accidentally repeating the same advice while your client sits there wondering if you’ve lost your mind.
You may have. But you don’t want them to know.
2. Land more podcast appearances
Until very recently, if I wanted to apply for a podcast, this was my process.
I’d not do what most people do and submit a one-sheet (like a media guide with information about you, your areas of expertise, and other interesting info).
In fact, I don’t even have a fucking one-sheet, and I’ve never had one.
Instead, I’d listen to 2 or 3 episodes when I was walking my dogs to get a feel for the show.
I’d then try to figure out how (and indeed if) I could be of value to their listeners.
After I’d done that, and presuming I believed I could add value, I’d email the host.
I’d explain why I could help and/or inform their subscribers, often mentioning parts in specific episodes to show I’d done my research.
My success rate with this approach was over 90%.
But, because it was so time-consuming, I didn’t apply for as many podcasts as I’d ideally like.
Hello NotebookLM, you sexy beast!
Almost all good podcasts now have a YouTube channel, and NotebookLM allows you to drop a bunch of links in and then ask it to fetch the transcripts.
Once it has done that, you can start asking NotebookLM questions, such as what topics were discussed and what questions seemed to be loved by the host. Were there any questions that weren’t answered or were glossed over, etc?
3. Do customer research without a single interview
Scrape posts and comments from Facebook groups, Reddit communities like The Fully Booked Coach, and LinkedIn discussions and drop them into a txt doc (NotebookLM doesn’t accept Word docs, but txt and PDFs are fine).
Then, when you have a bunch, start a new notebook and ask which problems are most common, what words people use, and what solutions they’ve tried.
Talking to prospective clients directly is still the gold standard, but this is a strong backup option if that isn’t possible.
4. Create content in half the time
You can drop in videos, talks, or articles you liked or found helpful and let NotebookLM summarise the main points.
You get instant outlines you can adapt into blogs, newsletters, or social posts without losing your voice.
This works brilliantly with YouTube because it can analyse the video just by sharing the URL with it.
5. Remember more from every book you read
Upload the PDF, then pull quotes, statistics, and big ideas on demand.
Instead of forgetting 90% of what you read (which is what most people do, I think I’m closer to 95%!), you have a searchable library to dip into for coaching, content, and presentations.
Also, you can hit the audio overview option so you can listen on the go.
Note: The PDFs for most books can be found relatively easily, but please don’t go stealing books you haven’t paid for.
6. Put your old training back to work
Those PDFs, slide decks and course materials you paid thousands for don’t need to sit gathering virtual dust.
Store them in notebooks so you can instantly find the frameworks, exercises, and examples you paid to learn.
7. Turn any document into a video presentation
This is where things get really interesting.
NotebookLM launched Video Overviews in July 2025.
This allows you, with just a mouse click, to turn your documents into visual presentations with slides and narration.
I tried this yesterday (8th August), and uploaded my PDF about building an email list.
15 minutes later, I had this.
It’s hardly cutting-edge video.
In fact, it’s a bit shit, but holy fuck, for software that is this new, this easy, and this free, it’s mind-blowing.
I’ll give it a year, maybe two, before any coach who bothers to learn this stuff can produce brilliant videos.
And there’s much more. No, seriously, there is.
When marketers say, and much more, it usually means they’ve run out of fucking ideas of what else their product or service can do.
But seriously, in this case, there is a fucking shit ton more that Notebook can do.
Here’s a list of things that it can do that I haven’t even mentioned yet.
- Help with competitor analysis by asking it to compare multiple websites
- Create mind maps of the documents you have uploaded
- Develop study guides of notebooks
- Create FAQs (this could be super useful for developing sales pages)
- Reverse engineer content that is ranking above you in Google
And I know I will have missed things, and they will develop more uses.
But seriously, it is fucking amazing and hardly any coaches are using it.
It’s their loss, don’t make it yours.
