Google Turns Your Personal Library Into an AI Advisor with New “Expert Intelligence” Feature
Google is fundamentally changing how readers interact with their digital libraries. The company has officially rolled out a transformative new feature for its AI-powered note-taking application, Gemini Notebook, allowing users to import books purchased via Google Play Books directly into their workspaces.
This new “Expert Intelligence” integration marks a significant shift in how AI can synthesize complex information. By pulling directly from a user’s private collection, Gemini Notebook can now serve as a specialized consultant, capable of answering nuanced questions, generating detailed plans, creating infographics, and even producing AI-generated podcasts based on the specific content of those titles.
A “Dream Team” of Advisors
During a recent briefing, Steven Johnson, the editorial director at Google Labs, demonstrated the tool’s versatility. In one scenario, he used the insights from Michael Pollan’s Food Rules to automatically generate a curated recipe book. In another, he leveraged the leadership principles found in Kim Scott’s Radical Candor to draft a strategy for navigating a difficult conversation with an employee.
Beyond answering prompts, the feature allows users to view the full, original text of the book within the notebook interface, ensuring that the AI’s conclusions can be easily verified against the source material.
“I’m really interested in the idea of building a collection of people whose work you really value, and kind of creating your own dream team of advisors that are just available to you wherever you go,” Johnson explained.
Massive Launch and Author Partnerships
At launch, the feature supports more than 100,000 titles from major publishers, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, O’Reilly Media, and Johns Hopkins University Press. To demonstrate the platform’s potential, Google has collaborated with 15 prominent authors—including Pollan, Scott, Steven Pinker, and Jennifer Wallace—to create “Featured Notebooks.” These curated collections include custom source materials and introductory letters from the authors themselves.
Users can identify compatible titles in the Google Play Books store by looking for the “Gemini Notebook” badge under the “Tools” section.
Addressing Copyright and Accessibility
Google has implemented robust safeguards to respect intellectual property and purchasing rights. When a user shares a notebook containing content from a purchased book, recipients who do not own the title will see it listed as a source but will be unable to access the full text or AI-generated insights derived from it. Instead, they are directed to the Google Play store to purchase the book themselves.
“We want to be able to create a space where users can bring whatever knowledge, whatever expertise they think is going to be most relevant and do it in a way that creates new revenue possibilities for authors and publishers as well,” Johnson noted.
The Future of AI Research
The integration is currently in its early stages, but Google’s ambitions for Expert Intelligence are far-reaching. The company intends to eventually bring these capabilities to AI Mode in Search and the standalone Gemini app. Furthermore, Google plans to broaden the scope of supported materials to include scholarly journals, magazines, and newspaper archives, positioning Gemini Notebook as a comprehensive research hub for academics, professionals, and lifelong learners.
