NotebookLM is now powered by Gemini 3 for better reasoning and multimodal understanding

What you need to know

• NotebookLM is now powered by Gemini 3, replacing the Gemini 2.5 Flash model.
• The switch adds Google's "most intelligent model" to the note-taking and studying tool.
• Google says the change "brings significant improvements to NotebookLM's reasoning and multimodal understanding."

Google is rapidly rolling out features for NotebookLM, the company's AI-powered notebook that doubles as an advanced studying and learning tool. Last week, Gemini gained direct NotebookLM integration that allows users to pull their notebooks and sources into a Gemini conversation. Other recent improvements include Data Tables, which are a quick way to visualize information and export it to Google Sheets. Now, Google is officially confirming that NotebookLM runs on the latest and best Gemini models.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the NotebookLM account revealed that "NotebookLM is officially built on Gemini 3." Google calls Gemini 3 its "most intelligent model," adding that the change "brings significant improvements to NotebookLM's reasoning and multimodal understanding."

The switch to Gemini 3 was a highly-requested feature that came up "3x more than anything else," according to Google. Previously, NotebookLM was based on the Gemini 2.5 Flash mode. To use the latest Gemini 3 Flash and Pro models, NotebookLM users needed to switch to the Gemini app. Gemini 3 now powers the AI features within the NotebookLM app, including the chatbot, making it easier to access straight from user projects.

It's not clear whether NotebookLM is using Gemini 3 Pro or Gemini 3 Flash, the quicker and lightweight AI model just announced last week. Historically, NotebookLM has included the Flash versions of new Gemini models, so Gemini 3 Flash is a safe bet.

If the studying and learning app is indeed powered by Gemini 3 Flash, it would be a major upgrade. This model delivers "frontier intelligence built for speed at a fraction of the cost" and outperforms Gemini 2.5 Pro, according to Google. However, Google says NotebookLM now possesses better multimodal reasoning and understanding, which could point to Gemini 3 Pro working behind the scenes.

Either way, a fast and powerful Gemini 3 model is now powering the AI features in your NotebookLM projects. You can try it now in the app, although there isn't a model picker or badge showing the change, as is typical for NotebookLM. The latest model switch continues a busy month for NotebookLM updates, which also included chat history support on mobile and the web.