Google has expanded access to Audio Overviews in NotebookLM to make the feature available in more than 50 languages, including Swahili.
NotebookLM is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered research tool that Google users feed with documents, slides, charts, web pages and other bulky material and get it summarised into podcast-style conversations that they can download and listen to on the go.
Now, users can set an “Output Language” in NotebookLM settings at the top-right corner of the homepage, switching between languages for both audio and text responses.
This means one can upload English documents or web pages, but choose to hear the overview in Swahili.
Citizen Digital ran a 170-word news article through NotebookLM, and it produced a five-minute-57-second podcast, featuring two ‘hosts’ speaking fluent Swahili.
It, however, takes a bit longer to generate a Swahili Audio Overview than it does English.
Google says the new update seeks to help more Africans engage with information in the way that suits them best, as people increasingly turn to AI tools to support how they study, teach, and learn.
The latest additions are enhanced by Google’s April rollout of Gemini 2.5 Flash in NotebookLM, and the company says the feature is now “faster, smarter, and more natural-sounding,” even allowing users to ask follow-up questions to the podcast hosts for deeper understanding.
“Whether it’s a student revising notes in Swahili or a teacher preparing summaries in Afrikaans, we’re excited to help more people access and understand information in a way that truly works for them,” said Nanjala Misiko, Head of B2C Marketing at Google Africa.
How to use NotebookLM’s ‘Audio Overview’:
- Go to NotebookLM (notebooklm.google.com)
- Tap ‘Create new’ notebook
- Add at least one source (documents, web page links or plain text)
- Click ‘Insert’
A text summary of your sources will be generated in the language you chose in the NotebookLM settings at the homepage, from which you select ‘Audio Overview’.
One can also add instructions on what the AI ‘hosts’ should focus on when generating the podcast, such as ‘Explain to someone new to biology’.
By Dennis Musau
