NotebookLM

What is NotebookLM?

NotebookLM is Google's AI research and writing assistant. You create a notebook, add the sources you are working from, and ask questions that are answered from those sources. It can also turn a notebook into an Audio Overview you can listen to. On July 16, 2026 Google renamed it Gemini Notebook. It is the same standalone product, and links to notebooklm.google.com now redirect to notebook.google.com, so nothing you made is lost in the move.

As of October 2026 Gemini Notebook is available to anyone with a Google account at no charge, and higher limits come with Google AI plans. The US Gemini plans page lists Google AI Plus at $4.99 per month, Google AI Pro at $19.99 per month and Google AI Ultra from $99.99 per month, with a $199.99 tier for the highest usage. Google's help center sets out what each tier allows: the free Standard tier covers 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats a day and 3 Audio Overviews a day. Plus raises that to 200 notebooks and 100 sources per notebook, and Pro to 500 notebooks, 300 sources per notebook, 500 chats and 20 Audio Overviews a day. Prices differ by country, so check the plans page for your own region.

So is there a NotebookLM app for Mac? As of October 2026, no. The official app on the App Store, now listed as Gemini Notebook by Google, names iPhone and iPad as its compatible devices, and Mac is not among them. Google does ship a separate Gemini desktop app for Mac, which runs on Apple silicon MacBooks with macOS Sequoia 15.0 or later and opens with Option+Space. That is the Gemini chat app, and Google's announcement describes notebooks syncing between the Gemini app and Gemini Notebook. Gemini Notebook itself, with its sources, chat and notes side by side, opens in a browser on a Mac. Kagemusha takes that web version and builds it into its own .app with its own Dock icon, on macOS 12 or later and on both Intel and Apple silicon.

Why Use NotebookLM as a Desktop App on Mac with Kagemusha?

NotebookLM is a tool for long sessions. You add sources, read, ask questions, write notes, and come back the next day to the same notebook. In a browser it shares a window with everything else, and it is easy to lose among Google Docs, Drive and Gmail tabs that all carry similar looking Google icons. Once the tab strip fills up, finding the notebook again means scanning windows instead of pressing a key.

• One click from the Dock: no browser launch and no bookmark hunt. The icon is the NotebookLM icon, so it stands apart from your other Google tabs
• Its own place in Cmd+Tab: move between the PDF you are reading, your editor and your notebook with a single keystroke
• An isolated profile per app: the Google account signed in to the app is kept apart from your main browser, so whichever account Chrome happens to be using does not decide which notebooks you see
• Two Google accounts, two apps: keep a Workspace notebook for work and a personal notebook signed in side by side, without switching accounts
• Chrome extensions work: install a password manager, a translator or a reference capture tool from the Chrome Web Store directly inside the app
• The tab bar can disappear: hide the address bar and tab strip and the window shows nothing but your sources, chat and notes

Two smaller settings matter more than they sound. A quit confirmation dialog can be switched on so Cmd+Q does not close the app in the middle of reading, and tab restore brings back the page you had open when you quit. For a tool you return to across days, picking up where you left off counts for more than launch speed.

You pick the underlying engine when you create the app: Chrome, Chrome Canary, Chromium, Brave, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi or Opera. Kagemusha references the browser already installed on your Mac, so when that browser updates, your NotebookLM app updates with it. The requirement is macOS 12 or later, on Intel or Apple silicon.

Recommended Usage

If you study or research with it every day. Students reading papers and people preparing reports open the same notebooks for weeks. A Dock icon and a slot in Cmd+Tab make NotebookLM part of the working environment rather than one more tab, and it stays open after you close every browser window at the end of the day.

If you have a Workspace account and a personal one. Notebooks belong to the Google account that created them, and a single browser tends to open whichever account is signed in first. Build two Kagemusha apps, name them clearly, and both stay signed in. Logging out of one has no effect on the other.

If you use NotebookLM alongside other AI tools. Kagemusha's Space mode puts several services in one window with a sidebar to switch between them. NotebookLM for work grounded in your sources, plus Gemini, Claude or ChatGPT for open questions, fits in a single Space. Each service keeps its own view, so switching does not lose your place.

If a notebook always comes with the same documents. Quick Setup opens several URLs as tabs when the app launches. NotebookLM plus the Google Drive folder or Google Docs file you are working from becomes one icon that restores the whole set. Turn the tab bar on when you use this, otherwise the extra tabs load with no way to reach them.

If you want an AI agent to help with the notebook. AI agents such as Claude Code, Codex, agy and Grok can operate Kagemusha apps while they stay signed in, and only the apps you allow are reachable. You can allow the NotebookLM app on its own and keep everything else closed to the agent.

How to Set Up

Kagemusha ships with presets for more than 300 services and NotebookLM is one of them, so there is no URL or icon to prepare. The preset is still found under the name NotebookLM.

• Open Kagemusha and click "Create App"
• Type "NotebookLM" in the preset search and select it
• Choose a browser engine. Chrome is the safe default
• Toggle the options you want: notifications, extensions, tab bar, incognito
• Click "Create". The .app is generated in a few seconds

The first launch shows the Google account sign-in screen inside the app window. Two-step verification behaves exactly as it does in a browser: the prompt or code entry screen appears in the window, and you approve it on your phone or type the code the same way. You sign in once and the session is stored in that app's own profile.

If you plan to create several apps for the same Google account, such as NotebookLM, Gmail and Google Drive, the template profile feature lets you sign in once and copy that signed-in state into new apps instead of repeating the process. Every option except the browser engine can be changed later from the app list.

The free tier creates up to three apps with no feature restrictions. Going beyond three requires Pro, a one-time purchase of $24.99, with no subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is there an official NotebookLM app for Mac?

As of October 2026, no. Google's app on the App Store, now listed as Gemini Notebook, names iPhone and iPad (iOS 17 or later) as its compatible devices, and Mac is not among them. On a Mac you use the web version, and Kagemusha can turn that web version into a standalone app with its own Dock icon.

Q. Where can I download NotebookLM for Mac?

Google does not offer a Mac download for NotebookLM itself. You can open notebook.google.com in a browser, or download Kagemusha from kagemusha.app and create a NotebookLM app from the built-in preset. Kagemusha is free for up to three apps.

Q. Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook?

Yes. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026. It is the same standalone product, and existing notebooklm.google.com links redirect automatically. In Kagemusha the preset is still found by searching for NotebookLM.

Q. How do NotebookLM pricing and Kagemusha pricing relate?

They are separate. Gemini Notebook is free with a Google account, and higher limits come with Google AI plans. As of October 2026 the US plans page lists Google AI Plus at $4.99 per month, Google AI Pro at $19.99 per month and Google AI Ultra from $99.99 per month. Kagemusha is free for up to three apps and $24.99 once for unlimited apps. Kagemusha does not change or resell your Google plan.

Q. Can I keep a work and a personal Google account separate?

Yes. Each app Kagemusha builds gets its own profile, so a NotebookLM app signed in to your Workspace account and another signed in to your personal account stay signed in independently. Notebooks, cookies and sessions never cross over.

Q. What are the system requirements?

macOS 12 or later, with at least one of Chrome, Chrome Canary, Chromium, Brave, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi or Opera installed. Intel and Apple silicon Macs are both supported.