YouTube to NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook

First, the name

On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. Google calls it the same standalone product, and its address moved: notebooklm.google.com now redirects to notebook.google.com, and Google says the redirects keep existing shared notebooks and links working. Most people still search for the old name, so this page uses both. In Claras, the menu item is called Gemini Notebook.

What Gemini Notebook does with YouTube on its own

You may not need Claras for this. Google's help page on sources says a notebook takes "YouTube URLs of public videos". Only public videos with captions work, either uploaded by the creator or generated automatically, and only the text transcript is imported. Videos uploaded in the last 72 hours may not import, and videos without speech aren't supported. If a video is later deleted or made private, Google removes that source from your notebook within 30 days. We checked these rules on November 12, 2026.

So for a public, captioned YouTube video, pasting its link into Add sources is the quickest route. We would rather you knew that.

Where Claras fills the gaps

• No captions. Claras transcribes the audio of a YouTube video without captions, up to 30 minutes on the free plan and 3 hours on paid plans.
• Not on YouTube. The Claras web app takes Instagram and TikTok links. For a recording on your computer, Gemini Notebook can import audio files itself, MP4 included, and transcribes them on import, so try that first. Claras also takes your own files, up to 6 hours each within your plan's monthly transcription hours, if you want text with a time on every line.
• A whole playlist. Google's sources page doesn't mention playlists. Claras' Bulk Summaries reads a playlist or a YouTube search, and its Send to AI copies every transcript at once.
• Your own copy. A pasted source is text you added, not a link to the video. Google's 30-day rule is written for YouTube sources.
• Times on every line. Each line of a Claras transcript starts with its time, like [41:07], so the notebook's citations point to text that tells you where to look in the video.

What happens when you click

Choose Gemini Notebook from the Send to AI menu. Claras copies the text and opens Google's notebook address in a new tab, in the same click. Instead of the usual paste message, its green screen shows the steps for a notebook: "Open Gemini Notebook, add a source, choose Copied text, then paste". Google's help calls this source type copy and pasted text, and lets you add or edit the title when you create it. Give it the video's name, so you can tell sources apart later.

The text starts with a short note saying this is the full transcript of the video, with its title and link. That note becomes part of the source, which is handy: the notebook then knows where the text came from. You can delete it before inserting if you prefer.

A worked example: a course in one notebook

Say you're following a 20-video course on YouTube and some lessons have no captions. Run Bulk Summaries on the course playlist in Claras. Open the Transcripts tab, click Send to AI and choose Gemini Notebook. Every transcript is copied together, each with its title, channel and link above it, and the green screen names what you copied, such as "20 transcripts".

Paste it as one source, or open the videos one by one in Claras and add each as its own source if you want citations to name each lesson. Then ask the notebook to build a study guide or a glossary across the whole course. Google says each source can hold up to 500,000 words, and free accounts get up to 50 sources per notebook.

Claras extension or the web app?

If you searched for a YouTube to NotebookLM Chrome extension: the Claras extension has the same Send to AI menu, in its Transcript tab next to Download and Create, with Gemini Notebook in it. It works on YouTube videos. The web app adds the Summary tab, Instagram, TikTok and file uploads. Neither adds the source for you. You always do the paste.

Limits to know

Copy and paste, not a connection

Claras doesn't sign you in to Google, create notebooks or add sources. The notebook and its limits are Google's.

Your clipboard holds the text

Copy something else before pasting and the transcript is gone. Click Send to AI again.

Claras' own limits

YouTube Shorts and live streams don't open. Each video you open counts toward your plan, and the free plan includes 3 a month. Sending doesn't count.

Questions about NotebookLM and Claras