NotebookLM Novice tutorial

Novice · step 1 of 7

The 5-part prompt formula

Role, context, task, format, constraints.

Role: you're helping a small-business owner.
Context: [paste facts].
Task: [one clear job].
Format: [table / 5 bullets / 120 words].
Constraints: say "unknown" instead of guessing; cite sources.

A good result follows the format and length you set. Missing parts in the prompt show up as generic parts in the answer.

Why this step matters: The same model gives much better answers to a specific prompt. This is the cheapest improvement you can make.

Novice · step 2 of 7

Organize your work

Make one notebook per project or course, and name sources clearly so citations are easy to follow.

Why this step matters: Grouping chats and files keeps context together, so you stop re-explaining and re-uploading.

Novice · step 3 of 7

Files and research

Add PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, web pages, YouTube links and pasted text. Every answer cites the passage it used, so click two citations per answer.

Why this step matters: Grounding answers in your own files or live sources cuts made-up details and makes them checkable.

Novice · step 4 of 7

Limits you'll hit

Free: 50 chats a day, 3 Audio Overviews a day, 50 sources per notebook. Compute-based limits refresh every 5 hours with a weekly cap (since Sep 2, 2026).

• Start a new session when a thread gets long; paste a short summary.
• Don't re-run big jobs you could have checked on a small sample first.

Why this step matters: Knowing when limits reset and what drains them stops you getting cut off mid-task.

Novice · step 5 of 7

Two-source rule

For anything you'll act on, confirm with two independent sources, one of them official.

1. Ask for the source of any fact you'll reuse.
2. Open the link and find the exact sentence (Ctrl+F).
3. If you can't find it, treat the claim as unverified.
4. For files, check two page or row references yourself.

Before you answer: separate what you checked from what you're assuming. Write "unknown" instead of guessing. Give a link for every number.

Why this step matters: Chatbots state wrong facts in the same confident tone as right ones. Checking is the only way to tell them apart.

Novice · step 6 of 7

Bad vs good prompts

Bad: help me

Good: Using only my sources, list every deadline and dollar amount, each with a citation. If something is not in the sources, say "not in sources".

Why: a clear situation, task, format and limits.

Bad: is this right?

Good: Check this against the official page. Quote the sentence that supports it, or say it isn't there.

Why: asks for evidence instead of agreement.

Why this step matters: The same model gives much better answers to a specific prompt. This is the cheapest improvement you can make.

Novice · step 7 of 7

Three starter workflows

Why this step matters: Small steps with a checked output each fail visibly and early, instead of one big answer that is wrong somewhere.