Behind the product: NotebookLM | Raiza Martin (Senior Product Manager, AI @ Google Labs)

Raiza Martin is a senior product manager for AI at Google Labs, where she leads the team behind NotebookLM, an AI-powered research tool that includes a delightful podcast-on-demand feature called “Audio Overviews.” NotebookLM started as a 20% project and has grown into a product that’s spreading across social media and has a Discord server with over 60,000 users. Raiza previously worked on AI Test Kitchen and has a background in startups, payments, and ads. In our conversation, we discuss:• The origin story of NotebookLM• The future road map for NotebookLM• How Google Labs operates differently from the rest of Google• The development of the “Audio Overviews” feature• Key metrics and growth of NotebookLM• Stories about collaborating with author Steven Johnson• Navigating potential misuse of AI technology—Brought to you by:• Explo — Embed customer-facing analytics in your product• Sprig⁠⁠ — Build products for people, not data points• Sidebar — Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers—Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/googles-notebooklm-raiza-martin—Where to find Raiza Martin:• X: https://x.com/raiza_abubakar• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsaraiza/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to NotebookLM(05:43) The genesis of NotebookLM(08:08) Innovative features and use cases(18:52) Building a startup culture within Google(24:28) Expanding user demographics(27:30) The product roadmap(32:18) Other use cases(36:11) Collaborating with Steven Johnson(42:49) Ensuring ethical AI(46:06) Future directions and user engagement—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe