If you’re a small business owner, chances are your days are full and your head is even fuller.

Articles you’ve saved “for later.” Reports you need to read. Ideas for content, new offers, or systems you want to improve… all sitting in tabs, documents, and email threads you never quite get to.

At Melbourne Innovation Centre, we’re always looking for practical ways to use AI to work smarter, not harder. One of our favourite tools right now is Google NotebookLM and MIC team member Jamie has been putting it to work in a very clever way:

👉 She uploads research and notes into NotebookLM
👉 Turns them into AI-generated “podcast-style” summaries
👉 Listens to them on her commute

So instead of feeling guilty about unread PDFs, she’s literally turning them into a private audio briefing.

Here’s how you can do the same.

What is Google NotebookLM?

Google NotebookLM is an AI-powered “research assistant” that works with your own documents.

You feed it things like:

• PDFs
• Google Docs
• Web links
• Notes you’ve written

…and then you can:

• Ask questions about that material
• Get summaries and action points
• Generate outlines, ideas, scripts and more
• Turn the content into a personalised “conversation” or briefing

Think of it as ChatGPT, but trained on just the information you choose.

Why it’s great for busy business owners

Used well, NotebookLM can help you:

• Turn reading into listening - perfect for commutes, walks, or doing the dishes
• Digest dense information faster - reports, research, industry updates
• Create content from your notes - blogs, email drafts, social posts, workshop ideas
• Keep everything in one place - instead of scattered across tabs and folders

And the best part? You don’t need to be “good with tech” to use it. Here’s a simple way to get started.

Step-by-Step: How to Use NotebookLM Like Jamie

Step 1: Sign in and create a new notebook

1. Open Google NotebookLM in your browser.
2. Sign in with your Google account.
3. Click “New notebook”.
4. Give it a clear name, like “Email Marketing Research” or “AI for Small Business Notes”.

This notebook will become your “container” for all the related content.

Step 2: Add your sources (docs, PDFs, links)

Inside your new notebook, click “Add source” and:

• Upload PDFs (reports, ebooks, guides)
• Connect Google Docs (strategy docs, meeting notes, workshop slides)
• Paste URLs to articles or resources you want to learn from
• Add your own notes - copied from emails, Asana, etc.

NotebookLM will scan this material and build an AI “model” based only on what you’ve added.

Tip: Keep each notebook themed (e.g. “Sales Training”, “HR & People”, “Marketing Ideas”) so the AI gives focused answers.

Step 3: Ask NotebookLM to summarise your material

Now the fun part.

Use the chat box to ask things like:

• “Give me a plain-language summary of the key ideas from these documents.”
• “What are the top 5 takeaways a small business owner should know from this?”
• “Turn this into a bullet-point briefing I can review in 5 minutes.”
• “What actions should I take in my business based on this information?”

NotebookLM will generate summaries and insights based purely on your uploaded sources.

You can refine it further:

• “Make this more concise.”
• “Explain this like I’m new to this topic.”
• “Highlight anything that relates specifically to service-based businesses.”

Step 4: Turn your notes into a “podcast-style” script

This is where Jamie’s commute hack comes in.

Once you have a good summary, ask:

• “Turn this into a script for a 5–10 minute audio briefing.”
• “Write this as if you’re narrating a podcast episode, speaking directly to a small business owner.”
• “Add section headings and short transitions so it flows well when read aloud.”

You’ll now have a conversational, structured script that summarises all your research.

Step 5: Listen on the go

NotebookLM doesn’t (yet) act as a full podcast app, but you can easily turn that script into audio:

Option A: Use built-in read-aloud (if available in your browser or device)

• Highlight the text
• Use your device’s “Speak” / text-to-speech accessibility feature
• Pop in your headphones and listen

Option B: Use a text-to-speech tool

• Copy the script
• Paste it into a text-to-speech app (there are many free options)
• Export as an audio file
• Listen on your phone during your commute or walk

Either way, you’ve just turned an overwhelming pile of reading into something you can absorb while doing something else.

Simple ways a small business owner could use NotebookLM

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, try using NotebookLM to:

• Summarise workshop notes or conference slides into clear next steps
• Turn policy or compliance docs into plain-English explanations for your team
• Transform customer research (surveys, testimonials) into marketing insight
• Combine old blogs, emails and social posts into new content ideas

If you’re already using tools like Google Docs or PDFs in your business, NotebookLM simply helps you get more value out of them.

Final Thoughts

At MIC, we’re always testing tools like NotebookLM so we can share realistic, founder-friendly ways to use AI - not just hype.

Jamie’s commute hack is a great example:

Take something you already have to do (keep up with information),
and make it easier by changing the format (reading → listening).

If you’re a busy business owner juggling learning, operations and growth, NotebookLM might just become your quiet little superpower.