Episode 2
Your First AI Assistant
If you're new to AI and not sure where to start — this is your episode.
In Episode 2 of How to Use AI (and Automation), Tony walks you through Google NotebookLM — a free and beginner-friendly tool that turns your documents into smart summaries and even generates podcast-style audio from them.
You'll see (and hear!) a live demo using a recent article on how Finland is fighting fake news in schools.
Whether you're a coach, small business owner, or curious hobbyist — you'll walk away with practical ideas to save time, share knowledge, and engage clients or learners with less effort.
✅ What You’ll Learn
- What Google NotebookLM is and how to use it
- How to turn documents into interactive summaries and audio
- Business and personal use cases
- A live example using a news article
- How to get started in 5 minutes
📌 Resources & Links
- Try NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com
- Finland Fake News Article (demo source): World Economic Forum
- Video version of this episode: YouTube channel https://youtu.be/z4-n0QYWXo8
- the How to Use AI Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4100772116861082: "
Transcript
# ep2 - using NotebookLM
**Tony Winyard:** [:Just a reminder, every episode is also available in video on my YouTube channel. You'll find the link in the show notes or by visiting tony winyard.com, and if you want to ask questions, share your progress or get support, come join our Facebook group. "How to use AI" It's all linked in the notes. Today we're talking about a completely free and very beginner friendly AI tool.
, and even generate an audio [:Say you upload a client brief, a training document, or even a blog post. Notebook LM turns it into a notebook. You can query like a chat bot, ask things like, what are the main ideas? Or summarize this so a 10-year-old can understand it. But here's the exciting bit. It can also generate an audio discussion between two AI voices, like a podcast about your content.
It's not exactly high drama, but it is highly useful. Ideal for personal learning, client training, or just digesting long material without needing to read. Let's do a quick walkthrough. If you're watching the video version, you'll see this in real time. I'm heading to notebooklm.google.com logging in with my Google account and creating a new note notebook.
[:And here's the part I really want you to see. I hit the audio overview button and it generates a short podcast episode summarizing the article as a natural sounding conversation. Depending on how many sources you upload, takes between 10 seconds and a minute or so to generate the audio. I use this regularly to upload a couple of weekly newsletters, that I then download onto my phone and listen to when I'm at the gym.
It's now finished generating, so let's have a quick listen.
[:**Tony Winyard:** You can upload a recipe collection and ask for substitutions or quick tips. Upload a chapter from a history book and ask it to explain it like a documentary voiceover, or just use it to make a daily listenable briefing outta blogs and articles you find online.
I'm learning how to use new [:Some creative examples I've heard from others include teachers prepping lesson summaries, musicians uploading gig notes or interviews, and turning them into content clips. Event hosts summarizing speaker bios into conversational intro.
The key. You're not just saving time. You're creating new ways for people to understand and connect with information.
And don't forget, this is AI, not gospel. It might miss context, nuance, or tone. So if you are using the summaries or the audio for anything professional or public, give it a once over, use it as a helpful draft, not a finished product.
a piece of content you care [:That's AI as a co-pilot, not a gimmick.
That's it for episode two of How to Use AI Remember this episode, including the live demo, is available in full video form on YouTube. You can find that and more at tonywinyard.com or by checking the show notes and I'd love to hear what you try with NotebookLM. So join us in the "How to Use AI" Facebook group.
Tell us what content you uploaded and what you got back. Until next time, keep it simple and remember. You don't need to be technical to start working with Using NotebookLMai.
