How to record audio in Gemini Notebook on Android and iOS

To record audio in Gemini Notebook on Android or iOS, tap the mic button at the bottom of the mobile app, allow microphone access, record, and tap Stop. The app transcribes the recording and adds it to your notebook as a new audio source. Google's Gemini Notebook help pages describe the steps for both platforms, and the app was known as NotebookLM until recently. Our report on the rename from NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook has the background.

9to5Google reported on October 27 that the built-in recorder is now rolling out widely in the mobile apps. Google's help pages already describe it, so this guide follows them.

What you need first

• The Gemini Notebook mobile app on an Android phone or tablet, or an iPhone or iPad.
• Microphone access for the app. If the app asks, you allow it the first time you record.
• Up to one hour of audio per recording. The help pages say you can transcribe a voice recording up to 1 hour long.

How to record audio in a new notebook

1. Open the Gemini Notebook mobile app.
2. At the bottom of the screen, tap the mic icon.
3. If the app asks for microphone access, tap Allow.
4. Speak or record the lecture, meeting or conversation. To pause or resume, tap Pause. To throw away the current recording, tap Delete.
5. When you are done, tap Stop.

The recording becomes the first source in a new notebook.

How to add a recording to an existing notebook

1. Open the notebook you want to add to.
2. Go to Sources.
3. At the bottom, tap the mic icon.
4. Allow microphone access if asked, then record, pause or delete as above.
5. Tap Stop when you are done.

The recording is added to that notebook as a new audio source, next to the PDFs, websites, YouTube links and pasted text already there.

What happens to your recording

Gemini Notebook keeps the text, not the sound. Google's help page says it "only stores transcripts as sources, not your original voice recording." If you need the audio itself, record it with another app as well.

The transcript is a normal source. As with other sources, you can then ask questions about it in the notebook.

Recording in the background

Recording continues when the app is in the background or the phone is locked, unless you have paused or stopped it. That means you can keep the phone in a pocket during a lecture. Check that the recording is still running before you rely on it.

Ask permission before you record

Google's help page asks you to respect other people's privacy and to ask permission before you record them. Laws on recording conversations differ by place, so a lecture hall, a meeting or a phone call can each have different rules.

Common problems

• No mic icon. 9to5Google says the recorder is rolling out, so it may not have reached your device yet. Update the app from Google Play or the App Store and reopen it.
• No sound recorded. Check that the app has microphone permission in your phone's settings. Google's help pages also say audio with no speech is not supported as a source.
• Recording longer than an hour. The documented limit is 1 hour per recording. Stop and start a second recording for a longer session. Google's help pages do not say what happens past the limit, so do not count on the app to split it for you.
• You want to upload a file instead. The help pages list a separate option for importing an audio file from your device. It is transcribed on import and saved as a source in the same way.

What the help pages do not say

Google's pages do not say which languages the transcription supports for recordings, and they give no rollout schedule by country or account type. Check the help pages for updates before you plan around either.

Where to go next

Once the recording is a source, you can use it like any other in the notebook. Google's Audio Overview help page explains how to generate a spoken summary from your sources.