Gemini Notebook turned my messy YouTube watch list into a superpowered study guide

24 Sep 2026, 19:00 by Rahul Naskar · Android Police

It isn't one of Google's most downloaded apps on the Play Store, but I use Gemini Notebook almost daily for learning.

While Gemini Notebook's primary goal is to help users research and learn, you can also use it for brainstorming, content organization, and more.

You can also use Gemini Notebook as a personal journal, as many of my colleagues at Android Police do. It can also save you money if you use Gemini Notebook smartly.

However, I've never used it for anything other than learning, because that's where I get the most benefit. Since I started using it, Gemini Notebook has made me twice as productive while learning.

I've noticed this particularly when I pair Gemini Notebook with YouTube. This way, I can learn more than I did previously by watching videos.

Here is how Gemini Notebook helped me learn twice as much from YouTube videos.

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Posts 1
By Parth Shah

How I use Gemini Notebook to process YouTube videos

It's as easy as copying a link

It's been a while since I earned my degree, but I still learn every day. My primary source for learning new topics is through YouTube.

However, since I started using Gemini Notebook, I no longer need to watch educational content on YouTube to learn something.

It's easy to get started. All you do is copy the video URL and add it as the source.

Even when Gemini Notebook didn't exist, I used to watch multiple videos on the same topic from different sources to gain insights into the topic.

I do the same now, but instead of watching them one after the other and taking notes, I copy the links of every YouTube video I want to watch and upload them as sources on Gemini Notebook.

Instead of copying YouTube video links manually by switching tabs each time, I use a Chrome extension called YouTube to Gemini Notebook, which can send a YouTube playlist to Gemini Notebook.

After you add all the YouTube links, Gemini Notebook analyzes the video transcript to provide a summary, answers, and questions. It also highlights key points that you need to pay attention to.

Gemini Notebook answers questions from the source material, not by watching or listening to the video as we do. Instead, it relies on video transcripts to answer your questions.

The responses show numbered citations that link to the exact part of the transcript Gemini Notebook used to support them.

While these are helpful, I use some of Gemini Notebook's best tools to learn twice as fast, and they're free for limited use.

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Posts 14
By Parth Shah

How Gemini Notebook features double my learning output

Charts, graphs, and infographics for visual learners

Gemini Notebook not only answers questions from the YouTube video transcripts, but it can also provide them in specific formats.

For example, while learning about behavioral economics, I asked Gemini Notebook to highlight the core differences between Exponential Discounting and Hyperbolic Discounting in a table.

It can also give you answers in bullet and numbered list formats.

However, if you want to get a comparison, the table format works best, which is something you would otherwise have to do manually by watching or reading the entire video transcript.

However, learning isn't always fun this way, and it can sometimes take more time to gain insights into a topic.

Instead of learning through asking questions, I use features like Infographics and Slide Decks, which visually break down everything I need to know.

I use infographics when I need a visual summary of the topic for quick consumption, while Slide Decks is best for detailed presentations. It feels like someone has created a nice PowerPoint presentation to help you quickly digest the topic.

For something more complex, I use the Audio or Video Overviews feature.

I can choose their length, select the language I want to consume them in, and tell Gemini Notebook's AI hosts to focus on a specific topic, usually the one I find difficult to understand.

After generating the Audio and Video Overviews, I can listen to or watch them when I want.

Mind Maps is another handy Gemini Notebook feature I use, especially when I want to know the relationships between two complex topics. You can also download them as a PDF.

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Posts 1
By Faith Leroux

I don't watch YouTube the same way anymore

I love storytelling through the visual medium, but that's when I watch movies or TV series, or anything for entertainment. Many educational channels on YouTube try to do this, but that's not the right approach.

YouTubers may feel compelled to do it because of how the algorithm works, but it wastes viewers' time by covering things outside the core topic.

Gemini Notebook cuts the unnecessary noise and filters out the core part of the video. It also allows users to learn more about a topic the video only touched on.

Gemini Notebook is my smart assistant that can quickly decode long hours of complex YouTube videos, where key information is scattered throughout the video, and break it down into a smaller, digestible format.

I don't watch YouTube the same old way because I get so much more incentive when Gemini Notebook ''watches'' them for me.