NotebookLM not working: four causes and what to do

Symptoms

• notebooklm.google.com says the service is unavailable
• The service is closed in a work account and works in a personal one
• The audio overview will not generate

Causes and fixes

1. The age on the Google account is under 18

What to do: NotebookLM is for adults; check the date of birth on the account

2. The account country is one where the service is unavailable

What to do: Check the country in your Google account settings and correct it

3. In the company Workspace the admin has not yet enabled NotebookLM

What to do: Ask the admin to enable the service in the console, under Additional Google services

4. Audio overview for your language or account is temporarily unavailable, or the daily limit is used up

What to do: Wait until the next day or choose another language in the output settings

Common problems and fixes

• NotebookLM source limits: 50 per notebook, 500 thousand words per source, and how to work around them
• NotebookLM will not read a PDF or retells it with errors: scans, tables and protection

About NotebookLM

Answers only from your own documents, with citations to the exact paragraph and nothing invented from the web. Paid plans from $14/mo. Free plan available.

NotebookLM · Alternatives to NotebookLM