Google is currently secretly testing a new feature called the "Literature Review (Lit Review)" matrix tool for its smart note-taking application NotebookLM. This move marks a shift in NotebookLM's core functionality from traditional essay-style reports to highly structured, multi-dimensional comparison tables.
The tool aims to automatically organize and map large volumes of dense literature uploaded by users into comparative grids containing themes, arguments, and methodologies with a single click, providing a visual map for academic research, complex long-text analysis, and the construction of large-scale content systems across multiple volumes.
This product upgrade reflects Google's strategic intent to invest more in professional knowledge workflows. This month, Google has upgraded the underlying model of NotebookLM to the Gemini 3.5 version and simultaneously introduced smart research, code-running notebooks, and more diverse downloadable output channels.
To further break down barriers of copyrighted content, NotebookLM has expanded support for EPUB files and recently added a Google Play Books connector and a dedicated textbook section.
