Google introduced video overviews in NotebookLM during 2025. The feature is designed to give an overview of the material in a notebook, using connected text, images and explanations.
It may suit you when you want to get familiar with a subject before reading in depth. A visual structure can help you identify the main questions and see how different parts fit together.
But the format can also feel more finished and certain than the underlying material really is. A calm voice and clear pictures do not automatically make an interpretation correct. Return to the source when a detail matters.
Try a small amount of material and compare it with what you would have highlighted yourself. What was included? What was left out? In this way, a video overview becomes both a route into the subject and an exercise in choosing what really needs to be told.