Hey there, 

This week brought some exciting changes to NotebookLM, Claude, and Gemini. We’ll look at NotebookLM’s new features and name change, the combination of Cowork and Chat in Claude, and the new Gemini 3.8 Live models.

NotebookLM added voice chat and a new name

Google has been rolling out a series of new updates to Gemini Notebook over the past weeks. Many of you may know this tool by its old name, NotebookLM. Google recently changed the name to better align with the other Gemini products. They just shipped a new feature that allows you to have real-time conversations with your notebooks, asking questions and getting detailed back-and-forth explanations. You can also upload audio files now which means that meetings or lectures can be accessed directly within Gemini Notebook. The mobile app also allows you to record directly so you can capture a meeting or lecture on the spot. This update also brings new and improved interactive overviews. The most notable upgrade is for the interactive Reports that now allow you to embed other outputs (flowcharts, video overviews, infographics) directly within.

Claude merged its Chat and Cowork modes into one

Anthropic has removed Cowork as a standalone tool and merged it with Chat. This means that Chat now has all the capabilities of Cowork, creating a more versatile experience in a single interface. Claude Design can also be used within Chat and new Claude Docs and Claude Slides features are rolling out. Together, these additions mean that you can ask Claude to write a document or presentation and it will work even when you close your computer. Then, you can edit the slides or present them directly within Claude. The update eliminates the overlap and confusion around where certain tasks belong and combines Claude's most useful tools into one place. These new updates will be rolling out to Pro and Max users over the next few weeks.

Gemini Talks While It Thinks

Google just released two new models this week: Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking. These are the latest voice models that allow you to have a conversation with Gemini through speech. 3.8 Live is able to process visuals in seconds which means you can share images or your screen and get real-time responses without needing to send additional prompts. The Extended Thinking model is also able to multitask and process additional requests while continuing to chat about previous responses. This ability to think and speak at the same time means that these conversations feel much more natural and allow the model to essentially narrate what it's doing instead of just leaving you in silence. Gemini 3.8 Live also supports 97 languages and can transition between them mid-conversation when needed.

My Thoughts

The updates to Gemini Notebook are really cool. The new interactive Reports seem like an incredible new output that makes understanding your sources a lot easier. The name change on the other hand is quite odd. I’d understand changing the name if NotebookLM was still a small tool with only a couple thousand users, but it seems like an odd choice for such a large product. The merging of Cowork and Chat is a decision that actually makes a lot of sense. I can understand how users could be confused about where certain tasks should go so combining them into one mode is smart. The new Docs and Slides features also ensure that Chat can seamlessly access and create documents for you. These types of updates are why I think Claude is such a good choice for work tasks. The new voice models from Google are interesting to see. I’ve been using the voice mode and dictation feature more and more so I’m excited that we are getting a better model for these interactions.