Google’s NotebookLM to Reportedly Add a Lecture Mode to Audio Overviews; Teases New British Accent

Google's NotebookLM could soon get two new upgrades to its popular Audio Overviews feature. As per the report, the tool could get a new Lecture mode, which is designed to help users gain a thorough understanding of a topic. The new mode is said to be added to the existing four modes and will become the longest audio-generating feature of Audio Overviews. Alongside, the company has officially teased a new British English accent for the Audio Overviews. The release timeline for either is currently not known.

NotebookLM to Upgrade Audio Overviews

In recent months, the Mountain View-based tech giant has increased its focus on NotebookLM, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered learning platform. The company dropped five new features in 48 hours in November, including custom video overview styles, chat history, image as a source, Flashcard and Quizzes expansion, and Deep Research integration. Later, the Gemini 3 Pro AI model was brought to the platform, and the mobile app also got an in-built camera support.

Just last week, the NotebookLM team added Data Tables to the platform, allowing users to organise information scattered across a source (or multiple sources) into a Google Sheet-style data table. Now, while the developers are enjoying a well-deserved Christmas break, two under-development features have also surfaced.

The first of them is the Lecture mode in Audio Overviews. According to a TestingCatalog report, the new mode will offer the longest audio generation time with a maximum limit of 30 minutes. The publication found the evidence for the feature in a recent NotebookLM build's strings of code and user interface (UI) references.

Lecture joins Audio Overviews' existing modes, including Deep Dive, Brief, Critique, and Debate. The report claims that it is focused on explanations and connecting different added sources and materials cohesively. Interestingly, this mode is said to only support a single host, similar to how lectures work in real life.

The second feature was teased by the company itself in a recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter). NotebookLM hinted that users might soon get to listen to their audio files in different accents, with British English being one of them. Notably, the feature supports a wide range of languages, but no accents so far.