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Josh Woodward credits a talk by Steven Johnson as the catalyst for Project…

2026-07-16 · 17:44 UTC ·@joshwoodward ·1 min read

Brief

Josh Woodward recalls watching Steven Johnson as the catalyst for Project Tailwind, which launched three years ago and now serves over 30 million people and 600,000 organizations. NotebookLM is being renamed Gemini Notebook; the app — now with audio, video, and interactivity — is available in the Gemini app and will appear in Google Search, with features like folders coming soon.

Why it matters

Josh Woodward credits a talk by Steven Johnson as the catalyst for Project Tailwind, remembering the exact room where the idea began.

Key details

  • The project launched three years ago and now serves over 30 million people and 600,000 organizations.
  • NotebookLM has been officially renamed Gemini Notebook; notebooks now include audio, video, and interactivity, are available in the Gemini app and coming to Google Search, and the Project Tailwind team plans features like folders while keeping the same 'help you learn faster' mission.
Source evidence

I still remember the exact room, watching @stevenbjohnson break down how he writes books. That was the spark for a little project we never imagined would grow this big.

Today, over 30 million people and 600,000 organizations use it, and it keeps growing. We all feel like it's just getting started.

For a while, we’ve just called it "Notebook" internally. Today, we're making it official externally. :)

Gemini Notebook (@Gemini_Notebook)

3 years ago we started as a tiny experiment with the goal of helping you learn faster.

Since then, we grew to bring audio, video, and interactivity to your sources, transitioning from a passive workspace to your true research companion.

And now, notebooks have even become an entire ecosystem: you can already access them in the @GeminiApp and soon in Google Search

So, with these advancements, it’s time for us to evolve once again:

NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook ✨📓

The same app you know and love isn’t going anywhere, we just have an updated name that reflects our role in Google's AI portfolio.

And our mission stays exactly the same: helping you learn, faster.

Thank you for believing in us— this wouldn't have been possible without your passion (and feature requests...)

Big things to come (yes, even folders📂!) so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

The Project Tailwind team

Video

— https://nitter.net/Gemini_Notebook/status/2077803351392268314#m