How to Copy an Entire Gemini Notebook

Google recently added a useful new feature to Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM): you can now make a copy of an entire notebook.

Instead of rebuilding a notebook from scratch, you can duplicate one that you own or one that has been shared with you—as long as copying has been allowed.

This could be especially helpful for teachers, students, teams, or anyone who wants to use an existing notebook as a starting point.

How to Copy a Gemini Notebook

Making a copy only takes a few seconds.

1. Open Gemini Notebook.

2. Open the notebook you want to duplicate.

3. At the top of the notebook, click Copy.

4. Click Create.

Gemini Notebook will create a separate copy and add it to your notebook library.

That's it!

What Gets Copied?

This is where the feature becomes especially useful.

Your copy can include the notebook's sources as well as Studio content that has already been created.

That can include:

• Audio Overviews

• Video Overviews

• Study Guides

• Flashcards

• Quizzes

• Slide Decks

If the notebook includes files from Google Drive, you will also need permission to access and copy those original files.

What Does NOT Get Copied?

There are a couple of important things to know.

Your personal chat history and user-created notes are not transferred to the new notebook.

The copied notebook is also completely independent from the original.

That means if the owner changes the original notebook later, those changes will not automatically appear in your copy.

You can make the copy your own by adding new sources, asking different questions, creating new study materials, and changing the notebook however you want.

A Great Idea for Teachers

I think this feature has a lot of potential in education.

For example, a teacher could create a Gemini Notebook containing:

• Class readings

• PDFs

• Websites

• Study materials

• Videos

• Review resources

The teacher could then share the notebook with students and allow them to make their own copies.

Each student could take that copy and create personalized flashcards, quizzes, study guides, notes, or Audio Overviews without changing the teacher's original notebook.

That turns one teacher-created resource into something each student can customize for themselves.

How to Allow Other People to Copy Your Notebook

If you are sharing your own notebook, you can control whether other people are allowed to duplicate it.

Open the notebook and click Share.

Look for the option labeled Allow copies.

When this option is turned on, people you have shared the notebook with can create their own copy of the notebook and its available sources and artifacts.

Final Thoughts

This isn't a huge Gemini Notebook update, but it may be one of those small features that ends up being extremely useful.

Being able to create a notebook once and then let other people make their own copies opens up some interesting possibilities for classrooms, professional development, collaborative projects, study materials, and reusable templates.

If you use Gemini Notebook, give the new Copy feature a try.

And if you're looking for more quick tutorials on Google, Gemini, AI, education technology, and other useful tech tools, check out Time to Talk Tech for more.