SubscribeSign inLenny's Podcast: Product | Career | GrowthBehind the product: NotebookLM | Raiza Martin (Senior Product Manager, AI @ Google Labs)111381×0:00Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -48:58-48:58Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.Behind the product: NotebookLM | Raiza Martin (Senior Product Manager, AI @ Google Labs)Google Labs' Raiza Martin on leading NotebookLM, the "Audio Overviews" feature, and scaling an AI-powered tool.Oct 10, 202411138ShareTranscriptListen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
• Explo — Embed customer-facing analytics in your product• Sprig — Build products for people, not data points• Sidebar — Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers
Raiza Martin is a senior product manager for AI at Google Labs, where she leads the team behind NotebookLM, an AI-powered research tool that includes a delightful podcast-on-demand feature called “Audio Overviews.” NotebookLM started as a 20% project and has grown into a product that’s spreading across social media and has a Discord server with over 60,000 users. Raiza previously worked on AI Test Kitchen and has a background in startups, payments, and ads. In our conversation, we discuss:
How Google Labs operates differently from the rest of Google
The development of the “Audio Overviews” feature
Stories about collaborating with author Steven Johnson
Navigating potential misuse of AI technology
Embrace a startup mentality within large organizations: Google Labs operates with fewer processes and more agility than typical Google teams. This allows them to move faster and iterate quickly, much like a startup.
Often, powerful technology is already available; the magic lies in how you interact with it. For instance, by integrating powerful audio models with existing LLMs, NotebookLM created an innovative way for users to interact with content. Look for unique applications of the tools you already have.
Don’t wait for a perfect launch. Start with a working version of your product and use user feedback to iterate and improve. This approach can reveal unexpected insights and user preferences, helping you shape the final product.
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsaraiza/
(08:08) Innovative features and use cases
(18:52) Building a startup culture within Google
(36:11) Collaborating with Steven Johnson
(46:06) Future directions and user engagement
• AI Test Kitchen: https://aitestkitchen.withgoogle.com/
• Steven Johnson on X: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson
• Gemini Pro: https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini/pro/
• Usama Bin Shafqat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ushafqat/
• NotebookLM’s Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/Az2N7BwV7r?sjid=10560123093044576704-NA
• Josh Woodward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshwoodward/
• Andrej Karpathy’s website: https://karpathy.ai/
• Histories of Mysteries on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3K4LRyMCP44kBbiOziwJjb
• NotebookLM — Analyzing Poop & Fart written 1,000 times — Creating meaning from the meaningless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftg7UC3CGjc
• Reddit thread about the fake chicken.pdf: https://www.reddit.com/r/notebooklm/comments/1fwz5eh/the_google_podcast_duo_get_almost_9_minutes_out/
• Steven Johnson’s tweet about his 8K quotes: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson/status/1840844268065456456
• How We Got to Now: https://www.pbs.org/show/how-we-got-now/
• “A.I. Is Mastering Language. Should We Trust What It Says?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/magazine/ai-language.html
• AI Podcast Hosts Discover They’re AI, Not Human — NotebookLM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4dRtzFvxM
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.