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How to Co-Create Slides and Videos in Gemini Notebook

Step-by-step guide to Gemini Notebook co-creation for Slide Decks and Video Overviews. Review outlines, choose styles, and generate from your sources.

October 21, 2026 Yum News

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) now lets you shape Slide Decks and Video Overviews before the final file appears. Google added the co-creation flow on 19 October 2026. Instead of one prompt that produces a finished deck or video, the tool walks you through topic selection, style choices, and an optional outline review.

This guide shows the exact steps Google published. It uses only the controls described in the official announcement. Pair it with our Gemini Intelligence on Android guide if you also want on-device automation tools.

Person presenting slides in a meeting

What co-creation adds

Previously, you asked for a Slide Deck or Video Overview and received the finished result. Co-creation inserts intermediate steps based on the sources already in your notebook. You confirm topics, pick format and visual style, then optionally review the plan and request changes before anything renders.

The feature rolls out globally to all Gemini Notebook users over the week following the 19 October announcement. Some reports note early availability focused on higher tiers; check your account if the Review toggle is missing.

You still start from sources you control: PDFs, Docs, websites, or YouTube links you added to the notebook. The tool does not browse the open web for new material during this flow.

Prepare your notebook

Open notebook.google.com and sign in. Create a new notebook or open an existing one. Add the files or links that contain the material you want turned into slides or a video. Quality of the sources determines the quality of the output. Short, focused documents produce tighter decks than long mixed collections.

Once sources are loaded, you can begin from the chat panel or the Studio panel.

Create a Slide Deck with review

In the chat, type a clear request such as “Create a slide deck from these sources about the Q3 product roadmap.”
Gemini Notebook suggests focus topics drawn from your sources. Select one or type your own.
Choose the deck type, length, language, and visual style from the options that appear.
Turn on the Review toggle if you want to inspect the plan. Click “Review outline notes” in the Studio panel.
Read the proposed outline. Ask for changes in the feedback box—for example, “Add an executive summary as the first slide” or “Move the metrics section earlier.”
Select Proceed when the outline matches what you need. The tool then generates the deck.

If you already know the structure, you can describe it in the first prompt. Notebook skips straight to the review stage. For a fast result with no review, open the Studio panel, choose the Slide Deck artifact, and leave the Review toggle off.

Laptop showing code and notes on a desk

Create a Video Overview with review

The same flow applies to Video Overviews.

Ask in chat: “Make a video overview of the research notes in this notebook.”
Confirm or replace the suggested topics.
Select format, length, language, and visual style.
Enable Review and click “Review producer notes.”
Adjust the scene order or add a closing call-to-action in the feedback field.
Proceed to generate the video.

Video Overviews produce a narrated presentation based on your sources. The producer notes show the planned sequence so you can reorder scenes before rendering begins. Generation takes longer than a text summary; wait for the completed file in the Studio panel.

You can skip the review for either artifact if speed matters more than control.

Tips for better results

Keep source documents under a few dozen pages each. Extremely long files dilute the focus of the outline.
Name specific sections you care about in the first prompt (“focus on the risk section and the timeline”).
Use the Review step for any deck that will be shared externally. Small wording fixes are easier before generation than after.
Language selection applies to the narration or slide text. English sources can still produce output in another language if you choose it.
After generation, you can still revise individual slides in later updates, but the co-creation outline is the earliest place to lock structure.

Limits and availability

The co-creation flow does not replace manual editing. Generated slides and videos still need a human check for accuracy against the original sources. Citations remain tied to the material you uploaded.

Google states the feature is rolling out to all users. If the Review toggle or producer notes option does not appear, wait a few days or confirm your Gemini Notebook access level. The official help pages may lag the announcement by a short period.

This workflow works best when the notebook already contains the complete set of facts you want covered. Adding sources mid-flow is not described in the current announcement.

Conclusion

Co-creation turns Gemini Notebook from a one-shot generator into a guided tool. You confirm topics, set style, and optionally edit the outline or producer notes before the final Slide Deck or Video Overview appears. Start with a focused notebook, enable Review for any output you will present, and proceed only after the plan matches your intent.

The change arrived on 19 October 2026 and continues to reach accounts worldwide. Check the Studio panel the next time you open a notebook that already holds useful sources.