When My Blog Became a Video: Testing NotebookLM’s “Video Overview”

Recently, I tried something new. I pasted the URL of this blog, The AI Grandad into NotebookLM, expecting maybe a tidy summary or a few notes. Instead, it gave me a video overview,  a short, narrated film that explained my own writing back to me.

Seeing my words turned into a video was oddly thrilling. It was as if my blog had been given a voice and a face, not mine, but recognisably of me. The phrasing, tone, and pacing all felt close to how I might have explained it in person.

That’s when I realised NotebookLM isn’t just another AI summariser. It’s a tool that can reinterpret your writing, not replace it, but present it in new, engaging ways.

What Is NotebookLM?

NotebookLM is Google’s AI-powered “personal research assistant.” You feed it sources, a web link, a PDF, your own notes,  and it builds a notebook that understands that material. From there, you can ask it to:

• Summarise or explain your source in plain English
• Create study notes, FAQs, Mind Maps or outlines
• Suggest talking points or key takeaways
• Generate a video overview, turning your text into a narrated visual summary
• Generate an audio overview, turning your text into a podcast.

The idea is to help you explore and communicate your ideas more clearly, using your own content as the foundation.

What Happened When I Tried It

I typed in my blog’s URL and let NotebookLM scan it. Within moments it offered me a “video overview”,  essentially a short AI-generated video summarising my post.

It analysed the tone and structure of the blog, selected the most relevant points, wrote a brief script in natural language, and paired that narration with simple, animated visuals. The result was a clear, concise, 5 minute video that felt like something I might have made myself if I had the time (and the video-editing skills).

It was fascinating to see which points the AI highlighted. In some ways, it understood my main ideas better than a skim-reader might, focusing on curiosity, learning, and the human of using AI.

Why It Matters

We spend a lot of time thinking about writing online, but fewer people are reading long posts from start to finish. NotebookLM’s video overview bridges that gap by turning text into watchable storytelling.

For a blogger like me, that’s powerful. It means I can:

• Offer readers a quick summary video at the top of a post.
• Share the video version on YouTube or social media to draw people back to the full article.
• Use it as a creative feedback tool, to see how AI interprets and prioritises my message.

It’s not perfect, but it’s genuinely useful. The fact that it’s built from my own content makes it feel personal and relevant.

How You Could Use It

You don’t have to be a tech expert to use NotebookLM. Here are a few ways anyone might benefit:

• Writers and bloggers: Turn articles into short explainer videos.
• Teachers: Upload lesson notes and generate quick revision overviews.
• Podcasters and presenters: Convert transcripts or show notes into promotional clips.
• Learners: Summarise long PDFs or research articles in an easy-to-digest video format.

It’s like having a small production team living inside your notebook.

How I’ll Use It Going Forward

I plan to use NotebookLM to:

• Create video summaries of future posts to embed on The AI Grandad.
• Generate talking points for podcast episodes or YouTube shorts.
• Experiment with how my tone and meaning come across when AI translates them into other media.

Each time I use it, I learn something new about how AI “reads” human writing, what it notices, what it skips, and what it emphasises.

Final Thoughts

NotebookLM reminded me that AI doesn’t just help us write, it helps us re-see our writing. Watching my words become a short video was strangely satisfying, and a bit humbling. The technology isn’t just efficient; it’s interpretive.

Maybe that’s the next step for creators of all ages, not just writing with AI, but letting it show us how our ideas might look and sound to others.

Have you tried letting an AI turn your writing into something visual? I’d love to hear what happened.

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