Gemini Notebook can now pull directly from your Google Play Books library, thanks to a new Google initiative called Expert Intelligence. Announced in 2026, the feature lets you turn ebooks you’ve purchased into sources you can question and analyze inside Google’s AI-powered note-taking tool.
Google describes Expert Intelligence as a cross-company effort designed to help users engage with trusted sources across its AI products. The rollout begins with Play Books and Gemini Notebook, connecting personal libraries to Gemini’s research capabilities for the first time.
How Expert Intelligence Works
Select ebooks you own through Google Play Books can be added to Gemini Notebook and used as source material. Once a book is attached, you can ask questions and receive answers grounded directly in that title. You can also generate Infographics, Audio Overviews, Quizzes, and other standard Gemini Notebook outputs based on the book’s contents.
The feature is built to combine published works with your own information. A manager could brainstorm feedback strategies by consulting Kim Scott’s Radical Candor. A reader could securely upload personal journal entries alongside Dr. Mary Claire Haver’s The New Menopause to see how the author’s guidance applies to her own situation, complete with citations to relevant passages. A parent could photograph the contents of their fridge and request a healthy weekly meal plan based on Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.
Supported Titles and Ownership Rules
At launch, Expert Intelligence works with more than 100,000 books from Bloomsbury, De Gruyter Brill, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan Publishers, O’Reilly Media, and Penguin Random House. Google says it developed the controls in collaboration with authors and publishers.
Ownership is central to how the system operates. Users must own a book through Google Play Books before they can interact with it in Gemini Notebook. When a notebook is shared, collaborators are prompted to buy their own copy to access the material further. Without a purchase, the book stays unavailable inside their notebook. Google expects the approach to aid content discovery and help authors reach new, more engaged readers over time.
How to Check Eligibility
To find out whether a title supports Expert Intelligence, open its listing in Google Play Books. Eligible books display Gemini Notebook when you tap the “Tools” badge on the detail page.
Google plans to extend Expert Intelligence to the Gemini app and AI Mode in the future. The company also intends to let people add more source types, including third-party subscriptions, business research reports, and textbooks.
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Image: 9to5google.com
