A Google research tool called NotebookLM has been going viral thanks to a feature that transforms text documents into lively podcast-style conversations. Why it matters: Businesses see AI's future in its power to streamline work processes — but the public keeps getting hooked by its ability to impersonate humans.

A little-known AI notebook tool from Google is going viral for its Audio Overviews that mimic the speech cadence of podcasters. Here’s how to try it out.

It’s a sad, funny, and often unnerving listen, especially when the male presenter talks about phoning his wife after learning that he’s only an AI, to find that she didn’t exist and the number he was phoning wasn’t even real. There are shades of a Black Mirror episode to the whole thing!

If you enjoy digesting new information while on the go, this latest update to Google NotebookLM could prove quite handy.

Google isn't the only firm to be playing around with AI-powered bots that sound like humans. OpenAI is also in the market with its own voice-assistant to match the one in the movie Her. That was human-to-bot contact, but no less odd for it.

NotebookLM from Google can use AI to summarize and query multiple documents on one topic—and you can even turn your notes into Audio Overviews, customized podcasts.

Google's AI-based Audio Overview feature has a male and female voice discussing about the uploaded content, even interrupting each other in a realistic fashion