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Summary
- NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews typically feature two voices, one male and one female.
- Some users have recently reported hearing a mysterious third male voice, especially in longer-form podcasts.
- While it could be a bug, Google previously hinted that new voices and dialects are “coming soon,” suggesting this third voice might be part of a quiet rollout or early test.
What makes Google's AI-powered research assistant, NotebookLM, stand out from the hundreds of AI tools out there is its Audio Overview feature. If you aren't familiar with it, the feature can transform sources into "deep dive discussions," where two virtual hosts discuss sources in an engaging manner.
Interestingly, some users have started hearing a surprise third voice when they generate Audio Overviews, and no one's quite sure where it's coming from. Though it's likely that it's just yet another bug, it could very well be a hint at an upcoming feature.
Related
NotebookLM is getting new voices and dialects soon
Since NotebookLM announced Audio Overviews, they've had the same two voices narrating conversations, a male and a female. Both of the virtual hosts create a natural back-and-forth to explain your notes.
A user on the r/notebooklm subreddit recently reported that they heard a third male voice in the conversation.
Other NotebookLM users chimed in, with one person saying they heard a third voice appear when they create longer-form podcasts. Another user commented something similar, saying they've noticed it in podcasts they've generated that are over two hours long.
Though I've been using Audio Overviews since Google announced the feature and often generate longer podcasts, I never noticed it... until a few minutes ago. Like other users, I heard a third male voice in my Audio Overview out of the blue, just for a few seconds, and then it disappeared. It didn't repeat, and it didn’t sound like either of the original hosts. Interestingly, it was subtle enough to miss if you weren't paying attention.
Though you might be tempted to think it's a bug, this could simply be NotebookLM quietly testing a new upgrade. During an AMA session NotebookLM hosted on X (formerly Twitter), the team said that new voices and dialects are "coming soon." So this unexpected male voice NotebookLM users are noticing might just be an early preview of what’s next.
Frankly, it's a change I'm really excited about. If you generate as many Audio Overviews as I do, hearing the same voices can get a bit monotonous. So, a fresh set of voices that you can ideally switch between depending on the context or your personal preference would be a welcome change.
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