Exploring Google NotebookLM’s New Infographic and Slide Deck Features for Genealogy

Exploring Google NotebookLM’s New Infographic and Slide Deck Features for Genealogy

Google NotebookLM has been rolling out new tools rapidly over the past year, but a couple of weeks ago brought one of the most exciting updates yet: two brand-new features designed to turn your research into highly engaging visuals--Infographic and Slide Deck. These were not available even a day before when I generated a family history narrative for a client. Naturally, I had to test them right away.

To get a clear picture of what these tools can do, I used my long-running Steinman Family Notebook. This notebook focuses on my second great-grandfather, Samuel Steinman, his wife, their children, and brief notes on early descendants. It includes research, notes, sources, timelines, context, and more, and I have used it as my controlled “tester ancestor” since last May to evaluate various AI features.

These two new tools did not disappoint. In fact, they may be the most exciting additions to NotebookLM so far—especially for those of us who want to make family history more accessible and appealing to relatives who tend to “glaze over” when reading long narratives.

The Infographic Feature: A Family Story in One Visual

The new Infographic feature generated a clean, concise, and eye-catching summary of the Steinman family. It captured the major life events, relationships, and themes in a single, well-organized layout.

What stood out most was how accurately it distilled the family’s history. In one view, it presented key milestones, family dynamics, and important historical context—exactly the kind of visual summary that can help non-genealogists understand a family story in seconds.

There were two small hiccups worth noting:

• One section showed a tiny image of a man sick in bed, even though it was describing one of the daughters—an image-to-text mismatch.
• Another section used a Catholic symbol placed on a newspaper graphic when describing a death. The Steinmans were not Catholic, so the symbolism felt out of place.

These minor inconsistencies didn’t detract from the overall usefulness of the infographic. For quick summaries, family sharing, or visual storytelling, this new feature is incredibly promising.

The Steinman Family American Story- NotebookLM Infographic Day 1 Test, November 22, 2025

The Slide Deck Feature: A Full Visual Presentation of Family History

Next, I tested the brand-new Slide Deck feature. This one truly impressed me.

NotebookLM automatically created a multi-slide presentation--15 slides in total—based on the Steinman Notebook. Each slide focused on a different piece of the family’s story, turning the narrative into an easy-to-follow visual journey. The slides included:

• An overview of the family
• Individual slides for each major family member
• Context on their community
• Key events, milestones, and life transitions
• Tragedies and hardships that shaped the family
• Broader social and historical background

​Each slide felt like a standalone infographic, which made the entire deck engaging and easy to read. I could immediately imagine relatives finally showing interest because of how approachable and visual this format is.

There was only one noticeable hiccup: one slide stated that all five children survived to adulthood while also noting that one child died in infancy. A simple contradiction, but the only one across the entire deck.

Even so, the overall quality was excellent. This feature has incredible potential for storytellers, genealogists, family historians, and anyone trying to present complicated information in a way people will actually want to look at.

Why These New Tools Are Game-Changers for Genealogy

Both of these features point toward an emerging trend: AI tools are becoming more visually oriented and more capable of transforming dense research into formats that connect with modern readers.

For genealogists, this means:

• Easier ways to share research with family
• Visual tools for presentations and workshops
• Simple summaries for clients
• A new approach to preserving and teaching family history

Best of all, these tools work instantly, and they draw on the information already in your NotebookLM collections. That means you can generate multiple visual formats from the same research without starting from scratch.

As more families lean toward quick, visual content, these features offer a meaningful way to bridge the gap between our research and the people we want to reach.

More AI and Genealogy ​

Learn about more AI in Genealogy updates, tips, and resources, along with other family history and genealogy resources under the AI in Genealogy and  Genealogy Resources categories and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.

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