# Can you use NotebookLM without a Google account?

> No, a Google account is required to use NotebookLM: personal, Workspace or Education. What each account type gets you and how to fix a disabled school account. (NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook.)


_Markdown version of https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/guides/notebooklm-without-google-account — for AI and LLM crawlers. Content is identical to the web page._

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_3 min read · updated 17 Jul 2026_

One sentence: no, you need a Google account of some kind, personal, Workspace or Education, since NotebookLM has no anonymous or guest access.

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**NotebookLM was renamed Gemini Notebook** in July 2026. This guide covers the same product under its new name — everything below still applies whether you know it as NotebookLM or Gemini Notebook.

> **Quick answer**
> No. NotebookLM requires signing in with a Google account, personal, school (Google Workspace for Education), or work (Google Workspace). There is no guest mode, no anonymous access, and no way to try it without an account.

## Which account types work

- **A personal Google account** (any regular Gmail address) gets full access to the free plan with standard privacy protections.
- **A school Google account** works if your institution has enabled NotebookLM for its Workspace for Education edition, and it comes with FERPA and COPPA coverage plus a guarantee your data is not used for training.
- **A work Google Workspace account** works the same way, subject to your organization's admin settings and often with stronger data protections than a personal account. See [is NotebookLM safe](/guides/is-notebooklm-safe) for the specifics of what changes.

## "Service is off" on a school or work account

If you sign in with a school or work account and see a message that the service is off, your organization's admin has disabled NotebookLM for your unit specifically, which is a common default for newly rolled-out AI tools. The fix is not on your end: ask your IT team to enable NotebookLM under Admin console → Generative AI → NotebookLM. There is no personal workaround for an admin-level restriction.

## If you don't want to use your main Google account

Creating a free, separate Google account specifically for NotebookLM is a legitimate option if you want to keep your research notebooks apart from your primary identity, and it costs nothing beyond the minute it takes to set up. This does not weaken any of NotebookLM's privacy protections, which apply the same way regardless of which Google account you sign in with.

## People also ask

### Can I use NotebookLM with just an email address, no Google account?

No. NotebookLM authentication is tied specifically to Google accounts. A non-Google email address alone cannot sign you in.

### Do I need to pay to create a Google account for NotebookLM?

No, creating a Google account is free, and NotebookLM's free plan requires no payment either. See [is NotebookLM free](/guides/is-notebooklm-free) for what the free plan includes.

### Can students under 13 use NotebookLM?

Yes, through a Google Workspace for Education account managed by their school, which has its own age-appropriate protections. The general consumer product has its own separate age requirements for personal accounts.

### Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook?

Yes. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook in July 2026 — it's the same product, same features, just a new name.