Google Shifts Gemini Notebook Usage Limits to Compute-Based Model

Google has announced that Gemini Notebook, the document analysis and summarization tool formerly known as NotebookLM, is changing how it counts usage limits. Instead of fixed daily caps on the number of queries, a system based on actual compute usage will take effect starting September 2, 2026.

Until now, Gemini Notebook, despite the rename from NotebookLM, still ran on the old limiting rules: simple daily caps on the number of queries, audio and video overviews, and generated reports. The rest of the Gemini app family had already moved to the compute-based model after the Google I/O conference in May 2026, but the document tool was left out at the time.

How the old system worked

Under the current model, still in effect until September 2, the free Gemini Notebook plan gives users 3 audio and video overviews per day and 10 reports or quizzes per day. At the other end sits the Ultra plan, which allows 5,000 chat queries and 200 audio or video overviews per day. Between these extremes sit the AI Plus and Pro plans with intermediate caps.

What the new system changes

After September 2, limits will no longer be counted as a fixed number of actions per day. Instead, the system will factor in prompt complexity, the length of the ongoing conversation, the number of sources uploaded to the notebook, and the specific features used. Short, simple queries will draw less from the pool, while extensive analysis of multiple long documents or generating Video Overviews and Slide Decks will use up the limit faster.

A key change also concerns the refresh frequency. Instead of resetting once a day, the pool will renew every 5 hours, up to a weekly ceiling. In practice, this means a user could burn through the entire daily limit in a few hours and then regain some access later the same day, rather than waiting until midnight.

This change will give you more choice in how you want to spend your limits - Google, official announcement

Differences between plans

Google is keeping its subscription hierarchy but converting it into compute multipliers instead of separate limit tables for each feature. The AI Plus plan will get twice the pool of the free plan, Pro four times as much, and Ultra five to twenty times as much, depending on whether the user pays $100 or $200 a month for their subscription tier.

When a user approaches the limit, the tool is meant to suggest alternative options, such as a simpler model or a shorter version of the analysis, instead of simply blocking access. Compute-heavy tasks, such as generating Video Overviews, will be able to be deferred with a notification once the result is ready.

What it means for users

For people who use Gemini Notebook for quick, single queries, the change could mean more flexibility in practice, since the five-hour reset lets them recover a spent limit faster than the old daily cycle did. For users working with very long documents or generating a lot of audio and video material in a single day, the system may prove more restrictive, since complex operations eat through the pool faster than simple questions.

The change fits a broader trend across the Gemini product family, where Google has spent the past several months replacing simple query counters with billing based on real compute cost. The company has previously justified similar decisions in other Gemini apps by citing very high demand and limited infrastructure capacity during peak hours.