Research-driven businesses deal with a constant flow of complex information—documents, reports, emails, and chats that pile up across different platforms. Keeping track of everything, extracting key insights, and making informed decisions can quickly become overwhelming.

AI-powered tools like NotebookLM help businesses tackle these challenges by analyzing documents and summarizing key points, making research faster and more efficient. But research is just one piece of the puzzle. Teams also need a way to organize discussions, retain institutional knowledge, and collaborate effectively.

That’s where Tanka comes in. While NotebookLM Business focuses on document-based insights, Tanka takes business productivity a step further. It expands on document research by supporting team communication, AI-powered memory retention, and dynamic workflows across multiple tools.

In this article, we’ll explore how NotebookLM helps businesses with research and how Tanka complements it by turning scattered information into long-term, actionable knowledge.

NotebookLM Business: AI-powered research and note-taking

NotebookLM Business is Google’s research assistant designed to help users analyze data and extract insights from uploaded documents. This powerful tool combines the convenience of traditional note-taking with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to create notebooks that help streamline workflows and uncover new insights. NotebookLM offers both a free version for individual users and an enterprise option (NotebookLM Plus Business) for businesses and organizations.

Key features:

• Flexible document analysis: Users can train NotebookLM Business to analyze a wide range of sources, including websites, PDF files, Google Docs, and Slides. You can upload PDFs up to 50 resources simultaneously, allowing for comprehensive research across multiple documents.
• AI-powered summaries and insights: NotebookLM generates personalized summaries, identifies key topics, and creates study guides to help users quickly grasp the main points of their documents. It can also provide explanations for complex ideas and brainstorm new connections based on the uploaded sources.
• Seamless Google Workspace integration: As a core service of Google Workspace, NotebookLM Business integrates smoothly with other Google tools, making it easy for users to sharing notebooks, manage and analyze their documents within the Google ecosystem.
• Audio overviews: With this new feature, NotebookLM can create audio overviews that capture the key points and insights from uploaded documents. For example, users can listen to audio overviews to quickly grasp the main ideas and themes while on the go.
• Single click-access: Users can access NotebookLM with a single click, streamlining the research and note-taking process.
• Usage analytics: NotebookLM Plus users can view past seven-day usage analytics of their notebooks, including metrics such as users per day and queries per day.

Why choose NotebookLM:

Using NotebookLM Business is particularly well-suited for Google users who need research-focused AI assistance. Its ability to ground responses in user-provided sources sets it apart from traditional AI chatbots, ensuring that the information generated is relevant and trustworthy.

• Enhanced productivity: By quickly processing large amounts of information and generating insights, NotebookLM Business can significantly reduce the time and effort required for research tasks.
• Privacy and security: NotebookLM Business prioritizes user privacy, ensuring that uploaded content remains confidential and is not used to train its AI model. As a core Workspace service, it also benefits from enterprise-grade protection and follows Google's existing compliance and security policies.

Limitations:

While using NotebookLM Business offers powerful research capabilities, it does have some limitations:

• Google ecosystem restriction: NotebookLM is primarily designed for use within the Google ecosystem, which may limit its utility for users who rely on other platforms or need cross-platform compatibility.
• Collaboration constraints: Although using NotebookLM allows for some collaboration, sharing options are currently limited to users within the same Google Workspace organization.

Despite these limitations, NotebookLM Business represents a significant advancement in AI-assisted research and note-taking, offering Google Workspace users a powerful tool to enhance their productivity and gain deeper insights from their documents.

You might be interested in 6 Best AI Knowledge Management Tools for 2025

Tanka: AI-powered research and collaboration made simple

While NotebookLM focuses on AI-assisted research and document analysis, Tanka takes it further by acting as your team’s chief memory officer—not just analyzing documents, but retaining and connecting insights across platforms like Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Notion. Instead of being limited to a single research tool, Tanka functions as an AI-powered knowledge network, ensuring information is surfaced when and where it matters most.

Unlike NotebookLM, which primarily supports personal research workflows, Tanka is built for teams, enabling real-time collaboration, AI-driven document analysis, and proactive knowledge retrieval within a shared memory layer. Whether your team is working on research, sales strategy, or customer insights, Tanka ensures knowledge is not just stored but actively used.

Key features:

• AI-powered document analysis – Tanka goes beyond extracting insights—it retains context across projects, allowing teams to access relevant information without constantly redoing research.
• Co-Memory for shared knowledge – Unlike NotebookLM, which is tied to Google Workspace, Tanka’s Co-Memory feature serves as a shared knowledge base, helping teams gain project-based context while minimizing noise. It ensures that past discussions, research, and insights remain accessible when needed.
• Proactive AI knowledge management – Instead of waiting for input, Tanka automatically identifies and captures key data from daily interactions, transforming scattered and unstructured information into valuable, organized knowledge.
• Collaborative workflows with AI memory – While NotebookLM provides research insights, Tanka connects those insights to real-world tasks. It enables teams to link research findings to ongoing projects, client conversations, or team discussions—even facilitating interactive AI-powered brainstorming for collaborative decision-making.

How teams benefit from Tanka’s AI memory

• AI for research teams – Tanka doesn’t just retrieve facts—it retains and structures research insights across multiple tools, making follow-ups and knowledge-sharing way easier.
• Sales enablement – Tanka remembers client conversations, tracks engagement trends, and serves up tailored sales insights so teams can make smarter, data-driven decisions without digging through old notes.
• HR onboarding assistant – Unlike static knowledge bases, Tanka surfaces the most relevant company knowledge in real time, helping new hires get up to speed faster without information overload.
• Smarter team collaboration – Drop info once, and Tanka’s Co-Memory feature makes sure it sticks. It learns from group chats, pulls out key insights, and provides tailored recommendations based on shared discussions. No need to repeat yourself.
• Customer support AI – While NotebookLM is great for research, Tanka takes AI memory into customer interactions, pulling up relevant details right when they’re needed and making sure complex issues get escalated properly.

Why choose Tanka:

Tanka is not just an AI-powered notebook—it is a knowledge management system designed for teams that need context-aware insights, collaborative workflows, and automated knowledge retrieval across multiple platforms. Instead of relying on static research tools, Tanka supports decision-making by ensuring teams always have access to the right information at the right time.

Looking for a smarter way to manage research and collaboration? Try Tanka today. Sign up for the free Beta or request a demo to see how AI-powered memory can transform the way your team works.

Limitations:

Tanka is currently in beta, with features being refined for broader use. While this means early adopters can shape the platform's development, it also implies that some functionalities may be subject to change or improvement.

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Other top AI-powered research tools

While NotebookLM and Tanka offer powerful features for AI-driven research and collaboration, several other tools are making waves in this space. Let's explore some top alternatives:

Mem AI

Mem AI is a smart note-taking and knowledge management tool that leverages AI for efficient organization.

Key features:

• Automatic tagging and linking of notes for easier navigation.
• Collaborative workspaces for teams.
• AI-generated summaries for quick reference.
• Offers deep dive capabilities for comprehensive research and analysis

Why choose Mem AI: 

Mem AI is ideal for users seeking a lightweight knowledge management tool that simplifies note organization and retrieval.

Limitations: 

Mem AI has limited support for large-scale document analysis. Additionally, it restricts users to creating notes only for the current date, which may hinder flexibility in organizing past or future events.

Notion AI

Notion AI is a flexible workspace that integrates AI features for knowledge organization and task management. It provides advanced data management features, including AI-powered summaries and custom autofill options for databases.

Key features:

• AI-generated summaries and workflow suggestions.
• Customizable templates for research projects.
• Integration with tools like Slack and Trello.

Why choose Notion AI: 

Notion AI is well-suited for teams combining research enterprise data, with task and project management, offering a versatile platform for various enterprise workflows.

Limitations: 

Notion AI requires manual setup for workflows and document organization. It may also output incorrect information or struggle with understanding recent events, necessitating user verification.

Perplexity AI

Launched in December 2022 and has since gained general availability, offering both free and paid versions for users. Perplexity AI is a conversational AI tool designed for quick, fact-based research.

Key features:

• Provides concise answers to complex queries.
• Sources information directly from uploaded research materials.
• Real-time Q&A with follow-up question capabilities.

Why choose Perplexity AI: 

Perplexity AI excels at quick research and fact-checking, offering informative answers and guided AI search (Copilot) for deeper exploration.

Limitations: 

While powerful for research, Perplexity AI lacks integration with broader workflows or team collaboration tools.

Read also: Perplexity vs ChatGPT

Obsidian

Obsidian is a local-first note-taking and knowledge base tool for networked thought and complex research.

Key features:

• Graph-based linking of notes and ideas.
• Customizable with plugins and themes.
• Local storage ensures privacy and control over data.

Why choose Obsidian: 

Obsidian is perfect for researchers who prioritize privacy and interconnected note-taking, offering both enhanced features and full access to a highly customizable environment for complex research projects.

Limitations: 

Obsidian is primarily focused on individual use and lacks built-in collaboration features, which may limit its utility for team-based research projects.

Each of these tools has unique strengths for AI-powered research, catering to different user needs and preferences for enterprise use. When choosing a tool, consider factors such as your specific topics, sign-up options, customization, research style, collaboration requirements, and desired level of AI assistance.

Comparison table: NotebookLM, Tanka, and alternatives

Conclusion: Choosing the best tool for AI-powered research

Selecting the right AI-powered research tool can make a significant difference in how your team manages and applies knowledge. NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus are solid options for Google users who primarily focus on document-based research. Mem AI and Notion AI work well for smaller teams and individual researchers who need lightweight knowledge management solutions.

For teams that need more than just document analysis, Tanka stands out as the chief memory officer—retaining and connecting insights across platforms like Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Notion. Unlike traditional research tools that simply extract information, Tanka ensures research insights, decisions, and discussions are surfaced at the right time, in the right context. It offers proactive research support, AI-driven knowledge retrieval, and real-time collaboration, making it an essential tool for teams that rely on fast, informed decision-making.

Upgrade your research process with Tanka. Try it today and see how AI-powered memory can transform the way your team collaborates and manages knowledge. 

Need early access? Sign up for the free Beta.

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