Brandwave

How popular isNotebookLM?

In September 2026, people searched for NotebookLM by name about 24.5 million times worldwide, a 106.1% increase from the previous year. These searches made up 86.2% of all global AI PDF tool searches, placing NotebookLM first out of seven tools. When we asked both ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about AI PDF tools, NotebookLM appeared in three of the five answers and was the second most recommended of the seven.

Search and AI answers in September 2026

NotebookLM is the most searched of 7 competitors and the second most recommended in AI answers.

  1. NotebookLMShare of searches 86.2%Mentioned in 3 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 2nd
  2. Adobe AcrobatShare of searches 12.8%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 1st
  3. ChatPDFShare of searches 0.87%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 3rd
  4. HumataShare of searches 0.05%Mentioned in 0 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations –
  5. PDF.aiShare of searches 0.05%Mentioned in 0 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations –

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Top AI PDF tools in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, NotebookLM was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. NotebookLM is the second most recommended of the seven.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Adobe Acrobat1st
  2. NotebookLM2nd
  3. ChatPDF3rd
  4. Humata–
  5. PDF.ai–
  6. AskYourPDF–
  7. Documind–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Adobe Acrobat5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • ChatPDF5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • NotebookLM3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Humata0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • PDF.ai0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • AskYourPDF0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Documind0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about AI PDF tools

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 20, 2026.

Which AI PDF tools compete with NotebookLM?

NotebookLM against AI PDF tools worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for NotebookLM, Adobe Acrobat. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthNotebookLMAdobe AcrobatChatPDFHumataPDF.aiAskYourPDFDocumind
Oct 202567.1%27.6%4.7%0.23%0.28%0.08%<0.01%
Nov 202573.4%21.7%4.4%0.18%0.21%0.08%<0.01%
Dec 202579.8%17.7%2.2%0.11%0.16%0.05%<0.01%
Jan 202681.1%17.2%1.5%0.07%0.11%0.04%<0.01%
Feb 202679.6%18.7%1.5%0.09%0.11%0.03%<0.01%
Mar 202683.8%14.4%1.5%0.08%0.11%0.03%<0.01%
Apr 202687%11.2%1.6%0.08%0.1%0.03%<0.01%
May 202686.9%11.6%1.3%0.05%0.08%0.02%<0.01%
Jun 202685.3%13.5%1%0.05%0.08%0.02%<0.01%
Jul 202682.7%16.3%0.86%0.04%0.08%0.02%<0.01%
Aug 202685.1%13.9%0.86%0.05%0.06%0.01%<0.01%
Sep 202686.2%12.8%0.87%0.05%0.05%0.01%<0.01%

  1. 1.NotebookLM

    86.2%

    Held 1st. 24.5M estimated branded searches, +22.8% vs prior month. Share +1.1 points.

  2. 2.Adobe Acrobat

    12.8%

    Held 2nd. 3.6M estimated branded searches, +11.6% vs prior month. Share -1.1 points.

  3. 3.ChatPDF

    0.87%

    Held 3rd. 246K estimated branded searches, +22.4% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  4. 4.Humata

    0.05%

    Moved from 5th to 4th. 14.8K estimated branded searches, +22.3% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  5. 5.PDF.ai

    0.05%

    Moved from 4th to 5th. 14.8K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  6. 6.AskYourPDF

    0.01%

    Held 6th. 2.9K estimated branded searches, +20.8% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  7. 7.Documind

    <0.01%

    Held 7th. 720 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare popularity between NotebookLM and its closest rivals

Every comparison with NotebookLM

16 comparisons

How has branded search demand for NotebookLM changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

3 findings
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for NotebookLM worldwide rose from 11.9M to 24.5M.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NotebookLM’s share of searches among AI PDF tools worldwide increased from 67.1% to 86.2%.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NotebookLM’s share of searches among AI PDF tools worldwide peaked at 87% in April 2026 and was lowest at 67.1% in October 2025.

How did search popularity change for AI PDF tools worldwide in September 2026?

6 changes

  1. In September 2026, NotebookLM gained share of searches among AI PDF tools worldwide, from 85.1% to 86.2%.

  2. In September 2026, Adobe Acrobat lost share of searches among AI PDF tools worldwide, from 13.9% to 12.8%.

  3. In September 2026, Humata rose from 5th to 4th among AI PDF tools worldwide.

  4. In September 2026, PDF.ai fell from 4th to 5th among AI PDF tools worldwide.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for AskYourPDF worldwide fell 80.4% over 12 measured months, from 14.8K to 2.9K in September 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for ChatPDF worldwide fell 70.1% over 12 measured months, from 823K to 246K in September 2026.

How are NotebookLM’s branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using NotebookLM’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

  • notebook lm
  • notebooklm

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Who owns NotebookLM?

NotebookLM is owned by Google. Brandwave also tracks AppSheet, Chrome Remote Desktop, Display & Video 360, Firebase, Fitbit, Gemini, Gmail, Google, Google Ads, Google Alerts, Google Analytics, Google Artifact Registry, Google Authenticator, Google Chat, Google Chrome, Google Chromecast, Google Classroom, Google Cloud, Google Cloud Dataflow, Google Cloud Identity, Google Cloud Pub/Sub, Google Cloud Run, Google Cloud Secret Manager, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud Vertex AI, Google Colab, Google DeepMind, Google Display & Video 360, Google Document AI, Google Drive, Google Earth Engine, Google Family Link, Google Forms, Google Keep, Google Keyword Planner, Google Maps, Google Maps Platform, Google Meet, Google Meridian, Google Nest, Google Nest Wifi, Google Project Management Certificate, Google Rich Results Test, Google Security Operations, Google Slides, Google Tasks, Google Threat Intelligence, Google Translate, Google Vault, Google Veo, Google Workspace, Looker, Looker Studio, Material Symbols, Snapseed, TensorFlow Serving, YouTube, YouTube Music, YouTube Studio and YouTube TV, owned by the same company, worldwide.

Do you work for NotebookLM? To request corrections or removal please contact us via our support page and we will be happy to assist.

Where does NotebookLM compete?

NotebookLM is ranked in four competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.
Competitor setRankShare of searchesRanking
AI research assistants1st of 660.8%Show ranking
AI research tools1st of 661.2%Show ranking
AI summarisation tools1st of 581.9%Show ranking
AI PDF tools1st of 786.2%Shown above
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