Google tests Whiteboard Animation format in NotebookLM

Google's NotebookLM has been on a rapid expansion streak with its Video Overviews feature. Since launching the original Explainer format and adding Brief for quick summaries, the tool received its most ambitious upgrade on March 4 with Cinematic Video Overviews, powered by Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3, available to AI Ultra subscribers. Now, TestingCatalog has spotted two additional format options hiding inside NotebookLM's customization UI that are not part of the current official lineup: "Short" and "Whiteboard Animation."

The discovery surfaced through the Video Overview customization modal, where alongside the three known formats, Cinematic, Explainer, and Brief, two extra tiles appeared. "Short" seems to target an even more condensed video output, potentially catering to social media-length content or rapid consumption needs. More intriguing is "Whiteboard Animation," which appears as a dedicated format type rather than the existing "Whiteboard" visual style already available within other formats. This distinction matters: a standalone whiteboard animation format would likely produce an entirely different video structure, mimicking the hand-drawn, progressively illustrated style that made the RSA Animate series a viral educational phenomenon in the early 2010s.

Google has been steadily expanding NotebookLM's Studio panel into a multimodal content factory, Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, Mind Maps, Slide Decks, Infographics, and Reports all now live under one roof. Adding a short-form video format and a whiteboard animation format would fill two distinct gaps: bite-sized shareable clips and visually driven explainers that prioritize step-by-step illustration over cinematic polish. Students, educators, and content creators who need to distill complex material into approachable formats stand to gain the most from both additions.

There is no confirmed timeline for either format, and it remains unclear whether Google will ultimately ship them. But given NotebookLM's pace of feature releases in early 2026, with Cinematic arriving in March, these hidden options suggest that the Video Overviews roadmap still has room to grow.