Gemini Notebook (NotebookLM) vs Copilot Notebooks: Privacy, Admin, Cost

For a small firm, pick the notebook inside the suite you already run: Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) on Google Workspace, Copilot Notebooks (now rolling out as Copilot Workspaces) on Microsoft 365. Both answer from your own documents with citations. What separates them is privacy terms, admin switches and the cost of each extra seat.

The features are close enough that choosing on features is a coin toss. A firm choice rests on three questions: where do client documents end up stored, what can an administrator control, and what do you pay per head once the trial ends? For a firm of 5 to 50 people, those three answers decide it. Where a vendor's own pages leave a gap, it is marked as unconfirmed rather than guessed.

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Two products, three names to untangle first

Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook, and its help pages now use the new name, so older reviews describe the same product. Microsoft is mid-rename. Its support article "Copilot Notebooks is now Copilot Workspaces" says the new name rolls out in phases from late October 2026, that existing notebooks become workspaces automatically, that any sharing you set up carries over, and that everything Notebooks did still works. Most help pages still carry the Notebooks name in their titles, and timing depends on your organisation's rollout, so this page keeps "Copilot Notebooks" because that is what searchers type. If your screen says Workspaces, it is the same feature.

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A second naming trap: Microsoft also calls the main product "Microsoft Copilot" and the paid business version "Microsoft Copilot Business" on some pages, and "Microsoft 365 Copilot Business" on others. They refer to the same $21-a-user licence. Do not let the labels make you believe there are four products.

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What goes in: source types and limits

Gemini Notebook takes a wide spread of sources: Google Docs, Slides (up to 100 slides), Sheets (up to 100,000 tokens), PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, text, Markdown, CSV, images, audio files such as MP3 and WAV, web addresses, public YouTube videos, copied text and even Gemini chats. Each source can hold up to 500,000 words or 200MB for uploaded files. On the free plan you can add up to 50 sources per notebook, and the Standard consumer tier allows 100 notebooks.

Copilot Notebooks works differently, and the licence decides what you can add. Microsoft's licensing page lets everyone add PDFs, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, OneNote and Loop pages, email threads with attachments and plain text or Markdown files. Only users with a Microsoft Copilot licence can add SharePoint and OneDrive locations, Teams chats, meeting transcripts and summaries, and URLs. The same page caps a notebook at up to 50 sources for Copilot Chat users and up to 300 with a Microsoft Copilot licence; the how-it-works page adds that when you point a notebook at a SharePoint folder or site, Copilot picks up to 300 of the most relevant files you can open. No per-file size limit is given, so if a notebook of 200 long contracts matters to you, test it in a trial rather than trusting a third-party review.

Privacy: what each vendor says about your documents

Privacy is the deciding factor for a firm that holds client files, so read the terms for your kind of account, not the consumer terms.

Google's terms

Google's plans page separates three cases. For personal accounts, data is "not used to train Gemini Notebook unless you provide feedback", and if you do give feedback Google may review the full interaction. For Workspace accounts, uploads, queries and responses are not reviewed by human reviewers, including when you click thumbs up or down, and are not used to train AI models. For the enterprise Google Cloud tier, the page says files, chats and model outputs are not reviewed by human reviewers or used to improve generative AI models. The practical rule is plain: a firm should use work accounts under Workspace, never a personal Gmail login on client material.

Microsoft's terms

Microsoft's FAQ states that Copilot Notebooks does not use user data to train the large language model. The notebook itself is stored in a personal container inside SharePoint Embedded, tied to its creator. That has consequences that Microsoft's governance summary sets out: no end-user recycle bin, so an individually deleted notebook cannot be recovered by the user or an administrator (the support pages say a recycle bin is in development); the container is owned by one user, so when staff leave there is a manual handoff step; and Information Barriers are not supported for this storage, so firms that need ethical walls between teams should consider turning Notebooks off.

The same summary lists what works: retention policies set for all SharePoint sites apply, eDiscovery and Customer Lockbox are supported, and audit logs are available. For a regulated firm, that list is a stronger paper trail than Google's page offers, but only if you have the admin staff or provider to use it.

Admin control: who can switch what

This is the dimension a small firm underrates until a leaver or a complaint arrives.

• Microsoft: a Cloud Policy setting turns creation of Copilot Pages and Copilot Notebooks on or off. Microsoft's governance page notes that to stop the container being created at all, you also disable the matching Loop workspace setting for that user. The governance summary lists no separate switch for notebook sharing, so before you promise a client that sharing is locked down, check what your own tenant's settings allow.
• Google: access follows the Workspace licence tier and admin settings. Google's page says sharing a notebook does not change the source limit for any collaborator, and that advanced sharing is for paid users. It does not set out per-notebook admin controls on the page I read.

The honest summary: Microsoft documents the admin and compliance side in more detail, including its gaps. Google documents the data-use side more simply. If your insurer, regulator or biggest client asks for retention and audit evidence, Microsoft's documentation is easier to hand over.

Cost: the seat sum for a 12-person firm

Illustration: a twelve-person insurance broker, with ten people who would use document Q&A and two who would not.

Google route. Gemini Notebook is not a separate purchase. Google's Workspace page lists Business Starter with basic access (up to 3 Audio Overviews a day) and Standard with expanded access: up to 20 Audio Overviews a day and five times more notebooks, chat queries and sources per notebook. The list prices on the page I read were $7 and $14 per user a month for Starter and Standard, and $22 for Plus, with lower introductory prices shown alongside for new customers. If the firm is already on Starter and decides it needs expanded limits, twelve seats on Standard is 12 × $14 = $168 a month, an increase of $84 over Starter at $7 a seat.

Microsoft route. Copilot Business is $21 per user a month on annual billing, or $25.20 if billed monthly, for firms up to 300 users, with an $18 first-year offer on annual billing running to 31 December 2026. Ten Notebooks users on annual billing: 10 × $21 = $210 a month, or 10 × $18 = $180 during the offer year. That licence also opens the premium sources, and Copilot across Word, Outlook and Teams, which may be the real reason to buy it. Copilot Chat users can also use Notebooks at no extra licence cost, but with up to 50 sources and without SharePoint or OneDrive as a reference type. For a firm whose documents all live in SharePoint, that gap usually decides it: staff would be uploading copies instead of pointing at the real folders. Confirm what your own tenant shows before you rely on either route.

So on notebooks alone: Google adds roughly $84 a month if you must move from Starter to Standard, and nothing if your tier already includes enough. Microsoft adds $180 to $210 a month for the licence that opens SharePoint and OneDrive sources, or nothing for Chat-level use on uploaded files. The prices only mean something against the stack you already pay for, which is why the first question is always which suite your staff live in. The deeper plan-by-plan sums for Google are in the Gemini Notebook pricing tutorial, and the licence side for Microsoft in Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing: business versus enterprise.

Sharing a notebook with colleagues

Sharing is where privacy and admin control collide, and the two tools behave differently.

In Copilot Notebooks, sharing a notebook can also give invitees access to the files inside it. Microsoft's sharing page says recipients are automatically invited to all linked files so Copilot can answer, and some files may stay restricted if their permissions cannot transfer. The FAQ adds that read-only members are not currently supported: invitees get editing access. Groups cannot be added as members. Someone without access to a restricted file must request it individually.

In Gemini Notebook, sharing is simpler to explain: you share the notebook, and the page says doing so does not alter anyone's source limit. Advanced sharing requires a paid plan. The page does not describe what happens to the underlying Drive file permissions, so do not assume that sharing a notebook grants or removes access to the original files.

A sharing test worth ten minutes

Before you put client files in either tool, run this with dummy files:

1. Create a notebook holding one public document and one document you restrict to yourself.
2. Share it with a colleague who should not see the restricted file.
3. Ask the colleague to question the notebook about the restricted file's content.
4. Note whether an answer leaks, a refusal appears or an access request is triggered.
5. Remove the colleague and ask again. Does the old answer remain visible anywhere?

That one test tells you more about the privacy of your firm's setup than any comparison table.

Citation quality and the check you must do

Both tools answer with references to your files, and both warn you in their own way. Google notes that a very short source is referenced as a whole, without a citation to a specific passage. Microsoft's FAQ says Copilot may select a subset of references when building an artefact, so the output might not cite every attached reference. In plain terms: neither guarantees that every claim is traceable.

A usable habit for a firm is the three-click rule. For any figure, date or clause you plan to use in client work, click the citation, find the exact passage in the source, and read the sentence either side. If you cannot find it, the claim is not usable. My tutorial on checking Gemini Notebook citations sets out a longer spot-check you can reuse on the Microsoft side too.

Three firms, three picks

An accountancy practice on Google Workspace with ten staff

Staff keep working papers in Drive and Docs. Gemini Notebook reads Drive files directly, so there is almost no setup. The practice upgrades to Standard only if staff hit the notebook or source limits. The key rule: work accounts only, and a written line in the staff handbook banning personal-account uploads of client files.

An electrical contractor on Microsoft 365 Business with eight staff

Quotes, certificates and job notes sit in SharePoint and OneDrive. Copilot Notebooks fits because the sources are already there. The test is whether the Copilot Chat route covers what the contractor needs: it allows up to 50 uploaded files per notebook, but pointing a notebook at a SharePoint or OneDrive folder, or at Teams chats, needs a Microsoft Copilot licence. For eight people that is a $168 to $201.60 monthly question at the $21 annual or $25.20 monthly rate, so cost it before choosing, and consider licensing only the two or three staff who build notebooks.

A plumbing firm with six staff and no suite loyalty

Mixed tools, files on a shared drive and phones. Neither product is a natural fit, and the cheapest honest start is Gemini Notebook on free personal accounts for non-client material only, such as the firm's own procedures, while a proper suite decision waits. Putting client records on personal accounts is the line not to cross.

A first-use scenario, with sample output

To see how either tool behaves, try the same task in both: asking a notebook of your own standard operating procedures a staff question. Illustration for the insurance broker, using a notebook loaded with the firm's complaint-handling procedure and renewal checklist.

Prompt: A client says their renewal quote doubled. What are the three steps
our procedure requires before we reply? Cite the document for each step.

Illustrative output:
1. Pull the prior-year schedule and compare the sums insured (Renewal checklist, section 2).
2. Ask the insurer for a written reason for the increase (Complaint procedure, step 3).
3. Record the call in the file within one working day (Complaint procedure, step 5).

What you would fix: the first step cites "section 2", but if the checklist has no numbered sections the citation is a guess. Click it. A real tool run might also blend the two documents' steps together, which is why the question asked for a citation for each step. The practical test for choosing between the tools is how often the citations land on the passage you expected. Run the same ten questions in both and count.

The staff Q&A from SOPs tutorial turns this into a repeatable first project, and for the Microsoft side the client folder tutorial shows a notebook built from emails and files.

Where notebook roll-outs slip in small firms

• Personal accounts creeping in. A staff member uses a personal login because it is quicker. Fix: a one-line rule and a check of who has created notebooks.
• Over-sharing through a notebook. Someone shares a Microsoft notebook and invitees gain access to linked files. Fix: share from a folder permission, not from the notebook, and run the sharing test above.
• A leaver's notebooks. On the Microsoft side, notebooks sit in the creator's own container with a manual handoff at departure. Fix: put the departure checklist item in place now, and keep client notebooks under a shared owner account where your admin allows.
• Quotas that move. Google labels its usage limits "Subject to Change", and Microsoft's source limits differ by licence and sit on a licensing page, not in the product. Fix: re-check both pages each quarter and keep a note of the limits you relied on.
• A mixed-licence notebook that half works. A licensed partner builds a notebook from a SharePoint folder and shares it with a Copilot Chat colleague. Microsoft's sharing page says premium sources are only accessible to Microsoft Copilot users, so the colleague's answers can miss documents the partner sees. Fix: when you mix licences, tell Chat-level staff which sources they cannot reach, or add uploaded copies for them.

A two-week pilot, scored

If the sums leave you undecided, run both for two weeks on non-client material and score them. Here is a filled-in plan for the twelve-person broker, using its own procedures and a public regulator guide as sources.

Add one quick sum to the sheet: the monthly cost per user at your real headcount, using the figures above. A tool that wins five of five tests but needs a licence you will not otherwise buy is a different decision from one that is nearly free. Write the scores down, because in six months you will not remember which tool failed the sharing test and why.

The rule I would give a firm

Use the notebook that sits inside the suite you already pay for and already administer. Then do three things: use work accounts only, run the sharing test once, and check every cited figure before it reaches a client. If you are on both suites, or neither, the sums above give you the price difference, and the privacy pages tell you which administrative effort you can afford. A document notebook is a reading aid, not a source of record, so keep the originals as the record and use the notebook to find your way into them.

If you would rather map this against your own accounts with someone, that is what my AI implementation consultation covers. For wider comparisons with other assistants that can hold documents, see Gemini Notebook versus ChatGPT and Claude Projects.

Questions firms ask before picking a notebook tool

Do I need a paid licence for Copilot Notebooks?

Not to start. Microsoft's pages say Notebooks works with a Copilot Chat or a Microsoft Copilot licence, and the account also needs a SharePoint or OneDrive service plan. Chat users get up to 50 sources per notebook and cannot add SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams chats or URLs as references; a Microsoft Copilot licence lifts that to 300 sources and opens those types.

Does Gemini Notebook train on my firm's documents?

Google's plans page says uploads, queries and responses on Workspace accounts are not reviewed by human reviewers and are not used to train AI models. For personal accounts it says data is not used to train unless you give feedback. A firm should use work accounts, not personal ones.

Can clients or outside advisers join a shared notebook?

Treat that as unproven until you test it. Microsoft's sharing page does not say whether people outside your organisation can be invited, and invitees get editing access. Google's page says advanced sharing is for paid users. Test with a dummy notebook and an outside address before sharing client material.

Which tool cites its answers better?

Both tie answers to your uploaded files, but neither makes a reliable promise. Microsoft's FAQ says Copilot may use only a subset of references when it builds an artefact, and Google notes very short sources are referenced whole. Always click through to the source passage before quoting anything.

Further reads

• Gemini Notebook (Formerly NotebookLM) for Small Business Teams — What Gemini Notebook does for a whole team.
• Does Microsoft 365 Copilot Keep Your Business Data Private? — How Microsoft handles your data across Copilot.
• ChatPDF Alternatives for Offices: Acrobat, Box AI and Gemini Notebook — Other ways to question PDFs in a small office.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: Google's Gemini Notebook plans and source-limits help pages, Google Workspace pricing page, Microsoft Support pages on Copilot Notebooks (FAQ, how it works, licensing, sharing, and the move to Copilot Workspaces), Microsoft Learn governance summary for Copilot Pages and Notebooks, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business pricing page.