How-to · tested on
NotebookLM mind map: how to make one, and how ChatGPT and Claude compare
NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, turns your sources into a clickable mind map in about 15 seconds, with no prompt to write. You can expand it, zoom and click a topic to ask about it, but you can't edit it. We made one from a 39-page jobs report, then asked ChatGPT and Claude for the same map as Mermaid code, which you can edit. Every figure in all three maps matched the report. Here is how to make each one, and what each is good for.
Short answer
- Use Gemini Notebook's mind map to explore your sources. It takes one click, and clicking a topic asks the chat about it. Its map was the tidiest of the three, with 3 branches and 52 topics, but it left out context such as 12-month averages and what revised figures were before.
- Use ChatGPT for the fullest map and a file you can keep. It drew 115 topics, and its diagram menu has Copy as code and Download image.
- Use Claude for the code. It wrote a correct 77-topic map in under 40 seconds, but drew it badly in the chat, so paste the code into the Mermaid Live Editor.
Watch the side-by-side test
How to make a mind map in NotebookLM
- Open a notebook and add your sources. We used one PDF.
- In the Studio panel, select Mind Map. Google's help page says to select a Mind Map chip in the chat, but our notebook had none.
- In the Mind Map dialog, choose the language, the sources to use and, if you like, a topic under "What should the topic be?". An AI Usage bar shows what you have already used and what this map is expected to use.
- Select Generate now. Ours was ready in about 14 seconds. Generate later queues it instead; Google says that may take a couple of hours and works only on the web.
- Open the map from Studio. It opens collapsed, showing the root and its main branches. Expand branches one at a time or all at once, and zoom in or out.
- Click a topic to ask about it. Clicking "Discouraged workers: 414,000" sent the chat: "Discuss what these sources say about Discouraged workers: 414,000, in the larger context of Unemployment Characteristics."
What you can't do is change it. There is no way to rename a topic, move a branch or add one. Besides expand-all and zoom, the map has a download button, and its window has Share, full screen and a menu whose only item is Delete. Google says the download is a file you can share, but doesn't name the format; the button showed no tooltip, and we didn't download in this run. Google also says the mobile app doesn't support mind maps yet, and that usage limits apply to them.
One report, three mind maps
The document was the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' The Employment Situation, September 2026, a 39-page PDF of text and tables. On 15 October 2026 we made a mind map in Gemini Notebook with the default settings: English, the one source, no topic. We gave ChatGPT (Plus, in a project) and Claude (Max, Claude Opus 5.5, in a new chat) the same PDF and sent each this once:
Make a mind map of this report as a Mermaid mindmap code block. Use only facts from the report.
| Gemini Notebook | ChatGPT | Claude | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How | Studio, Mind Map; no prompt | The prompt above | The prompt above |
| Time | About 14 seconds | Within 64 seconds | Within 37 seconds |
| Main branches | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Topics, including the root | 52 | 115 | 77 |
| Wrong figures | None | None | None |
| What you see | A clickable map that opens collapsed | A diagram, with Copy as code and Download image | A diagram in the chat, mostly overlapping labels |
| Can you edit it | No | Yes, as Mermaid code | Yes, as Mermaid code |
Gemini Notebook followed the report's own layout: the household survey, the establishment survey, and the technical notes. Every topic reads "name: value", such as "Unemployment rate: 4.2 percent". ChatGPT and Claude sorted by subject instead, with the headline, revisions, earnings and hours each on a branch of their own, and kept more context. Both gave what July and August were before revision (July went from +21,000 to −10,000), the 12-month averages for payrolls, health care and construction, that the Black unemployment rate rose, and the date of the next report, 6 November. Gemini Notebook's map had none of these.
Each also had something the others didn't. Claude added the U-6 rate of 7.6% and the report's significance thresholds for each survey, about 122,000 and 650,000. ChatGPT gave total employment, 163.2 million, and private payrolls, +46,000, both read from the report's tables. Gemini Notebook alone explained how payroll figures are revised and benchmarked, and gave the 90% confidence level. We checked every figure in all three maps against the PDF and none was wrong. In our summary test on the same report a day earlier, two of the three apps wrote that unemployment "held steady" when it rose from 4.1% to 4.2%. No map said that; ChatGPT's and Claude's called the rate "little changed", which is how the report itself puts it.
Claude drew its map in the chat, not as an artifact, and only the household survey branch came out as boxes joined by lines. The other five were loose labels on top of each other, and the diagram had no buttons, even on hover. Anthropic's help page for these visuals, which are in beta, lists Copy as image, Download and Save as artifact. The code itself was fine: Mermaid's own renderer drew Claude's map, all six branches, and ChatGPT's without a single edit. ChatGPT lists Mermaid among the code blocks it can preview.
How to get a mind map you can edit
- Add your PDF to ChatGPT or Claude and send the prompt above.
- Copy the code. In ChatGPT, open Diagram options and choose Copy as code. In Claude, copy the code from the answer.
- Paste it into the Mermaid Live Editor. Each line is a topic and its indent sets its level, so you can rename, move or add topics by editing text.
This is one branch of Claude's map, word for word:
mindmap
root((Employment Situation September 2026))
Revisions
July revised from +21,000 to a loss of 10,000
August revised from +162,000 to +133,000
July and August combined 60,000 lowerMermaid calls its mindmap diagram experimental and says its syntax may change, so keep the code as well as any image you export.
Where Creatos fits
It doesn't, for mind maps. We make Creatos, a desktop canvas where one source connects to several AI models so you can read their answers side by side. A model in Creatos will write Mermaid code if you ask, but Creatos shows it as text and doesn't draw it. Where it helps is checking: in our API test on this same report, Claude, GPT and Gemini answered the same three questions next to each other. It costs $69 once, uses your own API keys or local models, and runs on macOS and Windows.
FAQ
How do I make a mind map in NotebookLM?
Open a notebook with your sources and select Mind Map in the Studio panel. Choose the language, the sources and, if you like, a topic, then select Generate now. Ours was ready in about 14 seconds. Google’s help page says to use a Mind Map chip in the chat, but the notebook we used on 15 October 2026 had none, so Studio was the way in. NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook.
Can I download a NotebookLM mind map?
Yes. Google says you can download it from inside the mind map window and share the file. Google does not name the file format, and the button showed no tooltip in our run. If you need a map you can change, ask ChatGPT or Claude for the same map as Mermaid code instead.
Can I edit a NotebookLM mind map?
No. You can expand and collapse branches, zoom, download the map and click a topic to ask about it, but there is no way to rename a topic, move a branch or add one. To get an editable map, ask ChatGPT or Claude for a Mermaid mindmap and paste the code into the Mermaid Live Editor.
Do NotebookLM mind maps work on the phone?
Not yet. Google’s help page says the Gemini Notebook mobile app does not support mind maps at this time. They work on the web.
Are NotebookLM mind maps free?
Google doesn’t list them as a paid feature, but they count toward your usage limit, and the Mind Map dialog shows how much of it a map is expected to use. Google says the limit refreshes every 5 hours up to a weekly limit, and that Google AI Plus gives 2 times the standard limits and Google AI Pro 4 times.
Does Creatos make mind maps?
No. Creatos is a desktop canvas where one source, such as a PDF, connects to several AI models so you can compare their answers side by side. A model in Creatos will write Mermaid code if you ask, but Creatos shows it as text and does not draw it. For a mind map, use one of the three apps on this page.
Who wrote this
We make Creatos, so read this with that in mind. We made the three maps ourselves on 15 October 2026 and checked every figure against the BLS report. What each app can do comes from Google's, OpenAI's and Anthropic's own help pages, read the same day and linked above, and from what we saw in each app.