How to Use AI to Summarize a Long Text

What you will learn

In this guide, you will learn how to use ChatGPT to summarize long texts into short, easy-to-read versions. This is useful for long articles, emails, letters from your bank or insurance company, or any document you do not have time to read fully.

What you need

• A computer, tablet, or smartphone with internet access
• A web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge)
• A free ChatGPT account at chat.openai.com
• The text you want to summarize (copied and ready to paste)

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Copy the text you want to summarize

Find the text you want to shorten. It could be a news article, an email, or a document. Select all the text you want summarized by clicking and dragging your mouse over it (or pressing and holding on your phone screen). Then right-click and choose “Copy” (or press Ctrl+C on a computer).

Step 2: Open ChatGPT and paste the text

Go to chat.openai.com and sign in. In the text box at the bottom of the screen, type:

“Summarize this text in simple language:”

Then press Enter to go to the next line, and paste the text you copied (right-click and “Paste” or press Ctrl+V). Press Enter to send the whole message.

Step 3: Read the summary

ChatGPT will write a shorter version of the text. It will keep the main points and leave out the less important details. Read the summary to check it makes sense and captures what the original text was about.

Step 4: Ask for a different format if needed

If you want the summary in a different format, you can ask:

• “Give me the 3 most important points as a list”
• “Summarize this in one paragraph”
• “Summarize this in two sentences”
• “What is the main conclusion of this text?”

ChatGPT will reformat the summary based on what you need.

Step 5: Copy or save the summary

Once you are happy with the summary, copy it by selecting the text and choosing “Copy.” You can paste it into a note, a message, or anywhere you want to save it. You can also take a screenshot for a quick record.

Tips

• Be clear about what you want. Saying “Summarize this in 3 bullet points” gives a better result than just “Summarize this.”
• Check important documents. If the text is from your bank, insurance, or doctor, read the summary carefully and go back to the original for anything that looks unclear.
• Translate and summarize. You can paste text in any language and say “Summarize this in English.” ChatGPT will translate and summarize at the same time.
• Use it for emails too. If you get a very long email, paste it into ChatGPT and ask “What is this email asking me to do?”