How to use ChatGPT to summarize a book, article, or research paper

AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be used to make summarizing long articles, research papers, and books an easier task. If you're supposed to write a summary for school or work on a body of written text, remember that ChatGPT should be used to help you understand a topic rather than to write your work for you.

Also: How to use ChatGPT to write an essay

If you're a student writing a research paper, someone wanting to know more about a lengthy article, or someone who wants to know more about a complicated subject, you can use ChatGPT to simplify the process.

How ChatGPT can create summaries for you

Materials needed: You will need a device that can connect to the internet, an OpenAI account, as well as a URL to an article, research paper, or the title of a book. The process should take about one to three minutes.

FAQs

What are ChatGPT's limitations?

If you're using ChatGPT to summarize an article, book, or piece of research, keep in mind that ChatGPT isn't aware of events that occurred past 2021. 

For example, suppose you ask ChatGPT to tell you about Joe Biden's political campaign this year to ban TikTok. In that case, the chatbot will tell you, “It is currently unclear what actions, if any, the Biden administration may take regarding TikTok in the future.”

If you try to get around this and provide ChatGPT with an article that contains information post-2021, it may hallucinate. Here, I asked the chatbot to summarize an article about a new app I wrote about this week, and it made up a few details. 

Can ChatGPT summarize a PDF?

Yes, you can upload a PDF document to ChatGPT, and it will summarize its contents. However, the chatbot's summary accuracy can vary depending on the PDF's quality. If the PDF is inaccessible or behind a paywall, ChatGPT may not be able to summarize it for you.

Can ChatGPT summarize an email thread?

Sort of. If you want to copy and paste every single email, ChatGPT can summarize the thread's contents for you. It would be more helpful to glaze over the email thread and ask ChatGPT to help you write a response based on the key points you know about the conversation.