The days of scribbling notes on paper or in Microsoft Word from an interesting article are behind us, thanks to ChatGPT. Now, with just a simple prompt, you can quickly turn a long read into a brief summary that captures the main ideas, allowing you to grasp the essential content without dedicating too much time.
To enhance your productivity and save time, we’ve put together a guide on how to use ChatGPT to summarize an article, making it easier than ever to digest information swiftly. Let’s get started!
Summarizing Articles with ChatGPT Directly
Using ChatGPT to summarize articles is a go-to method that requires nothing more than a well-crafted prompt, which I’ll share with you below. But first, we need to understand a few things to avoid some common mistakes.
When you have an article ready for summarization, you simply paste its text into ChatGPT (it’s quite obvious right? Well not really). It’s important to remember that ChatGPT has a limit on how much text it can process at once. If your article exceeds this limit, ChatGPT might not fully grasp its entirety.
For longer articles, a practical approach is to break them down into smaller sections. Summarizing these parts separately can help you avoid the text limit issue. This strategy ensures that ChatGPT captures the essential details from each segment of the article.
Also, bear in mind that the quality of the summary mainly depends on how detailed is your prompt. A good prompt directs ChatGPT to focus on the main ideas, key points, and conclusions of the article, ensuring a concise and coherent summary.
I used the prompt I included below in our article about using ChatGPT to rewrite text. And here’s what the output looks like:
![Using ChatGPT to summarize an article](https://gptpluginz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-4.png)
Prompt: Please read the following article and summarize its key points and main conclusions concisely. Focus on distilling the essence of the text, ensuring that the summary is informative yet straightforward enough for a wide range of readers to grasp. Highlight the primary arguments, significant findings, and any notable perspectives it offers. Break down any complex ideas into simpler concepts, aiming for clarity without oversimplifying the core message. Your summary should provide a clear overview, allowing someone unfamiliar with the topic to understand the article’s main contributions and insights. “[Paste your article here]”
Using a Chrome Extension
If you’re looking for a more effective way to summarize articles, a great way I recommend using (which I often use) is by utilizing a browser extension. The cool thing about this approach is that you won’t have to copy and paste content into ChatGPT. Also, there are several extensions that can perform this specific task. I personally use Harpa AI and highly recommend it.
For those interested, I’ve published a complete review of Harpa AI. Check out the review for more insights.
Here’s how to get started with Harpa AI: Go to the Google Chrome web store, search for Harpa AI, and install it.
After installing and enabling the extension, simply press ALT + A to pop the chat. When you’re on a webpage you want to summarize, just toggle the ‘Page’ feature. Then, use the prompt I’m about to share, including the term “{{page}}” within your instruction. Harpa AI will then summarize the web page’s content automatically.
![Harpa AI page feature](https://gptpluginz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-3.png)
What’s really cool about Harpa AI is the fact that it supports different language models. This lets you see which model delivers the best results for your needs.
Here’s a detailed prompt you can use with Harpa AI, making sure to include “{{page}}” to indicate you want the content of the current page summarized:
Prompt: “Please summarize the following page {{page}}. Your summary should highlight the main points, key discoveries, and significant arguments. Ensure you simplify complex theories or terms to make the information understandable for all readers. The summary must be clear, concise, and comprehensive, providing a complete overview of the essential aspects. Also, include any notable contrasts or comparisons made in the article to enhance the understanding of the topic.”
Leveraging Dedicated GPT Models
If Harpa AI doesn’t work with your preferred browser, or if you’d rather not slow down your browsing with extensions, there’s another excellent method I use. This approach is also great when feeding ChatGPT information it isn’t aware of and can also be used for summarizing articles. It involves using dedicated GPTs capable of scraping information from any given page, allowing you to interact with, explain, or summarize that information.
My favorite GPT that I use for this specific task is WebPilot. But there are several GPTs that can perform the same feature, so if you’re not a big fan of Webpilot, you have tons of options. With that said, here’s how to get started:
Head over to the GPTs store by clicking on “Explore GPTs.”
![GPTs store](https://gptpluginz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-5.png)
Search for WebPilot, click on it, then click on the three dots in the top right corner and choose “Keep in sidebar.”
![Webpilot Keep in sidebar](https://gptpluginz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-2.png)
Whenever you’re in a conversation with ChatGPT and want to summarize an article, simply type “@webpilot,” select it, and use a prompt regarding the article URL you wish to summarize.
![Calling webpilot GPT](https://gptpluginz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-6.png)
Here’s a prompt you can use with WebPilot for summarizing an article:
Prompt: “Please summarize this article for me: [Insert Article URL here]. Your summary should capture the main points, key arguments, and significant conclusions. Aim to distill the essence of the article into a brief summary that retains the original context and offers clear insights. The summary must be straightforward and simplify complex information for easier understanding.”
P.S.: These prompts are examples to guide you on how to structure your requests to ChatGPT. Please customize your prompt to include specific points or questions you’re interested in learning about from the article.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to summarize a research article?
The most efficient method is using a browser extension. This is because directly feeding a lengthy research article to ChatGPT might not always work due to size constraints.
Can ChatGPT summarize a PDF?
Yes, ChatGPT can summarize a PDF file. Simply upload the PDF into ChatGPT and ask it to summarize the document for you.
Can ChatGPT summarize a whole article?
Yes, ChatGPT can summarize an entire article. However, there is a word limit ChatGPT can handle at once. If the article exceeds this limit, ChatGPT might not be able to process and summarize some parts of it.
Conclusion
We hope you found these tips on using ChatGPT to summarize articles useful and that they make your reading and research more efficient. Feel free to share in the comments which method worked best for you or if you have any questions.
Whether you need a specific prompt for a unique use case or just some guidance, we’re here to assist. Your insights and inquiries are always welcome!