How do I use AI to summarize a long document?

I'm going to paste in a long document. Summarize it in three layers: (1) one sentence, (2) five bullet points of the most important ideas, (3) a short section-by-section walkthrough.

Then tell me: who this document seems written for, anything surprising or easily missed, and any place where the document is vague or makes a claim without support. If I ask about a detail, point me to the section it came from so I can check it myself.

A plain “summarize this” gets you a book report. This prompt gets you three layers of depth, plus something more important: the AI flags what’s vague or unsupported, and points you back to the source so you can verify — because AI summaries can miss things or get details wrong, and the stakes decide how much checking to do.

How to use it

1. Copy the prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the document (or attach it, in apps that allow uploads).
2. Read the one-sentence and bullet layers first; drop into the walkthrough only where you need it.
3. For anything you’ll act on — a contract term, a policy detail — check the original section it points you to.

Try next: “What questions should I ask before agreeing to this?”

Free to use and share. Have a better version? Send it in — this library is community-built.