How to summarise a long pdf or report with AI
Understand a long report, contract or manual in minutes, and ask questions about it.
- ⏱ Time10 minutes
- 💰 CostFree to start
- 🎯 DifficultyEasy
- 👤 ForMoney & research
Steps
Upload the PDF to a notebook tool and ask for a short summary with the key points.
Tool: NotebookLM
Try this prompt:Summarise this document in 10 bullet points a non-expert can understand. What should I pay attention to?
Ask follow-up questions. Good tools show exactly where in the document the answer comes from.
Tool: PDF.ai
Try this prompt:Where does it say what happens if I cancel early?
If the PDF is already open in Adobe Acrobat, you can use its built-in AI assistant instead.
For a plain-language explanation or a list of questions to ask an expert, use a general assistant.
Tool: Claude
Try this prompt:Explain section 4 of this contract in simple words and list 5 questions I should ask my lawyer.
Tools used
NotebookLM
Upload your sources and chat with them, or turn them into audio overviews. Grounded answers only.
Free, paid tier
PDF.ai
Chat with any PDF for summaries and answers, plus an API for parsing documents.
Pricing not verified
Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant
Summarise, query and edit PDFs with AI inside Acrobat; docs aren't used for training.
Pricing not verified
Claude
Anthropic's assistant for writing, analysis and code, now with decks, spreadsheets and scheduled tasks. A top pick for long documents and careful reasoning.
Pricing not verified
Learn how
New to AI tools? Start with our beginner guides.
Questions
Is it safe to upload private documents?
Read the tool's privacy policy first, and avoid uploading ID numbers, bank details or health records.
More things AI can help with
Share: X · LinkedIn · Reddit · Hacker News · Copy link