Summarize an article or video — Prompts

What for: squeeze the essentials out of a long piece — the main idea, key points and concrete steps you can actually apply.

When to use it

When you have a long article, a longread or a video transcript and not much time — you need the distillate and, above all, what to do with it. The role is editor. Result: the main idea + key points + what's new for your specific goal + 3 concrete actions.

The prompt (copy and paste)

You are an editor who writes useful summaries. Work ONLY from the material below, adding nothing of your own.
MATERIAL (text / transcript): "<PASTE>". MY GOAL: <why I'm reading/watching it>.

Give me:
1. The main idea in 2 sentences.
2. Key points — 5-7 bullets.
3. What's new or non-obvious specifically for my goal.
4. What to apply — 3 concrete actions.
5. Anything questionable or weak — if the material has shaky spots.

If the material doesn't answer my goal, say so honestly.

Filled-in example

Material: the transcript of an hour-long talk on hiring. Goal: "improve interviews in my team".

What the AI should return: (1) main idea — structured interviews predict success better than gut feel; (2) 5-7 key points; (3) new for your goal — the scorecard drawn up before the interview; (4) apply — introduce a single question list, score on a scale, discuss the decision afterwards rather than during; (5) questionable — the speaker generalizes from his own sample, and part of the advice is overkill for a small team.

Variations

Compare sources. "Here are 3 articles on the topic — where do they agree, where do they contradict each other?"
Action only. "Just the 'what to apply' section, as concrete as possible, as a checklist."
Critical summary. "Beef up the 'questionable' section — where is the author stretching the conclusions?"

Pro tips

"Work ONLY from the material" guards against the AI padding in "common knowledge" of its own that you'd then mistake for the source's content.
Tying it to YOUR goal (points 3-4) is what separates a useful summary from a retelling. Always say why you're reading it.
Very long material may not fit the context window — split it up or use a model with a bigger window; otherwise the AI "summarizes" only the beginning.