How To Use ChatGPT To Summarize An Article Like An Expert In 3 Steps

Are you tired of grinding through those never-ending articles for school or your research?

I understand. The struggle is real.

But guess what?

AI makes summarizing everything super easy.

ChatGPT is your superhero and will do all the heavy lifting with summarizing long (and potentially boring) content. I will show you step-by-step how to use ChatGPT to summarize an article.

Bye-bye midnight oil burn and hello to using THE AI-powered tool of the decade (well…so far!)

Here’s How To Use ChatGPT To Summarize An Article in 3 Steps

1. Find your article

Locate the article you want to summarize and have it ready in a separate tab.

2. Log In to OpenAI

Visit chat.openai.com and log in. If you’re new, sign up – it’s quick and easy.

3. Paste and Summarize

Paste your article text into the chat on the ChatGPT home page and give prompts to summarize.

Using TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)

Step 1: Type “TLDR” in the chat.

Step 2: Provide the link to your article or paste the content directly.

Step 3: Press Enter and let ChatGPT quickly generate a concise summary.

Using a Custom Prompt

Step 1: Craft a clear and specific command in the chat for more tailored summaries.

For instance:

“Summarize the article’s main points in 150 words.”
“Offer a concise overview highlighting the key arguments.”
“Summarize the text, with a focus on the introduction and conclusion.”

Step 2: Paste a link to your article or the content you want to summarize.

Step 3: Hit Enter and ChatGPT will generate a summary based on your custom prompt.

Tips for Effective Brainstorming with ChatGPT

Ask Follow-Up Questions: Remember, it’s a chatbot so have a chat. Don’t hesitate to ask for more details or clarification on any of the topics or ideas provided. Don’t be scared to just keep asking for more.
Keep It Interactive: Treat your session with ChatGPT like a conversation. The more you interact, the more refined your ideas will become.

Alternative Methods to Summarize Articles

While ChatGPT 3 and its successors, including ChatGPT 3.5 and 4, have proven to be powerful tools for article summarization, they do come with some limitations. These limitations often revolve around word limits, which may impact the summarization of longer texts.

Here are alternative methods that address some of these constraints:

ChatGPT Sidebar Chrome Extension

Step 1: Download and install the ChatGPT Sidebar Chrome Extension.

Step 2: After installation, locate the colorful brain-like icon at the top-right of your screen.

Step 3: Open any web page and click on the ChatGPT Sidebar icon.

Step 4: Choose ‘Ask’ from the top toolbar.

Step 5: Select ‘Summarize’ from the dropdown menu.

Step 6: The extension provides a pre-set prompt, such as “Summarize this for a second-grade student.” Customize the prompt according to your needs, and add the desired length of your summary.

Step 7: Paste the text of the web page into the text field, click ‘Submit,’ and the ChatGPT Sidebar will generate a summary.

This extension supports various models, including GPT3.5/GPT-4, YouTube summary, ChatPDF, Bing, and Bard, offering a range of functionalities beyond just summarization.

AI-Powered Summarization Plugins

Explore AI-powered plugins available in the ChatGPT Plugin Store.
To access plugins, go to chat.openai.com, hover over GPT-4 in the top menu, select ‘Plugins,’ and then click ‘Plugin store.’
In the Plugin store, search for relevant plugins like ‘Web Page Summarizer.’
Install the plugin and make sure you’re in Plugin mode in ChatGPT.
Type your summarization prompt in the chat, including the article link.
The plugin will leverage AI capabilities to generate a summary based on your prompt.

Ensure that you are a ChatGPT Plus subscriber to utilize these plugins.

Enhance Article Summarization with ChatGPT

To elevate your article summarization game with ChatGPT, consider the following advanced strategies:

Change Style and Tone

When instructing ChatGPT for summarization, consider specifying the tone and style to tailor the summary to your needs. For instance:

“Summarize this article in a formal tone suitable for a business report.”
“Provide a summary in a light-hearted and engaging style for a blog post.”

Experiment with Length

Customize the length of your summary based on your requirements. Different lengths may be suitable for various purposes:

“Generate a concise 50-word summary for quick insights.”
“Create an in-depth summary of 300-400 words for a comprehensive overview.”

Include Specific Content

Direct ChatGPT to focus on particular aspects of the article:

“Summarize the key findings and recommendations from this research paper.”
“Provide a summary emphasizing the historical context mentioned in the article.”

Ask For A Comparison

Encourage ChatGPT to compare and contrast information:

“Summarize the similarities and differences between the two perspectives presented in the article.”
“Provide a comparative summary of the advantages and disadvantages discussed.”

Try Reader’s Perspective

Tailor the summary to a specific audience or reader:

“Summarize this for an audience familiar with technical terms in the field.”
“Create a summary suitable for someone new to the topic, explaining complex terms.”

Request Visual Aids

If applicable, ask for the inclusion of visual elements in the summary:

“Generate a visual summary with key points presented in bullet points or infographics.”
“Summarize the article, and include relevant images or charts for better understanding.”

Iterative Refinement

Don’t hesitate to refine and iterate. If the initial summary isn’t ideal, use prompts to guide ChatGPT toward the desired outcome:

“Regenerate the summary with a focus on more detailed explanations.”
“Refine the summary to include additional insights about the implications mentioned in the article.”

Explore Niche-Specific Summarization

For articles in specialized fields, guide ChatGPT accordingly:

“Summarize this medical research article with a focus on breakthrough findings.”
“Create a summary of this technology piece, highlighting innovations and potential impacts.”

Combine Multiple Requests

Experiment by combining different prompts to achieve a comprehensive summary:

“Summarize this article in a conversational tone, emphasizing key statistics and providing a brief historical context.”

AI-Powered Summarization Tools

Jasper

Visit Jasper, a user-friendly AI tool built on the same language model as ChatGPT.
Jasper is designed for marketers and content creators, offering an intuitive interface.
Use Jasper’s pre-loaded tools, including a text summarizer that can convert over 12,000 characters into short sentences in over 25 languages.

Smart Brevity

Explore Brevity, another AI-powered summarization tool that specializes in creating concise summaries from longer pieces of text.

Brevity uses advanced natural language processing to extract key information and condense it into shorter, more digestible summaries.

FAQs

What is ChatGPT?

how to use chatgpt to summarize an article

Most of you will be familiar with ChatGPT.

If you have been hiding from the world and need a catch up – ChatGPT is a generative large language model developed by OpenAI. This means you can ask it a question (in the form of text) and the tool will give a response based on over 1 trillion parameters of data which continue to grow all the time.

As ChatGPT has natural language processing capabilities, it has huge benefits in education, especially when it comes to summarizing articles.

Why Use ChatGPT?

GPT-4: A Leap Forward

OpenAI rolled out an upgrade called GPT-4 in March 2023, and it’s like the supercharged version of GPT-3.5. GPT-4 can speak and understand lots of different languages and even aced the US Bar Exam with a jaw-dropping 90% score. This advanced model is currently available exclusively to Plus members.

High Speed and Capacity

While a regular human would take ages (like 4-5 hours) to summarize a bunch of words, ChatGPT can do it in seconds. GPT-4 is even more advanced and can read and understand 25,000 words at once.

Talking in Many Languages

One of ChatGPT’s standout features is its ability to handle multiple languages effortlessly. GPT-4 can summarize and translate articles from Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian, and German to English, and vice versa.

This functionality eliminates the need for costly professional translation services, making ChatGPT a versatile tool for global content consumption and creation. This is perfect for international schools like MS Dhoni Global School which regularly use several languages.

Saves Money

The possibilities with ChatGPT are vast and users are continually discovering innovative ways to leverage its capabilities. ChatGPT offers cost-effective solutions from content summarization to language translation.

How Should I Not To Use AI?

As you learn how to do tasks with AI assistance, it’s crucial to approach its capabilities with a discerning eye. There are pros and cons when using AI so keep your eyes open for the key mistakes to avoid:

Overreliance

Avoid relying solely on AI.

While ChatGPT is a powerful tool, it operates based on patterns learned from data. It may not always capture the depth or specific requirements of certain articles.

Remember that AI is a tool to aid, not replace, your intellectual input. In-depth understanding and critical analysis are fundamental to a holistic comprehension of the subject matter.

Ignoring Context

Understand the limitations.

AI may lack contextual understanding, so interpret results carefully.

AI, including ChatGPT, might struggle to grasp context or interpret complex themes. Exercise caution when dealing with content that requires contextual understanding, and be prepared to fill in the gaps that AI may miss.

Word Limit

The free GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 models, accessible to all users, come with a token limit of 4,096, approximately equivalent to 3,000 words.

In comparison, the more advanced GPT-4 model offers nearly double this limit.

While this token limit should generally suffice for summarizing most articles, challenges may arise when attempting to summarize extensive research papers or novels using ChatGPT. It’s essential to be mindful of these limitations to ensure optimal utilization of the tool.

Summary

Using ChatGPT for summarizing articles is a convenient and efficient way to digest vast amounts of information. The key lies in crafting precise prompts, iteratively refining instructions, and fact-checking the generated summaries.

In my experience, ChatGPT has proven to be a valuable tool in quickly summarizing articles for various purposes. The versatility of the tool allowed me to adapt and make the summarization process to meet specific requirements.

Not just work but AI has also simplified my personal life. Many AI tools for parents have helped me a lot in my journey as a parent.

With practice, you’ll find that summarizing articles with ChatGPT becomes an integral part of your information processing toolkit.