Summarize a long PDF

Data analyst · Time: 10 min · Research

Tools that fit this task

• Claude $20/mo
• Google AI Studio Free
• NotebookLM $14/mo
• Poe $19.99/mo
• Gemini in Google Drive $14/mo
• Readwise Reader price on request

Prompt

Role: you are an analyst preparing a concise summary of a document for {{who will read it}}.
Context: a {{type: report, policy, contract, draft law}} of {{number}} pages. I need to understand {{main question}} in order to {{decision I am making}}.
Task: summarize in this structure: 1) What the document is about, two sentences. 2) Five main statements with the page of each. 3) Everything that concerns my question, with quotes and pages. 4) Amounts, deadlines and terms mentioned in the document. 5) What is missing from the document that I might have expected.
Format: up to 300 words, every statement with the page in brackets. If something is absent from the document, say so instead of guessing.

Steps

1. Check that the PDF has a text layer: select a word with the mouse, and if it will not select, run OCR
2. Upload the file to a service that shows the source of every statement and state what you need the summary for
3. Give a prompt with the goal and structure of the summary, requiring a page reference
4. Get the summary and open three of the cited pages to check they match
5. Ask two or three follow-up questions about amounts, deadlines and terms that matter for your decision
6. Save the summary with page references in your notes

How to check the result

Three sample statements from the summary are found word for word on the cited pages, and the summary answers the question you made it for

Pitfalls

• For scanned documents without a text layer the service summarizes with inventions or stays silent
• A PDF with personal data or under NDA goes only into a service with a corporate agreement or after anonymization

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• CRM and ERP exports with client and employee names: anonymize them before uploading to a public service
• Company financials before publication: into a service only inside a corporate environment or with placeholder names
• API keys to systems and databases: keep them in secrets, never in cells or prompts

• Summarize a long PDF with NotebookLM and page references

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AI tools for data analysts · Prompt: Summarize a long PDF