Prompt to Summarize an Article (Free Copy-Paste Prompt)

Copy-ready prompt

Summarize the text below for [audience].
Provide:
1. A 2-sentence TL;DR.
2. 5 key points as short bullets.
3. Any action items or takeaways.
Rules: stay faithful to the source, don't invent details, and flag anything that seems like opinion vs fact.
Text:
"""
[paste text]
"""

Want a version tailored to you?

Answer a few quick questions and the Prompt Optimizer builds a custom prompt from your exact details.

⚡ Open the Prompt Optimizer

Why this prompt works

Summaries go wrong when the model invents or editorializes. This prompt fixes the output structure, tailors it to an audience, and explicitly asks it to separate fact from opinion — which keeps the summary trustworthy enough to act on.

How to customize it

Name your audience so the reading level and emphasis fit.
For very long text, paste in chunks and ask for a final combined summary.
Add 'quote the most important sentence verbatim' if you need a pull quote.

Tip: replace the parts in [square brackets] with your own details before you send. The more specific you are — audience, tone, goal, constraints — the better the AI output.