Key sentences
The source's own sentences, ranked by how much each one carries and returned word for word in their original order. Good for quoting. At least one sentence always stays out, so you never get your whole text back.
How it works
How to summarize text
Give the summarizer a whole passage, and know what the summary is for before you run it.
Paste the article, not the page
Copy the article's main text and leave the menus and ads behind. An article summarizer only sees what you paste.
Keep a report section whole
Take the one section that answers your question, heading included. Cut a point in half and the finding loses its reason.
Pick a format
Key sentences when you plan to quote. Paragraph for a note to your manager. Bullet points for a meeting.
Set the length and run it
Choose Short, Medium or Long under Length, then press Summarize. Compare the result with the source when dates matter.
Formats
Three formats, three lengths
Every run pairs one format with one length. The length is a share of your text, so a long report gets a longer summary than a short article.
Paragraph
One connected paragraph in new wording. It is written to keep every figure, name and unit as given and to add no conclusion of its own.
Bullet points
One point per line, about a sentence each. Handy for meeting prep or a reading list you want to scan.
Short
About 10 percent of your text, at least 15 words. Enough to decide whether a piece deserves a closer read.
Medium
About 20 percent, at least 25 words. The main point plus the reason behind it. This is where the summarizer starts.
Long
About 35 percent, at least 35 words, for dense sections. No summary is ever longer than 60 percent of its source.
Example
What a summary keeps
Hi all, a quick update before Thursday's call. The client wants the spring catalog launch held until their new pricing is approved, so the launch moves from April to May. The photo team still needs the product shots by the original deadline, because the print shop's schedule hasn't changed. Marketing should pause paid social. If the May dates clash with anything on your side, tell me by Wednesday.
The spring catalog launch moves from April to May while the client's pricing is approved. Product shots are still due on time, paid social pauses, and clashes with the May dates are due by Wednesday.
The same email could run again as Bullet points for the team channel, without pasting it twice.
Pick the tool
Summary, paraphrase or abstract?
One shortens a text. One changes its wording. The third is the author's own overview.
| Use it when | What you get | |
|---|---|---|
| Summarizer | You need the gist of a long article or report. | A shorter version in the format and length you chose. |
| Paraphraser | You understand the passage and need it in different words. | A rewrite at roughly the original length, detail kept. Try the paraphraser. |
| The author's abstract | You're deciding whether a research paper is worth reading. | The author's own account of what the study did and found. |
Real uses
Who uses it
A history student with a reading pack
Summarize each assigned chapter before the seminar, then go back to the pages you'll quote in the paper.
A team lead before a meeting
Turn a vendor's quarterly report into bullet points and pick the findings worth a slot on the agenda.
A grad student reading in English
A grad student from Korea reads the short version of an English paper first, then the original with the argument already in mind.
A content writer on deadline
Condense three source articles into key sentences, then write the blog draft from your own outline.
Anyone behind on email
Paste a long thread from a client or your manager and get the decisions and deadlines before you reply.
A writer testing a draft
Summarize your own essay. If the summary misses your point, the conclusion is probably buried.
After the summary
What to do with it
Keep the source next to it
Put the title and link above the summary and your questions below it, so later you can tell which line came from where.
Drop it into a brief
Paste the result into the meeting doc, right above the decisions your team has to make.
Rewrite before you hand it in
A summary helps you read the source. It doesn't stand in for your own writing. Put the point in your own words, use the Textlume paraphraser for a second pass if you like, and cite the original.
Check the length
The Textlume word counter shows the summary's words and characters before it goes into a form with little room.
Other tools
Try another tool on the same text
AI detectorMarks each sentence as AI-like or human-like and gives the whole text a range and a confidence rating.AI humanizerRewrites stiff AI drafts into plainer prose and checks that numbers, names and quotations come through.Grammar checkerFinds spelling, grammar and punctuation errors and lets you fix them one by one or all at once.Paraphrasing toolSays the same thing in new words, in the mode you pick, from fluent to formal.Word counterCounts words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading and speaking time.Character counterCounts characters with and without spaces against the limits of common forms and posts.Plagiarism checkerFor finding which of your sentences already appear on public web pages, with a link to each source.
Is there a free AI summarizer?
Yes. Textlume summarizes up to 250 words for free once a day, with no card and no account. The count resets at midnight UTC. Paste more and the summary covers the opening part, with a note on how many words were left out. Paid plans take up to 6,000 words per run.
How do I summarize an article?
Copy only the article's main text, without menus or comments. Then decide what you need, quick notes for yourself or a brief for someone else, and pick the format and length to match. Keep the title and link next to the summary so you can find the evidence later.
Can it summarize a PDF?
Yes. Select Upload file and choose a PDF of up to 2 MB. Its text lands in the box and you summarize it as usual. Word documents work the same way. A scanned PDF that holds only pictures of pages has no text to read, so paste the text instead.
How long should a summary be?
Long enough to carry the main point and the context your reader needs. A note to yourself can stop at the conclusion, while a brief for a manager needs the reason too. Start with Medium and switch to Short or Long if it feels thin or crowded.
Does an AI summary change the meaning?
It shouldn't, but compare it with the source when details matter. Key sentences returns the source's sentences unchanged. Paragraph and Bullet points are told to keep every figure and name and add nothing, and they get a second attempt if a number appears that your text lacks.
What is the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing?
Summarizing makes a text shorter by keeping only its main points. Paraphrasing keeps the content and detail but changes the wording. Use a summary for notes and overviews, and the paraphraser when a passage belongs in your draft in other words. Cite the source either way.
Is it plagiarism to use an AI summary in a paper?
Pasting a summary of someone else's work into your paper without a citation is plagiarism, whoever wrote the summary. Use it to understand the source, then make the point in your own words and cite the original. Check your school's policy on AI tools as well.
Can I summarize a web page from a link?
Not from the link itself. Open the page, copy the article text and paste it into the box. That way you decide what goes in, and the sidebars and reader comments stay out. A saved PDF of the page works too, through Upload file.
Does the summarizer work in other languages?
Yes. The summary is written in the language of your text, so a Spanish report gets a Spanish summary. It works in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Turkish, Korean and Japanese. It doesn't translate.
Why does it say my text is too short?
A summary of a very short text would just repeat the same sentences, so the summarizer asks for at least 50 words. Key sentences also needs 3 complete sentences to choose from. For one short paragraph, try Paragraph.
Is my text saved when I summarize it?
Only if you're signed in. Then the text and its summary go into your history, where you can delete one entry or all of them, or switch history off. Without an account nothing is kept. The text goes to an AI service that may not keep it or train on it.
Get the short version
Paste your text, choose how short you want it, and see what deserves the full read.