One of the most useful tasks.
HOW TO ASK
"Summarise this in [length]. Focus on [what matters to you]."
Specifying the focus matters. A general summary covers what the document emphasises, not what you need.
USEFUL VARIANTS
"What are the three main points?" "What does this ask me to do, and by when?" "What obligations or risks does this create?" "Extract every date and deadline." "What has changed from the previous version?"
WHAT TO VERIFY
Anything you will act on, against the original.
For a contract, a regulation or anything consequential, read the relevant section yourself.
WHAT GOES WRONG
Qualifications dropped, so a conditional statement becomes absolute Important nuance lost Something the model judged unimportant that matters to you
THE BEST USE
Deciding whether to read the whole thing, and finding which part to read.
THE USE TO AVOID
Summarising instead of reading something that matters.