Using ChatGPT for Book and Article Summaries: What I’ve Learned
If you’re anything like me, your reading list is always growing, but finding time to get through everything? That’s another story. There are so many business books and articles I want to read, but between work and life, I rarely make it through as many as I’d like.
That’s why I started experimenting with ChatGPT—to see if it could help me absorb key ideas faster. Could I get the important takeaways without reading cover to cover? Would the summaries actually be useful? I decided to test it out.
At first, I kept it simple. I asked ChatGPT for a basic book summary, like this:
“Can you give me a summary of Brian Tracy’s book Goals!?”
It worked—ChatGPT gave me a structured breakdown with key points. But something was missing. The summary was fine, but it felt too generic. It gave me the main ideas, but I wanted something more practical—something I could actually use.
So I started tweaking my approach, testing different prompts to see how much better the summaries could get.
How I Improved the Summaries
The first summaries I got from ChatGPT were decent, but they felt too surface-level—like something you’d find on a book jacket. I didn’t just want a list of key points; I wanted something I could actually use.
So, I started tweaking my prompts. Instead of just asking for a summary, I added more context to make the results more relevant.
First, I asked ChatGPT to tailor the summary for a specific industry.
For example, I wanted to see how the lessons in Goals! could apply to a business owner in banking. When I asked for that, ChatGPT didn’t just list the book’s key ideas—it connected them to real-world banking challenges, like customer retention and financial goal-setting.
Then, I took it a step further by adding specific business challenges.
What if someone wasn’t just in banking, but struggling to attract younger customers? I updated my prompt to include that detail, and suddenly, the summary became even more practical. Instead of just saying, “Write down your goals,” ChatGPT suggested setting a measurable target for new accounts from younger clients and creating a strategy to reach them.
That’s when I realized: The more specific I was with my prompt, the more valuable the summary became.
Applying Summaries to Real-World Goals
Once I started getting better summaries from ChatGPT, I realized they weren’t just useful for understanding a book—they could actually help solve real problems. Depending on the book and the industry, these takeaways could be applied in all kinds of ways. Here are a few examples:
For business owners: A book on leadership could be summarized with a focus on team management, decision-making, or customer retention strategies—whatever challenge the business is facing.
For content creators: A book summary could be turned into blog posts, podcast episodes, or social media content, making it easier to share key insights without reading the entire book first.
For students and researchers: Instead of just summarizing a book, ChatGPT could break it down into study guides, key themes, or even debate points, depending on what’s needed.
The key here is customization—by adjusting the prompt, you can make the summary work for your specific goals. ChatGPT isn’t just a tool for condensing information; it’s a way to make learning more efficient and directly useful.
Final Thoughts: What I’d Recommend Trying
After experimenting with ChatGPT for book and article summaries, here’s what I’ve learned: The quality of the summary depends on the quality of the prompt. A generic request will give you a surface-level overview, but adding context—like your industry, challenges, or specific goals—can make the results way more useful.
If you’re curious about trying this yourself, start simple:
- Pick a book or article you’ve been meaning to read.
- Ask ChatGPT for a basic summary.
- Then, refine your prompt—add details about your industry, interests, or challenges and see how the response changes.
The best part? There’s no single right way to do this. You can keep experimenting, tweaking prompts, and finding the approach that works best for you.
I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible with AI-powered summaries, but so far, it’s been a game-changer for getting through more content in less time. If you give it a shot, I’d love to hear what you discover.