Text — it’s everywhere on the Internet, and sometimes you feel like you want to get some bite-sized, concise information.
And that’s where having an AI summarizer can massively help you distill that info into TL;DR chunks.
In this article, we’ll go over the best AI summarizer list and boil things down to the 8 winners. You’ll thank us the next time you need to distill that War-and-Peace-sized article into something actually readable.
We’ll cover:
- What’s an AI summarizer?
- How do they work?
- The 8 best AI summarizer tools
Let’s dive right in!
What is an AI summarizer?
An AI summarizer is an AI-aided tool that simplifies and summarizes text — basically giving you the CliffsNotes version.
Let's break it down:
- The pocket friend: An AI summarizer is a clever piece of software that uses artificial intelligence to gobble up long articles, reports, or documents and spit out a concise summary.
- A huge time-saver: AI summarizers zoom through text at lightning speed, plucking out the most important nuggets of information and serving them up ipso facto. This saves you an endless amount of time trying to find the key points of any text.
- A huge procrastination buster: Let's face it, sometimes you just don't have the time (or, let's be honest, the motivation) to read that 50-page report. An AI summary basically gives you the gist without the guilt. Of course, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go over the whole thing, but it helps you get the main takeaways.
How do AI summarizers work?
Still in the dark about how the best AI summarizer tools “magically” condense your 10-page report into a snappy paragraph?
Let’s get that out of the way:
- From text to takeaways: AI summarizers work with a combination of sophisticated algorithms and natural language processing. These smart tools analyze your text, identify the most important information, and package it up in a neat little summary bow.
- Extractive vs. abstractive: There are two main types of AI summarizers: extractive and abstractive. Extractive summarizers are like that friend who always quotes movie lines — they pull out the most important sentences from your text and string them together. Abstractive summarizers, on the other hand, generate entirely new sentences to capture the essence of your text.
- How to get good results: The key is to feed your AI summarizer high-quality input and tweak those settings. Start by giving it clear, well-structured text. Try to avoid word salads (like Continental philosophy; we’re looking at you, Heidegger!). Then, play around with the settings to find your sweet spot. Adjust the length, focus, and style to suit your needs.
The 8 best AI summarizer tools in 2024
Lindy
Without a doubt, Lindy is the best AI for summarizing — always a dream to use when you want to summarize those tedious tasks like summarizing lengthy documents and articles.
It also acts as a complete personal assistant, freeing up your time and brainpower for the things that actually need doing.
Major features:
- NLP-powered summarization: Condenses long documents into bite-sized abstractive or extractive summaries in just a few seconds.
- Writing help: Stuck in a loop or suffering from writer’s block? Lindy can help you create great copy, be it for professional, academic, or personal purposes.
- Learns your style: Lindy adapts to your tone, brand voice, and particular way of doing things, so you don’t have to keep reminding it of what you want.
- Task automation & management: Lindy lets you get back to the big picture by automating pretty much any task under the sun — well beyond the confines of just text summarization.
- It can do audio too: Got a meeting or an audio recording you’d like Lindy to summarize? It can take care of that as easily as it does text.
- Plays well with others: It plays nicely with other tools you probably already use, like Slack, Trello, and Google Docs, so you can summarize documents right where you're working on them.
Pros:
- Easy to use, even for those who aren't tech-savvy or code-friendly.
- Tons of handy features to streamline your work}
- Covers 85+ languages & dialects
- Has no problem transcribing audio, be it real-time or from recordings, even if you’ve got a heavy accent.
- Incredible customization, with a lot of use cases and features outside of summarization.
- Affordable pricing, with a 7-day free trial available
Cons:
- 7-days is too little time to get the most out of so many features
- Might miss some nuances in super-complex texts
Ideal use cases:
- Basically, anyone who needs to save time and stay organized
- Students who need help summarizing research papers and complicated articles
- Anyone who wants to automate pretty much any job and make life simpler
Hypotenuse
Hypotenuse is specifically designed for businesses, helping you create product descriptions, social media posts, and other marketing materials that sell like hotcakes. As a summarizer tool, it can definitely hold its own against others on this list.
Major features:
- AI-aided copy: Generates high-quality, detailed, and persuasive copy in a few seconds.
- Focus on SEO optimization: Makes your content more visible on search engines so more people can find your products.
- Summarization features: You can upload a Google Doc or PDF and get the TL;DR in seconds.
- Competitor analysis: Check out what your rivals are doing so you can one-up them.
- Customization options: Tailor your content to your brand's unique voice and style.
Pros:
- Saves you time and energy on content creation
- Makes your products sound irresistible
- Helps you rank higher on Google
Cons:
- Starts out cheap, but it can get pricey if you step out of the 180k word range
- You need to finagle it a bit to get the results just right
Jasper
Jasper does well in summarizing articles. It can also help you brainstorm, write, and edit any type of content. Whether you're writing a blog post, polishing a marketing email, or even tackling a full-blown novel, Jasper’s great.
Major Features:
- Boss mode: Boss Mode gives you full control over Jasper, letting you order it around it to write or summarize whatever you need, from blog posts and social media captions to ad copy and more.
- Templates: Need a little inspiration? Jasper offers a wide range of templates for different types of content, so you can get started quickly and easily.
- Recipes: Combine multiple templates and commands to create your own custom way of doing things, tailoring Jasper to your specific needs.
- Jasper chat: Ask Jasper questions, get feedback on your writing, brainstorm ideas, or summarize text in real time.
- Brand voice: Train Jasper on your brand's unique voice and style, so it can create content that sounds like you.
Pros:
- Versatile and powerful AI writing tool
- User-friendly interface
- Good range of features and templates.
- Great summarization features
- Generates creative ideas
Cons:
- Can be expensive, especially for heavy users
- May require some initial setup and has a steep learning curve
Ideal use cases:
- Content creators who need help generating ideas and writing high-quality content quickly
- Marketers who want to create persuasive, high-conversion copy
- Anyone who wants to improve their writing skills and productivity
ClosersCopy
ClosersCopy is very versatile, and it can easily handle most writing tasks. We’re talking about everything from blog posts and marketing copy to social media content and even full-fledged articles. Its summarization feature is a lifesaver when you need to quickly extract the key points from a long document.
Major features:
- AI writing assistant: Generate creative and persuasive copy for various purposes.
- Templates for different writing styles: Choose from a variety of templates to match your tone and audience.
- Summarize in seconds: Get a readable summary quickly and easily.
- Collaboration features: Work easily with your team on writing projects.
- SEO magic: Improve your content's visibility on search engines.
- Built-in plagiarism checker: Make sure your content is original and unique.
Pros:
- Versatile tool
- User-friendly interface
- Powerful AI skills
Cons:
- It has a steeper learning curve.
- The pricing can be a bit high for casual users.
Ideal use cases:
- Content creators who need help generating ideas and writing high-quality content
- Marketers who want to create persuasive copy that converts
- Anyone who wants to improve their writing skills and productivity
Notta
Notta is a great note-taking and summarization tool. It can transcribe audio and video recordings in real time, making it perfect for meetings, lectures, or interviews. But it doesn't stop there — Notta can also summarize your notes and recordings, extracting the key points and action items so you can easily review and share them later.
Major features:
- Real-time transcription: Automatically transcribes audio and video recordings.
- AI summarization: Condenses notes and recordings into concise summaries.
- Collab features: Easily share notes and summaries with others.
- Cloud storage: Store your notes and recordings securely in the cloud.
- Multi-language support: Transcribes and summarizes content in multiple languages.
Pros:
- Accurate transcription and summarization
- Easy to use and navigate
- Affordable pricing plans
Cons:
- May have problems with accents or poor audio quality
- Limited customization options for summaries
Ideal use cases:
- Students who need to take notes during lectures
- Pros who need to transcribe and summarize meetings
- Podcasters and journalists who need to transcribe interviews
Notsly
If you're drowning in research papers, articles, or any kind of lengthy text, Notsly can feel like straight-up manifestation goals. This summarizer helps you quickly distill the key points of any document, saving you hours of reading time.
Major features:
- Excellent summarization skills: Notsly uses advanced algorithms to analyze and summarize text, extracting the most important information.
- Customizable summaries: Choose the length and style of your summaries to fit your needs.
- Note-taking and highlighting: Mark important passages and create notes for future reference.
- Cloud storage: Access your summaries and notes from anywhere.
- Collaboration features: Share summaries and notes with your team.
Pros:
- Powerful summarization capabilities
- Customizable options for summaries
- Easy-to-use interface
Cons:
- Limited free plan
- Can be expensive for heavy users
Ideal use cases:
- Students and researchers who need to read and summarize large amounts of text quickly
- Professionals who need to stay up to date on industry news and trends
- Anyone who wants to save time and improve their reading comprehension
Glasp
Glasp is a social highlighting tool that doubles as an AI summarizer. It allows you to highlight important passages on web pages and in PDF documents and then generate summaries of those highlights. It's a great way to collaborate with others on research projects, share insights, and save time by quickly reviewing the most important information.
Major features:
- Social highlighting: Highlight and annotate web pages and PDFs.
- “Just the highlights”: Summarize your highlights and notes.
- Collaboration features: Share highlights and summaries with others.
- Chrome and iOS extensions: Access Glasp directly from your browser or mobile device.
- Community library: Discover and share highlights and summaries with other users.
Pros:
- Great for collaborative research and learning
- Encourages active reading and engagement with content
- Free to use with basic features
Cons:
- Summarization feature may not be as advanced as other tools
- Paid plans are required for advanced features
Ideal use cases:
- Students and researchers who need to collaborate on projects
- Professionals who want to share insights and knowledge with their team
- Anyone who wants to make the most out of their reading experience
Grammarly
While Grammarly is best known for its grammar and spelling-checking prowess, its AI summarization tool is no slouch. It can quickly condense long emails, articles, and documents into easy-to-digest summaries, helping you get the gist of things without wading through endless text.
Major features:
- To-the-point summaries: Grammarly's summarization tool condenses text into key points, making it easier to understand complex information.
- Tone adjustments: You can choose the tone of your summary, making it more formal or informal, depending on your needs.
- Integration with Grammarly editor: Seamlessly summarize text while editing your documents for grammar and spelling errors.
- Available on multiple platforms: Access Grammarly's summarization tool on your browser, desktop, and mobile devices.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Integrated with Grammarly's other writing tools
- Free version available with limited features
Cons:
- The summarization feature may not be as advanced as other dedicated tools.
- A premium subscription is required for full access.
Ideal use cases:
- Busy people who need to quickly summarize emails and documents
- Students who want to condense research materials for easier review
- Anyone who wants to spice up their writing a bit
Summing up
That’s the crème de la crème, the best AI summarizer tools in 2024.
Setting put information overload to rest? These tools can save you plenty of time.
But remember: They’re not meant to replace critical thinking and diligent reading!
Next steps
Tired of drowning in information overload? Look no further than Lindy, the AI tool that's like having a personal assistant, tutor, and productivity coach all rolled into one.
- Beat info overload: Lindy's NLP summarization effortlessly condenses lengthy documents, articles, websites, and even books into bite-sized summaries, saving you precious time and brainpower.
- Write blog posts like a quill master, even with writer's block: Lindy's AI writing assistant is your secret weapon for crafting compelling copy. Whether you're struggling with writer's block or just need a little help polishing your prose, Lindy can help you create clear, concise, and engaging content for any purpose.
- Automate and reclaim your time: Lindy doesn't stop at note-taking and writing. This versatile tool can also automate various tasks, from scheduling meetings and managing your inbox to generating reports and even coding. It's like having a personal assistant who's always on call, ready to tackle your to-do list so you can focus on the big picture.
- Speaks your language: With support for over 85 languages and dialects, Lindy is a global communication companion. It can transcribe audio recordings, translate documents, and even help you communicate with colleagues and clients who speak different languages.
- Your customizable AI assistant: Lindy learns your style and preferences, adapts them to your needs, and becomes an even more valuable asset over time.
- Create teams: You can organize different Lindies into societies to pool their brainpower and have them collaborate as a more productive unit.