Get Plain-English Explanations of Any Contract With Claude

Get the text out of the document

Open the contract as a PDF or webpage and copy the text the way you would from any other file: click at the start, hold Shift and click at the end, then press Ctrl+C (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+C (macOS). On a phone, long-press in the text and choose Select All, then Copy. The text is now stored on your clipboard, ready to paste anywhere. You'll know it worked when your clipboard holds a wall of text you can paste into a notes app or chat box to test. If it looks different: some PDFs lock their text behind scanned images. If Select All only grabs a few words, try opening the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Google Drive, or your browser — they sometimes unlock the text layer. If that fails, use a free "PDF to text" tool online, or simply type the section headings you can see into Claude and ask it to explain what those usually mean. Don't paste a screenshot: Claude works with text, not images.

Open Claude and start a fresh chat

Go to claude.ai in your browser, sign in, and click New chat in the sidebar (top-left). A blank conversation box appears at the bottom of the screen — that's where your message will go. You'll know it worked when you see an empty message box with a Send arrow and a small + or paperclip-shaped attach icon nearby. If it looks different: some accounts land directly in a recent conversation. Just look for a + New chat or Start new conversation button at the top of the left sidebar. On the mobile app, look for a + or pencil icon in a corner to start fresh.

Paste the contract and ask your first question

Click inside the message box and press Ctrl+V (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+V (macOS) to paste the long block of contract text into the same message as your question. Then add a clear request on a new line and hit Send.

You'll know it worked when Claude replies with a structured summary — usually with headings like Key terms, Your obligations, What to watch out for — instead of just echoing the text back at you. If it looks different: if Claude's reply is short or feels generic, it may have ignored your question. Just send a second message asking for a clearer summary. If the contract is very long, you might see a "this is too long in one go" notice — move to Step 4 for that workaround. Paid plans allow you to attach the PDF directly using a paperclip-style button next to the message box, which can skip the copy-paste step for shorter documents.

Break the document into chunks if you got the "too long" notice

Claude can read a lot at once, but huge contracts can overflow the limit. Open a notes app and split the contract text into rough sections by hand: "Section 1 — Parties," "Section 2 — Term and Rent," "Section 3 — Deposits," and so on. Then send each chunk in its own message, with one short question per chunk.

You'll know it worked when each section gets its own focused answer with a small "what to watch out for" line. At the end, ask: "Based on everything I've pasted, give me a 5-bullet summary of the whole contract and the three most important things to push back on." If it looks different: if you don't want to split the file manually, paid plans offer a much bigger context window — think of this as Claude's short-term memory: how much text it can keep in mind during one chat — and often fit a long contract without splitting. You can also try attaching the PDF directly with the paperclip button mentioned in Step 3, which is another way to handle longer documents.

Ask targeted follow-up questions

Now that Claude has the document in its context (the chat's working memory: everything you've sent and received so far in this conversation), you can ask it pointed questions without re-pasting anything. This is where the real time-saving happens — most contracts only have four or five questions that actually matter to you.

You'll know it worked when Claude pulls a specific clause out of the text — usually with the section or clause number — and translates it into everyday language. If it looks different: if Claude's answer feels vague, ask it to "quote the actual sentence from the contract" first, then re-explain it. That trick forces it to ground its answer in the real text instead of guessing.

Save the summary somewhere you'll find it

Once you have a summary you trust, click the small copy icon at the corner of Claude's reply, or highlight the text and copy it the usual way. Paste it into an email to yourself, a note in your phone, or a shared doc with anyone who also needs to know.

You'll know it worked when you have a plain-English record of the contract's main points, separate from the original legal document, that you can re-read in under five minutes. If it looks different: Claude's chat history stays in your sidebar by default and you can reopen it from any device you're signed into. If you want a downloadable file, ask Claude: "Turn this summary into a Markdown checklist I can save" — it'll output one in chat that you can copy into a notes file.