AI WORLD HQSummarise a long chat thread into 3 bullet points with Copilot
Quickly distil lengthy conversations or email chains down to the crucial decisions and action points using AI, saving you time and effort.
Ever feel lost trying to find the key takeaways from a really long email chain or group chat? This guide is for anyone who wants to quickly cut through the noise and get straight to the important decisions and actions. By the end, you'll be able to use Microsoft Copilot to summarise any long text into three clear bullet points, making it easy to catch up or share concise updates.
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- A free Microsoft account (you can sign up for one easily if you don't have it).
- A web browser like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.
- A long piece of text you want to summarise, such as an email conversation or a chat history.
- Roughly 5-7 minutes to follow the steps.
Open Copilot in your browser
Your first move is to open Copilot in your preferred web browser. Simply type copilot.microsoft.com into your browser's address bar at the top of the window, then press Enter on your keyboard. The Copilot homepage should load, presenting you with a clear chat input box usually located at the bottom of the screen, waiting for your commands. If the page looks a little different, don't worry – websites update often. Just look for a prominent chat area or a button that says "Start chat" or "Ask me anything."
You'll know it worked when you see a clear input box at the bottom of the screen, probably saying "Ask me anything" or similar.
Sign in to your Microsoft account
To get the most out of Copilot, it's best to sign in. Look for a "Sign in" button, typically positioned in the top-right corner of the Copilot page, and click it. A new screen will appear, prompting you to enter your Microsoft account details, like your email address or phone number, and then your password. If you're already signed in, you'll see your profile picture or initials in that corner and can simply skip this step. If it offers choices like "work or school account," usually you'll select "personal account" for this task. You'll know it worked when your profile picture or initials appear in the top-right corner, indicating you are successfully logged in.
Craft your summary request
Now it's time to tell Copilot exactly what you want it to do. In the chat input box at the bottom of the screen, type out your specific instruction. Be clear that you want a summary, how many bullet points you need, and what you want it to focus on – in this case, decisions and action items. This "instruction" is often called a prompt (which is just the message you send to an AI). Your typed message will appear in the input box, ready for you to add the content you want summarised.
You'll know it worked when your complete instruction is clearly visible in the chat box, ready for the content you're about to paste.
Paste your long text
Next, you need to provide Copilot with the text to summarise. Go to the original source of your long chat thread or email chain (like your email client or messaging app), select all the text you want, and copy it. Then, click directly into the Copilot chat input box, making sure your cursor is positioned right after the instruction you typed in Step 3. Now, paste the copied text. The entire block of text will appear in the input box after your instruction. Copilot has a "context window" (the amount of text it can "remember" and process in one conversation), but for most chat threads, it will fit easily. You'll know it worked when all your copied text is visible in the input box, ready to be sent.
Send your request
With your instruction and the long text in place, it's time to send it to Copilot. Press the Enter key on your keyboard, or click the "Send" button that looks like a paper plane icon, usually located next to the input box. Once sent, your entire message will move from the input box into the main chat history. Copilot will then show a "thinking" indicator, meaning it's processing your request. After a short moment, it will generate its response, providing your summary. If the "Send" icon looks a little different, just know it's always near the input box.
You'll know it worked when Copilot starts typing its response, and you see the summary appear as three bullet points in the chat window.
Review and refine your summary
Read through the three bullet points Copilot has generated. Does it capture the essence of the conversation? Does it highlight the key decisions and actions as you intended? If it's not quite perfect, you can ask Copilot to refine it. Simply type a follow-up request in the input box, explaining what changes you'd like. Copilot will then generate a revised summary based on your new feedback. This helps you get precisely what you need from the conversation.
You'll know it worked when you have a concise, useful three-point summary of your original long text that meets your needs.
- Pasting text without a clear instruction: If you just paste a long thread into Copilot without telling it what to do, it might simply repeat parts of the text or give a generic response. Always start with a specific instruction, like "Summarise this into three bullet points."
- Assuming the AI knows context: Copilot only "knows" what you provide in the current conversation. If your chat thread refers to external documents or past discussions, Copilot won't have that information unless you paste it in. Make sure all necessary information is included for the best summary.
- Too much text for one go: While Copilot has a large capacity, extremely long documents (tens of thousands of words) might exceed its "context window" (the amount of text it can process at once). If Copilot seems to miss the end of your content, try breaking the original text into two or three smaller chunks and summarising them separately.
Find a recent long email or a lengthy article online that you've been meaning to read. Copy the main body of text. Then, open Copilot, paste your copied text, and simply add the instruction: "Summarise this into three clear bullet points." See how quickly you can get the core information!
❓ Quick questions
How long does this take?
About 6 minutes — the guide has 6 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.
Which tool do I need?
This guide uses Microsoft Copilot — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.
Do I need to prepare anything?
- A free Microsoft account (you can sign up for one easily if you don't have it).
- A web browser like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.
- A long piece of text you want to summarise, such as an email conversation or a chat history.
- Roughly 5-7 minutes to follow the steps.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Pasting text without a clear instruction: If you just paste a long thread into Copilot without telling it what to do, it might simply repeat parts of the text or give a generic response. Always start with a specific instruction, like "Summarise this into three bullet points."
- Assuming the AI knows context: Copilot only "knows" what you provide in the current conversation. If your chat thread refers to external documents or past discussions, Copilot won't have that information unless you paste it in. Make sure all necessary information is included for the best summary.
- Too much text for one go: While Copilot has a large capacity, extremely long documents (tens of thousands of words) might exceed its "context window" (the amount of text it can process at once). If Copilot seems to miss the end of your content, try breaking the original text into two or three smaller chunks and summarising them separately.
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✦ Original step-by-step guide by AI World HQ's AI editorial team. Written in plain language, reviewed for accuracy.
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