How to Summarize a PDF file with ChatGPT (70 000+ Words)

picture of how to summarize a pdf with gpt-3 and python

This Script is updated to use ChatGPT instead of GPT-3

Are you looking to quickly and easily summarize a PDF file but don’t know where to start? 

In this Generative AI tutorial, we will walk you through the steps of using ChatGPT and Python to summarize large PDF files with ease. 

By following our step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to take advantage of ChatGPT’s power and wide range of abilities to summarize PDF files into notes, blog posts and even Midjourney prompts with efficiency, customizability, and scalability.

Read more or watching the YouTube video(Recommended)

YouTube:

What is a ChatGPT Python Script?

ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language processing model that can generate human-like text, perform language translations, answer questions and carry out various other language-related tasks.

A ChatGPT Python script is a piece of code which can access the GPT-3 API capability utilizing Python programming language. 

By getting an API key for the ChatGPT model and installing the OpenAI Python library, the script can be used to request the ChatGPT API and obtain the output from the model. 

There are a number of beneficial tasks obtained from using a ChatGPT Python script, such as efficiency, customizability, and scalability due to the model’s power and wide range of abilities. 

Therefore, by taking the advantages of the GPT-3 model, complex language tasks can be completed quickly and with minimal effort.

How to summarize pdf files with ChatGPT and Python

To summarize a PDF file with a ChatGPT Python script, I have created this step-by-step process. If you follow these 10 steps, you should be able to summarize and create content from PDF files that are over 70,000 words long. Here are the 10 steps:

Step 1: Convert the PDF file into a text file using a Python script

The Python script is the first step to processing the PDF file and preparing it to be summarized effectively by ChatGPT. 

It reads the PDF file’s data and transfers it into plain text that can be more easily understood. Depending on the size of the file, the script will take a certain amount of time to run, depending on the size of the file.

Step 2: Slice the 70,000 + words into chunks

Once the PDF file has been converted into a text file, the script is used to cut the text into reasonable chunks. These chunks should be small enough for the ChatGPT to be able to process without running out of resources, but also reasonable for improving readability. Splitting the text into appropriate chunks will help ChatGPT generate better summaries.

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Step 3: Summarize each of the chunks

With the chunks created, the Python script is used to summarize each of the chunks. This speeds up the process of summarizing the full text as it reduces the amount of text that needs to be processed by the ChatGPT model. 

Each of the chunks is given their own summary and then merged into one summary.

Step 4: Merge all of the chunks into one text file

Once all of the chunks have been summarized, they are then merged into one file. This merged file contains all of the summaries of each of the chunks, making it easier for the GPT-3 to process them in an organized way.

Step 5: Write a new summary from the merged chunks of text

This new summary from the merged chunks effectively reduces the amount of text in the PDF, making it easier for ChatGPT to process. This summary is written by the Python script and is more digestible than the original text.

Step 6: Generate key notes from the summary

Once the ChatGPT summary is written, research key notes are extracted from it. These notes are then used as a basis for the step-by-step guide as well as the blog post and Midjourney prompts. This allows GPT-3 to generate a more personalized and tailored message to each user.

Step 7: Create a step-by-step guide from the key notes

The key notes are then used to generate a step-by-step guide which gives the reader an easy read reminding them of the key notes from the book. This makes it easier for them to digest the material and apply it practically in their day-to-day life.

Step 8: Summarize the notes into the bare essentials of the book

The Python script also takes the summarized notes and reduces it down to the “bare essentials”. This is the most concise version of the book’s contents, allowing the reader to get a high-level overview of the book without overly consuming their time or energy.

Step 9: Write a blog post from the notes 

The blog post is written by taking the notes and expanding on them. This allows the reader to get an in-depth view of the book as well as a comprehensive overview of the topics discussed.

Step 10: Generate some mid-journey prompts from the notes

Finally, the Python script is used to generate some mid-journey prompts from the notes. These prompts are used to help the user keep motivated along the path of deep work and focus effectively on the task at hand.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, using ChatGPT and Python is a powerful and efficient way to summarize long PDF documents for research or other use cases. 

By following our step-by-step guide, you can take advantage of the capabilities of the ChatGPT model to quickly and easily generate summaries, key notes, step-by-step guides, and even Midjourney prompts. 

Whether you’re looking to save time, customize your summaries, or scale your summarization process, ChatGPT and Python provide a wide range of options to meet your needs. 

So why wait? Try out this process for yourself and see just how powerful and useful ChatGPT and Python can be for summarizing PDFs.

1,098 Comments

  1. hi, your stuff is great.thanks. do you have more detailed, step-by-step guides on how to make the various GPT-3 Python scrips mentioned? I am really bad at programming (python) and need detailed guidance. Is that something you have/do? Is it behind a paywall?

  2. Hi!

    I would also be keen to see a more detailed version of how to code this! Any further guidance would be much appreciated!

    Thanks a lot !

  4. Hello!

    Thank you for your article – exactly the topic I was looking for. I have many (not too many) PDFs that contain text, layout, images and colors. And some of these are more or less spieling to customers. I was trying to summarize them and understand where they are similar or different. I hope GOT-3 can help with the text part. Would you mind sharing some code how to do that? Also… any idea how I can combine summarization of text, color and image design into one? Thank you so much for your guidance!

  7. interesting update… i would love to test this out can i ask pls is this opensource are you planning to create something big with this?

  8. Hi Kristian,

    This is amazing! Since ChatGPT’s database lacks so many books I need for school, your method is a lifesaver!

    Just one small problem: I’m a complete beginner when it comes to Python (and coding in general)…

    Could you also please send me a more detailed, step-by-step guides on how to make the various GPT-3 Python scrips mentioned?

    Thank you so much!

  9. Hello Kristian. This Python script for summarizing pdf files would be an amazing help for my studies. Would love to also receive an eMail. Thank you and good luck 🙂

  14. Hi Kristian, if you could also send me the python code examples, it would be most appreciated! thank you very much for all the content, have just joined your YouTube channel. Cheers!

  18. Great article, I’d definately like to try it if you could guide me through Step 1 “Convert the PDF file into a text file using a Python script”. Keep up the good work.

  19. Hi, i´m a member on your youtube chanel. your material are awsome. I need to more details to implement this on my project. i need a help.

  22. Hi!

    I would also be keen to see a more detailed version of how to code this! Any further guidance would be much appreciated!

    Thanks!

  29. Could you please email me the more in-depth guide for doing this? And the code can process words in Chinese or other languageses? Your work is amazing!!!!!

  37. Hello Kristian —

    This is amazing. Thanks for sharing and providing the overview. Any chance you could share the source code?

  43. Man I’ve spent more time watching and reading your content in the last few weeks (When I discovered your YT) I don’t know how you do this all but thanks for all the sharing.

    Is it possible to get the script as well, please?

    Thank you!

  51. Kristian! dude.
    Just got an email notification about your new video…
    ChatGPT: How to Write a Story – AllAboutAI
    I want to be like you when I grow up :grinning:
    Please could you send me the Python code for the PDF summarizer?
    I would really appreciate.

  52. Hi Kristian,
    I’m a big fan of your content (subscribed). I love the idea behind this post, but my python skills aren’t what they used to be. Can you send the code my way as well? Thanks so much, and please don’t stop creating such cool AI content!

  55. Hi!

    I would also be keen to see a more detailed version of how to code this! Any further guidance would be much appreciated!

    Thanks a lot !

  56. Hey there – I love your content, just starting out using chat gpt and I can see so much potential i really want to try to push it to its limit! Would you be able to email me the Phython code?

  60. Hi Kristian —

    Thanks for all you do. Your work is so helpful.

    Any chance you could send a link to the script for this scenario to my email? Thanks ahead of time!!!!

    V/r
    Paul Cox

  64. Hey Kristian,

    Just wanted to drop a quick note to say thank you for all your hard work. It’s really appreciated!

    Could you send me a link to the script for this scenario via email? I would really appreciate it! Thank you in advance!

  66. Hey. That’s a great tutorial! Could you also send me the script? Would like to see how you integrated it into Python. Thanks!

  68. I need these scripts in my life! had a terrible time trying to use gpt to code the scripts you mention haha! I would love it if you could send me a copy too!

  71. Hi, amazing tutorial. I think this could be very useful for me and would appreciate it a lot if you could send me the script as well. Many thanks!

  74. I recently started learning Python, and your support has been instrumental in helping me understand the language’s innovative and productive capabilities. The attention to detail in the article you shared with me was exceptional, and I was able to grasp the concepts with ease thanks to your clear explanations.

    Can I have the deatil script of this?

  79. Hi Kristian
    Thank you for your precious and valuable work !!! I m also interested by receiving the script, could you send it to me ?
    Thank you very much 🙂

    Vangelis

  82. Hi Kristian
    Thank you for your work! I m also interested by receiving the script, could you send it to me ?
    Thank you very much

  87. Hey Kristian
    I like your work. Could you send me the python script for summarizing a PDF file? I am just getting started.
    Thank you.
    Chris

  88. I love your script – but as a new user of Python, I’m having trouble getting it to execute. Specifically, even though I’ve renamed my PDF to match what’s in the script, when I execute the script, it says it cannot find the file. Is there a specific place I’m supposed to store the PDF for the script to be able to locate it? I get the same issue when I try to use it on Colab (https://colab.research.google.com). Any help would be appreciated!!

  103. Chào bạn, tôi cũng nghiên cứu về tài liệu bdf nhiều , và tôi không rành về công nghệ .nhưng tôi đọc bài viết của bạn tôi rất thích vì nghĩ rằng nó sẽ đáp ứng nhu cầu nghiên cứu của cá nhân tôi. Bạn có thể vui lòng hướng dẫn cho tôi . tôi xin cảm ơn bạn

  110. Hey,
    nice to see what you are doing here.
    I would be very happy to get your script to make studies more efficient…could you pls. share it with me?

    Thanks

  114. Hi Kristian,

    Excellent stuff from you.

    Could you please also send me a copy of the Python script you used?

    Haven’t got much clue about Python but it looks very useful for me to get excited about Python.

    Thank you very much, sir.

  129. Here comes random person #500 with the making the same request you have so kindly offered to so many others. your tutorial is amazing. I would love to see the code. Thanks so much

  131. Im so impressed. I was using GPT3 to summarize stuff but never taught about summarizing multiple summarized things 😀 It would be so cool to look at the code. Could you send me an email? Thx. Really cooool article!

  133. Fantastic article – wish i was more competent at programming to pull this off myself. Is there something you can share with more details?

    Thanks again for the article – this will change the world!

  135. Hey Kristian, really informative article! I was wondering if there was any chance you’d be able to send me the python script you used for each step! Thanks!

  142. Hi, I am struggling to summarize a huge text and it would be fantastic to be able to use your code to do it. Could you please send it to me ?

  143. It’s a great work! I think we are facing the line between “efficiency” and “laziness”. I want to try how it goes well, could you send me the script by any chance? Thank you!

  150. Hi, could you please send me an email with all steps as well? I am too not really familiar with Pyton, but will have to figure it out, since this would mean I could “read” hundreds of books !

  152. Very neatly explained Kristian. Appreciate your patience. 🙂

    Request you to share me the script as well. I have a little basic knowledge in Python. Let me try this out.

  155. Hi Kristian, very nice explanation!
    Can you send me the source code to study?

    I’m developing an idea based on custom training, can I share some ideas to get your input?

  172. Hi Kristian,

    Very interesting work you have done here. I was doing something similar quite recently, but it seems you have it more optimized. Would you please kindly send me a copy of the code for this. Would truly appreciate!

  175. Hi Kristian, please send me the step-by-step and the code. I really appreciate your support. I’m not good at in coding by I will try my best.
    Thanks.

  177. I’ve been trying to do this for over a week but I get a lot of looped outputs and gibberish. How did you overcome this with your code?

  178. Hi Kristian. Your step-by-step guide sounds awesome! Unfortunately I don’t have that much experience at coding. Could you also send me a more detailed step-by-step guide and the python script?
    Thank you very much!

  181. Please send me more details with the python scripts / possibly a guide to setting up the environment as well to my email. Thank you so much!

  183. Kristian! This is precisely what I was looking for! Could you please share a detailed step by step of how to create a python script?

  186. Hi Kristian, I am doing minor in behavioural psychology, I think this ability to summarize large text files would be super useful. Can I get access to the script plz?

  189. Can you send me the code as well, will be extremely interested to try this out.
    will surely cite you and your website, if something develops from my end.

  190. Hi Kristian!
    Thank you for the article, this is great, exactly what I was looking for!
    Could you please send me the python script too?
    Thank you!

    • yes ,I’ve just sent you an email with comprehensive details on how to access the script for summarizing a PDF using Python and GPT/AI. check your inbox and let me know if you have any questions.

  197. Thank you for this great stuff. Could you please also send the script to me? By the way is it possible to do in Matlab? Thank you

  202. Hi Kristian,

    I just fell down the rabbit hole with your incredibly well written posts and wanted to know what your script from this blogpost looks like!
    Could you be so kind as to send it to me?

    Best from Vienna,
    Daniel

    • Hello 🙂 I sent you a mail with info about how to access my GPT / AI PDF Summarizer Script. Also coming a new video with PDF to Voice with the new ChatGPT API

  204. This is super awesome! Like many other commenters, I’m a student and fairly new to python so I would appreciate a guide with the script.
    Thanks so much!

    • Hello 🙂 Yes! I sent you a mail with info about how to access my GPT / AI PDF Summarizer Script. Also coming a new video with PDF to Voice with the new ChatGPT API

  205. Can you please share the GPT / AI PDF Summarizer Script . Is there a video instruction also for step by step ?

  206. Hi Kristian, great work! Would you please send me an email with more deatils on how to access your GPT-AI PDF Summarizer Script?

    Cheers,

    Kevin

  208. Thank you for sharing all this! I would like to follow the step-by-step you introduced. Can you send me the script? Thank you again!

  209. Hey Kristian, this is awesome and as others I’d highly appreciate if you could share the source code. Thanks so much in advance!

  210. What you did here was genius, could you please share with me the guide for the python script. I am hoping to make something cool with it.

  213. Very useful! Could you please send me the guide with the script as well? Also the instructions on how to convert this into voice with Whisper API? Thank you

    • Sure thing! I just sent you an email with all the details on how to access the ChatGPT PDF summarizer script. Let me know if you have any questions or need further assistance.

  217. Hi Kristian, love the breakdown and I’d love to tinker with it. Are you able to send me any guides/scripts? Thank you.

  221. Hey Kristian! I think your project will be super useful for me. I’m looking to create YouTube videos and resources with book summaries. I’m also looking to feed my own data into chatGPT for blog posts to make it more accurate and nuanced. I’m not a coder, but would love to utilize what ya got. Could you please email me also?

  226. I would also like to receive that thanks in advance!

    And also thanks for the very enlightening videos, I’ve learned already a lot!

    Take care.

  229. I really need this and I would really appreciate it if you could help me. I spent 3 days and nights trying to make it myself and I had no idea this existed! Thank you so much!

  230. It is a very good work. Kristian, would you send the e-mail with that code? Does that work with api chat gpt 3.5 turbo?

  231. Hello.You are amazing! Just what I need.Please Could you please send me the guide with the script as well? Also the instructions on how to convert this into voice with Whisper API? Thank you

  238. This blog is fantastic! 🔥🔥
    Could you please send me your script?
    I’d love to deep dive in it!

    I found myself stuck while trying to tune the prompt for summarizing long articles into TLDR: how to remain original meaning and context while compression? how to organize the summaries in a clear and structured way that aligns with the original article’s headings?

    step 1 to 9 might get some useful insights, cheers!

  243. Hey! I am a student who is also interested in using Chat GPT. It is actually more interesting to learn using Python that actually reading long texts… Is it possible to receive the script?

    Thank you very much!

  244. Hey Kristian! This is exactly what I have been looking for, I have so many documents to go through and this neat trick of yours could save me days of reading. Could I get an email with detailed steps as well?

  245. Hi! Could you please send me the scripts/software I need to do this. Student looking to save some time when reading, thanks!

  254. Thank you so much for doing this, I don’t program, but want to learn and wwould love more details about how to do this.

  257. Hi Kristian, thank you for this detailed write up! Could you please send me the script by email? Thank you very muchin advance!

  258. Hi Kristian,

    Great article and YouTube video on this subject. Can I get the script please? That would be so invaluable to me!
    Thanks man!

    Regards Marco

  263. Hey Kristian,

    thank you so much for your contribution within the field of prompt engineering! Liked you video a lot and cannot wait to receive also a copy of the script.
    Thanks =)

  272. Hi. I dont know anything about coding. Is any chance you can send me a scrip for helping study at uni? 🙁 Thank you

  273. This is wonderful Kristian. Could you pass me the details of how to do it? You would do me a huge favor to summarize large amounts of legal text. Thank you so much in advance!

  274. Thank you for making the script, I made a more basic version of this before I saw this. Can you please send me the more detailed instructions too. Thanks in advance

  275. Hi Krisitan, absolutely fantastic work! I‘d truly appreciate receiving the details per e-mail as well! I hope you automated these mails given the number of requests!! 😉 Thanks a lot and keep up the great work!

  277. Hey Kristian, this is really cool and thank you for the write-up!

    Could I get the python scripts as well? I have tons of current uses for this!

  280. Amazing, I have been trying to find a solution for this, and pointing ChatGPT 4.0 to an URL if 7it is not behind a paywall–and it does access it. But for PDF that are only local drive, and some are books or articles I have collected for my studies.

    I have no clue about how python works, but I will get help from a friend who knows a few things about coding. Kristian, please send me email of the code so I use it for my writing work. Many thanks

  281. Hi Kristian, hope you’re well, just watched the video – so great! 🙂
    May I please ask for a copy of the python script, if you’re still sharing it? Thank you in advanced. 🙂

  294. can i please get the py code with some instructions ?
    i have a pdf of 85 pages that needs to be explained to my

    • Hey! 🙂 You bet, I’ve just sent you an email with all the info you need to access the text/PDF GPT AI Summarizer Scripts. it should be in your inbox now!

  297. Hi Kristian,
    This is great work!! could you please share the python script? It would really help with my project.

    Thanks a lot!!

  305. Kristian, this is great material, I too would be interested in testing out your script. Thanks for all of the great posts on Chat GPT.

  307. Hey Mate! Great Work! I really love your content… is 200% usefull and entertaining! Can you send me all the scripts for this? I am really newbie with Python and want to write some books but first… I need to read a lot of books of the topics! XP Thank you in advance! Dani, from Spain

    • Hello there! Just letting you know that I have emailed you with the necessary information on how to get your hands on the Text/PDF AI GPT summarizer scripts and Google Notebook.

  308. Hi Kristian,
    Thank you very much you’re a hero! I would greatly appreciate it if you could share the script with me. If there is a step-by-step guide it would be much easier. Thanks a lot, I could really use that!

  309. Dear Kristian,

    Thank you for your fantastic article on GPT summarize! Your Python code examples were incredibly insightful, and I learned a lot from them. I was wondering if you could share the Python code you used in your article? I would love to be able to experiment with it and learn more from your expertise.

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge so generously!

    Best regards,
    jj

  310. Great article, thank you. Would it be possible for you publish some examples of the scripts that you’ve described that I might be able to learn from?

    Thanks very much for writing these articles – they really help understand the concepts and how to make the most of the technology.

    – Simon

  314. Could you send me what I need to do to use AI PDF Summarizer script with the new ChatGPT API? I’m a student working full time and trying to make it through school! Thanks.

  319. Hi Kristian,

    Great stuff what you share. Thanks for breaking it down. Could you please also share the python code ? Thanks so much

    • HI Kristian,
      This is very interesting article, Could you please share your scripts if possible to me as well.

      Thanks you

  323. hi, your stuff is great.thanks. do you have more detailed, step-by-step guides on how to make the various GPT-3 Python scrips mentioned? I am really bad at programming (python) and need detailed guidance. Is that something you have/do? Is it behind a paywall?

  329. Hi Kristian, I am also interested by the sript with the details for implementation. Could you send it to me.
    Thanks a lot for you help and amazing content!
    And one additional question, do you have by any chance a version of the script working with ChatGPT 4 ?

  333. Hi! your article is great, I tried to do it myself but only made it about halfway and started running into a lot of errors, i tried using ChatGPT to help me fix them it is helping but I am getting completely stuck. Can you please send me the code as well? Thank you!