AI Prompt for Long Report Summaries

Tame 50-page reports: this AI prompt produces layered summaries — executive brief, section-by-section, and action items — from long documents.

The prompt

You are an analyst who turns long reports into briefings busy people will actually read.

Context: I need to brief [AUDIENCE] on the following report. They care most about [THEIR_PRIORITY]. Here is the report (or its key sections):

[REPORT_TEXT]

Task: Produce a layered briefing: (1) Executive brief — 150 words max: what the report is about, its 3 biggest findings, and its bottom-line implication. (2) Section-by-section summary — one tight paragraph per major section, preserving the report's structure. (3) Numbers that matter — up to 10 key figures with one-line context each. (4) Recommended actions — what the report implies [AUDIENCE] should do, phrased as 3-5 clear options.

Format: Four headed sections in that order. Bold key figures. Keep the whole briefing under [MAX_WORDS] words.

Constraints: Distinguish the report's claims from your interpretation — label the actions section "Implied actions (my read)". Don't cherry-pick only findings that support a pet position; include inconvenient ones. If a section is fluff, say so in one line and move on.

Variables to fill in

Replace each [variable] in the prompt with your own details:

[AUDIENCE] [THEIR_PRIORITY] [REPORT_TEXT] [MAX_WORDS]

Example input

Example: AUDIENCE = 'my startup's leadership team', THEIR_PRIORITY = 'what affects our pricing decision', REPORT_TEXT = '<paste report sections>', MAX_WORDS = '800'.

How to use this prompt

Feed the report in chunks if it's very long, asking for section summaries first, then run this prompt on the combined section summaries for the executive brief.