Summary Prompt for Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)

“Summarize this” gets you a polite paragraph. This summary prompt for Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) tells the chat who you are and what you need the sources for, so the summary leads with what matters to you: the bottom line, the key points ranked for your goal, the numbers worth keeping and what is still unclear. Replace [ROLE] and [GOAL], tick the sources and send.

The summary prompt

Summarize the selected sources for someone with 5 minutes who needs to act on them.
My role: [ROLE]. My goal: [GOAL].

1. The bottom line in 2 sentences.
2. The 5 most important points, one sentence each, ordered by how much they matter for my goal.
3. Numbers, dates and names worth remembering, as a short list.
4. What the sources disagree on or leave unclear.
5. 3 questions I should ask next.

Keep it under 300 words. Use the sources' own terms, cite every point, and add nothing from outside the sources.

When to use it

Use it whenever you add a batch of new sources and need to know quickly whether they change anything: a stack of reports before a meeting, readings before a seminar, a long policy document before you reply to it. The role and goal are the part that does the work. “Product manager deciding whether to build feature X” and “student writing an essay on X” pull very different points out of the same sources.

What it returns

A short answer in five labelled parts, under 300 words, with a citation behind each point. The ranking follows your goal, so a point that fills half of one source can sit at the bottom if it does not help you decide. The “unclear” section tells you where not to trust the summary yet, and the three questions make a natural next message in the same chat.

If you summarize new sources every week, the same prompt is worth keeping one click away.

Variations

One row per source. When you need to see which source says what.

Make a table of the selected sources with the columns: Source | Main claim | Key evidence | One-line takeaway. Keep each cell under 25 words and cite each row.

One-paragraph TL;DR. For a message to a colleague.

Write one paragraph of 80 words or fewer that tells a busy colleague what the selected sources say and why it matters for [GOAL]. Plain language, no bullet points, cite each claim.

Summary for a different reader. Change the audience and the summary changes with it.

Summarize the selected sources for [AUDIENCE, e.g. a 12-year-old, a board member, a new hire]. Pick only what that reader needs, explain every term they would not know, and keep it under 200 words. Cite each point.

New to the chat panel? How to use Gemini Notebook covers adding sources and choosing which ones a question uses. For a whole book, the book summary prompt goes chapter by chapter.