Generative AI & LLMs
Extractive summarization
Making a summary by choosing sentences or passages from the original material.
Example
A tool pulls three sentences from a report to represent its main findings.
Why people use it
It shortens material while keeping the author's original wording.
What you'll hear
“Pull out the sentences that carry the main points.”
What this means for you
Read the surrounding background information of important extracted passages.
Can you control it?
Sometimes
Sometimes. Your choices depend on the tool and your access. The settings available to an everyday user may differ from those available to the people running it.
Common questions
- Does quoting exact sentences guarantee a fair summary?
- No. Selection can leave out qualifications or change the apparent emphasis.
- Can the selected sentences become confusing?
- Yes. A sentence may rely on an earlier explanation or an unclear word such as 'this'.
- Does it work well for every document?
- No. Some ideas are spread across passages that make little sense when separated.