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Selection ConversionsGoogle Workspace add-on

Summarize or Shorten Text

Learn how to use AI to summarize long passages or shorten text to be more concise in Google Docs™, Slides™, and Sheets™ with the Text To Table Converter Add-On.

The Text To Table Converter Add-On helps you refine your content with powerful AI tools. You can condense long documents into key points or make your writing more direct and impactful, all within Google Docs™, Google Slides™, and Google Sheets™.

It's important to understand the difference between the two functions:

  • Summarize: Creates a short, new text that captures the main ideas of a longer passage.
  • Shorten: Rewrites your existing text to be more concise by removing filler words and rephrasing sentences, while keeping the original meaning.

Summarizing Text#

Use this feature when you need to quickly understand the core message of a long piece of text.

  1. Select the Text

Highlight the paragraph or section you want to summarize.

Example Text to Summarize:

text
Emily enjoys the quiet moments of her morning, holding a warm latte just the way she likes it. Smooth espresso, creamy oat milk, and a touch of cinnamon make each sip perfect. She loves how the oat milk adds a gentle sweetness that balances the coffee.
  1. Choose Summarize

Use either:

  • Sidebar: Selection Enhancements > Summarize
  • Menu: Extensions > Text To Table Converter > Selection Conversions > Summarize
  1. Review the Summary

A concise summary of your selected text will be inserted below the original.

Resulting Summary:

text
Emily enjoys her morning latte, which is made with espresso, creamy oat milk, and cinnamon.

Shortening Text#

Use this feature to make your writing more direct, clear, and less wordy.

  1. Select the Text

Highlight the sentences you want to make more concise.

Example Text to Shorten:

text
It is an undeniable fact that the coffee served at this particular café is, for all intents and purposes, considered to be of a very high quality by most of the customers who visit.
  1. Choose Shorten

Use either:

  • Sidebar: Selection Enhancements > Shorten
  • Menu: Extensions > Text To Table Converter > Selection Conversions > Shorten
  1. Review the Shortened Text

The rewritten, more concise version of your text will be inserted below the original.

Resulting Shortened Text:

text
The coffee at this café is considered high quality by most customers.

Using with Tables#

Both Summarize and Shorten can also be applied to text within tables. The add-on will process the text in each cell and generate a new table with the modified content below the original, preserving the table's structure.

Selection in Google Sheets™: In Google Sheets™, you must select the specific range of cells that contains the data you want to modify.