Summarise a long email thread

Get a short summary of what was asked, what was agreed, what is still open and who owes what by when.

Before you paste anything: replace names, CNIC numbers and other personal details with placeholders and never use classified material. Use only AI tools your department allows.

When to use it

You have been copied into a long chain of emails. Or you are back from leave and need to catch up. A clear summary shows you the decisions and your own tasks quickly.

The prompt

Summarise the email thread below from a government office in Pakistan.

My role: [your designation]
Email thread:
[Paste the emails, oldest first if possible. Remove personal details that are not needed]

Write the summary in [English / Urdu] with these headings:
1. Background: two or three sentences on what the thread is about
2. What was asked: each request, who asked (by designation) and on what date
3. What was agreed: each decision and the date of the email it appears in
4. Open questions: anything raised but not settled
5. Actions: a table with three columns: action, who owes it (by designation) and by when

Use only what the emails say. If a deadline or owner is not stated, write [UNCLEAR]. If emails contradict each other, say so and give both versions. Do not treat silence as agreement. Mark any action for my role with [ME].

How to fill it in

Paste the whole thread in order. Earlier messages quoted inside replies can confuse the AI, so remove repeated quoted text if you can.
Check whether your department allows official emails to be pasted into the tool you are using. Many do not for sensitive matters.
Giving your designation helps the AI pick out what you need to do.

Before you use the result

Open the original emails for every decision and deadline before you act on them.
Resolve each [UNCLEAR] by asking the sender, not by guessing.
Do not forward the summary as the official record. The emails remain the record.

Related guide: How to summarise long files.