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Don't ask AI to summarize the memo. Ask for these four lists.

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Don't ask AI to summarize the memo. Ask for these four lists.
The default: hit summarize. What you get if you just say 'Summarize this': accurate prose to reread, with no page numbers, and gaps mentioned only in passing.

The default: hit summarize

Real output · Claude Sonnet 5.5 · Sept 2026

**Harbor Lane Bakery: Second Location Plan (for the Oct 6 partners meeting)** **Decided (Sept 22):** Open the second shop on Elm Street, not Riverside. Priya will manage it. … **Open items** - Someone needs to confirm with the city whether Elm Street needs a new health permit or can transfer the old one. No owner is named.

What you get if you just say 'Summarize this': accurate prose to reread, with no page numbers, and gaps mentioned only in passing.

Ask a different question. A summary answers 'what does it say?' You need 'what do I have to act on, by when, and who owns it?'

Ask a different question

A summary answers 'what does it say?' You need 'what do I have to act on, by when, and who owns it?'

The four-list prompt. Paste your document, then this prompt.

The four-list prompt

Don't summarize this document. Pull out only what I need to act on, as four lists: 1. Decisions already made 2. Deadlines (date + what is due) 3. Owners (person + task) 4. Open questions nobody has answered yet After every item, give the page number in brackets, like [p. 2]. If a list has nothing in the document, or a task has no named owner, write "not found" instead of guessing.

Tested in Claude Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-5.5 (OpenAI API), Sept 2026

Paste your document, then this prompt.

Four tasks, no owner. The same prompt, run on the same memo, flagged four ownerless tasks instead of one, each with a page number. One of them didn't hold up (next slide).

Four tasks, no owner

Real output · Claude Sonnet 5.5 · Sept 2026

**3. Owners** - Priya: manage the new shop. [p. 1] … - Marco: get a second quote for the build-out before the partners meeting. [p. 2] - Confirm the health permit question with the city: not found [p. 3] - Get the landlord's approval of the facade plan: not found [p. 3] - Decide the deposit source: not found [p. 2] - Order kitchen equipment: not found [p. 2]

The same prompt, run on the same memo, flagged four ownerless tasks instead of one, each with a page number. One of them didn't hold up (next slide).

Source: Our own AI test, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Sept 2026

Check every 'not found'. Claude marked the deposit decision not found, but page 3 says the partners decide it Oct 6. GPT-5.5 caught only one ownerless task total.

Check every 'not found'

Claude marked the deposit decision not found, but page 3 says the partners decide it Oct 6. GPT-5.5 caught only one ownerless task total.

Try it: Open the page next to any 'not found' before you trust it.

Source: Our own AI test vs. source memo, Sept 2026

Use it, then verify. Check each flagged page. Page numbers need visible page breaks — ours were typed in. Remove names, account numbers and other personal details first, and check your employer's approved tools before uploading real documents.

Use it, then verify

Check each flagged page. Page numbers need visible page breaks — ours were typed in. Remove names, account numbers and other personal details first, and check your employer's approved tools before uploading real documents.

Try it: Paste your next long memo or meeting pack with this prompt; type [Page 1], [Page 2] markers in if the paste lost them.

Sources and assumptions

Assumptions:

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