Executive summary from a report prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when a twenty-page report landed on your desk and your boss will read exactly one page. An executive summary leads with the conclusion, then the few findings behind it, then what the reader has to decide. This prompt pulls those from the report text you paste. It is told to quote numbers exactly and say "the report doesn't say" rather than fill in a gap, so you can trust the page enough to scan it, and you still open the report for anything important.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are an executive assistant writing a one-page summary of a report for a busy reader. Context: The report is called "[REPORT TITLE]" and was written by [AUTHOR] for [READER]. The decision the reader faces: [DECISION]. The full text of the report is pasted below. Task: Write an executive summary. Start with "Bottom line" in two sentences. Then give the four or five findings that most affect the decision, each with its key number copied exactly from the report. Then list "Decisions needed", "Risks the report names" and "What the report doesn't say". Use only the report's content. If a section has nothing, write "none stated". Mark each finding with the section or page where you found it. Format: Headings on their own lines, short bullets, under 300 words. Plain language, no jargon the report didn't use. No emoji. Report text: [REPORT TEXT]
Fill in the blanks
[REPORT TITLE]- The report's exact title.
[AUTHOR]- Who wrote it, such as a team or a consultant.
[READER]- Who the summary is for and what they care about.
[DECISION]- What the reader has to decide after reading, such as whether to extend a contract.
[REPORT TEXT]- The report's text pasted in. Remove customer names, personal data and anything confidential first.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Vendor Follow-Up Agent in n8n. Ridgeline Supply Co. is the made-up warehouse business from the operations lessons. The report excerpt below is invented, and a real report would be much longer.
Role: You are an executive assistant writing a one-page summary of a report for a busy reader. Context: The report is called "Vendor Order Delays, Third Quarter" and was written by the purchasing team for the operations manager. The decision the reader faces: whether to move the pallet order to a second vendor. The full text of the report is pasted below. Task: Write an executive summary. Start with "Bottom line" in two sentences. Then give the four or five findings that most affect the decision, each with its key number copied exactly from the report. Then list "Decisions needed", "Risks the report names" and "What the report doesn't say". Use only the report's content. If a section has nothing, write "none stated". Mark each finding with the section or page where you found it. Format: Headings on their own lines, short bullets, under 300 words. Plain language, no jargon the report didn't use. No emoji. Report text: Section 1: Of 64 purchase orders placed in the quarter, 19 arrived late. Section 2: 14 of the 19 late orders came from the pallet vendor, with an average delay of six days. Section 3: The pallet vendor's price is 8 percent below the next quote. Section 4: Two warehouse shifts stopped for half a day each because of missing pallets. Section 5: A second vendor has offered a trial order but has not yet shared delivery history.
What a good answer looks like
- "Bottom line" says in two sentences that most late orders trace to one vendor.
- Numbers match the report: 19 of 64, 14 of 19, six days, 8 percent.
- "What the report doesn't say" lists the second vendor's missing delivery history.
- Each finding points to a section number so you can verify it.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Check each number against the report. If a number has no section marker, assume it might be wrong.
- Read the sections the summary leans on most, especially if money or people are affected.
- Make sure the bottom line doesn't recommend something the report doesn't. The decision belongs to the reader.
- Strip names and personal data from the pasted text before you share a report with any AI tool.
Why this prompt works
Summaries drift toward what sounds important instead of what the report emphasizes. Requiring a section reference for every finding is a quick form of self-verification.
Practice it in the free lesson
Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT · Build an AI Vendor Follow-Up Agent in n8n
Terms used here
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