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Google Assistant can soon ‘Summarize’ webpages [Gallery]

One of the most straightforward features of generative AI tools is the ability to take long pieces of text and summarize them into a few short bullet points. Soon, you’ll be able to use Google Assistant to summarize almost any webpage.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.


Over the course of this year, Google has previewed and/or launched countless products and improvements built on generative AI. Entirely new apps, like the Bard chatbot and NotebookLM, have been released, and existing products like Gmail and Google Messages gained writing and rewriting tools.

Meanwhile, automatic summaries were one of the first AI-powered tools to arrive for Google Docs, taking a long document and breaking it down to its key points. Now it seems Google intends to make summaries more easily available in the daily lives of Android device owners.

Spotted as a work-in-progress within the latest Google app beta (version 14.29), the Google Assistant is preparing a new “Summarize” suggestion that will appear when the assistant is invoked while browsing the web. Alternatively, you can ask for it directly by saying, “Summarize this.”

Tap or say “Summarize this” to get a quick summary of what’s on your screen

From what we’ve seen so far, the Summarize suggestion will appear when browsing through Chrome directly or when an app opens a webpage in a Custom Tab (also powered by Chrome). For now, however, the feature does not seem to work, with the Assistant simply showing an error when asked for a summary.

One thing that’s not yet clear is whether or not Summarize will be a Pixel-exclusive feature when it arrives. Considering how much Google has previously emphasized Assistant’s exclusive capabilities on Pixel phones (and now the Pixel Tablet), it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it limited to Google’s own hardware.

Assuming it launches, Summarize would be one of the first modern generative AI-powered features for Google Assistant. Up to this point, those capabilities have been siloed into separate apps, and even Google’s two conversational chatbot efforts – Bard and Search Generative Experience – have so far avoided any significant Assistant branding.

Would you want to use Google Assistant to create summaries at a moment’s notice? Let us know in the comments below.

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Avatar for Kyle Bradshaw Kyle Bradshaw

Kyle is an author and researcher for 9to5Google, with special interests in Made by Google products, Fuchsia, and uncovering new features.

Got a tip or want to chat? Twitter or Email. Kyle@9to5mac.com

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