How to summarise or translate a PDF without uploading it
Open Summarise and translate, add the PDF and press Summarise it. The key points come from the AI built into your browser, on your own computer, and the document is never sent to an online AI. Where a browser has no such AI, the tool says so and does nothing.
Summarise and translateFree. Nothing is uploaded.
How to do it
- Open Summarise and translate in a recent Chrome on a laptop or desktop.
- Add the PDF; its words are read on your device.
- Press Summarise it for the key points.
- Or pick a language under Translate into and press Translate it.
- Tap Copy to take the result into an email, a note or a document.
Why on-device matters
Most online AI summarisers send your document to a server, where a large model reads it. For a contract, a medical report, a bank statement or a work file you have been told not to upload, that is the whole problem. Recent versions of Chrome can download a small AI model of their own that runs on the computer itself. This tool hands the PDF’s words to that model and to nothing else, so the summary is made where the document already is.
Which browsers have it
So far the built-in AI is found mainly in Chrome 138 or later on a laptop or desktop, and Chrome switches it on only where the computer can run it. The first time, the browser may download its model, which can take a few minutes; a line shows how far it has got. Other browsers and most phones do not offer it yet. If yours does not, the tool tells you so, and your document stays exactly where it is: it never falls back to an online service.
What a summary is good for
The summary is a list of key points, made a part at a time for a long document and then drawn together, from up to the first 300 pages. It is a quick way to see what a long report, a circular or a set of terms is about, and to decide what to read closely. It is not a substitute for reading what matters: a small model can miss a detail or blur it, so check any clause, date or amount in the document itself before you act on it.
The summariser is made mainly for English. A document in another language may give a weak summary, or none.
Translating
Pick a language under Translate into: English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese or Chinese. The tool works out the document’s language where the browser can tell, treats it as English otherwise, and translates a part at a time, filling the box as it goes. Whether a pair such as English to Malayalam is offered depends on what your browser supports on your device; when it is not, the tool says so.
Scans have no words to read
This tool reads the words stored in the PDF. A scan or a photo holds pictures of words instead, and the tool says it found none. Run it through Make searchable first, which reads the words on your device too, then summarise the searchable copy. To keep the full text rather than a summary, Extract text gives it as a plain text file.
A worked example
Vikram’s company sends round a 45-page revised travel and leave policy, and he wants the gist before a meeting. On his office laptop, in Chrome, he opens Summarise and translate, adds the PDF and presses Summarise it. The first time, a line shows Chrome getting its model ready; then the key points appear in the box. He copies them into his notes, and opens the policy itself in Read to check the two points that affect him. The policy never left his laptop, which is what his company’s rules ask.
Questions people ask
Is my document sent to an AI service?
No. The words are read in your browser and handed only to the AI built into the browser, on your device. Where there is none, nothing happens.
Why does it say this browser has no built-in AI?
Your browser does not offer it on this device. Try Chrome 138 or later on a laptop or desktop; your document stays put either way.
Does it work on my phone?
Mostly not yet: the built-in AI is found mainly in desktop Chrome so far. The tool tells you whether your phone’s browser has it.
Is the summary always right?
No. It is a small model’s reading and can miss or blur details. Check anything that matters against the document.
Does it make a new PDF?
No. The result is plain text in a box; copy it into an email, a note or a document of your own.
Your file stays on your device. Foolscap does the work inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded and there is nothing for anyone to keep. How you can check