Summarising a long email thread: how to generate an email summary with AI?
The fastest way to summarise a long email thread is to use an AI summary that reads the thread and its attachments: who asked for what, which decision was made, what remains open, all visible in a few lines. In this guide, we explain what a good email summary should include, when and how to use the summary, and how summary and attachment analysis work in SmartMail.
Why do long email threads take so much time?
A project correspondence can reach dozens of emails within a few weeks. Each reply quotes the previous one; attachments change, prices are updated, meeting dates shift. Someone joining the correspondence later, or an employee returning from leave, has to read the chain from start to finish to find the answer to "where did we leave off?".
The real loss of time comes not from the reading itself, but from important information getting lost in the noise. Decisions, dates and figures often appear in the middle of long paragraphs, inside a "by the way" sentence. Extracting this information manually requires attention, and a single missed sentence can mean a wrong quote or a missed delivery date.
What should a good email summary include?
A useful summary does more than shorten the text; it enables the reader to take action. A good summary includes the following headings:
- Subject and parties. What is the correspondence about, and who is speaking with whom?
- Requests. What does the other party want from us; what did we ask from them?
- Decisions. The agreed price, date and terms.
- Open items. Questions awaiting an answer, documents that need to be sent.
- Important dates. Final delivery, meeting, validity period.
- Points to watch. Conflicting information, an unusual request or a changed condition.
A summary does not replace the original correspondence; it is the fastest way to it. Before making a critical decision, the relevant email itself must always be read.
Should attachments be summarised too?
In most business correspondence, the essential information is in the attachments: the quote file, technical specification, contract draft, price list. The email body may consist of nothing more than the sentence "we are sending it attached". So a tool that summarizes only the body does half the job.
Summarising attachments too saves time, especially in the following situations:
- Long quotes and specifications. How many line items are there, what is the total amount, what is the delivery condition?
- Contract drafts. Parties, term, termination conditions and payment clauses.
- Tabular documents. Which table is on which page, and what are the columns?
What should be considered when using the AI summary?
Do not use the summary as a decision document. A summary is a guide. Check binding information such as price, amount and date from the source.
Define the organization context. AI produces more accurate summaries when it knows who your organization is and what it does. A short context such as "We are a machine manufacturer and correspond with our resellers" determines which information the summary highlights.
Go deeper by asking questions. The summary gives the big picture; when you need detail, asking the email itself is faster than rereading the chain: "How many line items are in this quote?", "In which email did the delivery date change?"
Review privacy rules. Define your organization's policy on processing correspondence containing personal data with AI and communicate it to employees.
In which situations is the summary most useful?
The AI summary does not produce the same value for every email. It provides the greatest benefit in the following situations:
Inherited email threads. A person taking over a thread handled by an employee going on leave or changing roles starts with the summary instead of reading the chain from the beginning and immediately sees the open items.
Manager's overview. A manager tracking dozens of correspondence threads their team handles follows the situation from summaries without going into the details of every email; they distinguish the correspondence that needs intervention.
Long quote and tender processes. In correspondence lasting weeks, where prices and terms change several times, the summary highlights the latest valid state.
Correspondence in a foreign language. In a long correspondence in a language that is not your native language, the summary makes it easier to first understand what the subject is; you switch to translation for detail.
For short, single-question emails, however, a summary is often not needed; the email itself is already as short as a summary.
How does SmartMail summarise long email threads?
In SmartMail, the content summary of each email is generated once when the email is opened and stored; anyone reopening the same email sees the summary without waiting. The summary sits next to the email, not in a separate tab, but right beside the reading area. Because previous messages in the reply chain are quoted in the body, the summary also covers the history of the correspondence. A user with permission can regenerate the summary.
Attachments are also analysed. The text of PDF and Office files is parsed and turned into a document card: what the document is, the parties, dates, tables, highlights and action items are visible at a glance. The content of image attachments is also described; text in the image is read. Attachments up to 5 MB are included in this analysis.
To go beyond the summary, use chat about the email. Questions such as "How many line items are in this quote?" and "What is the payment term?" are answered from the content of that email and its attachments.
In grouped view, correspondence belonging to the same matter is collected on a single line and the chain is opened and read in order. A correspondence in a foreign language can be translated into one of 30 languages while preserving its format; summary and chat can also be used in Turkish.
The administrator can add a short context text that introduces the organization to the AI; summaries and reply drafts are shaped by this context.
AI usage runs on a periodic budget; when the budget is exhausted, AI operations stop together and resume in the new period. Per-person shares are adjusted from the administrator screen.
Recommendations for incorporating the summary into daily work
- Start with the summary in the morning review. In long correspondence, look at the summary first, then the open items.
- Read the document card before opening the attachment. The card shows the part of the document that concerns you; go to the full text when needed.
- Turn the summary into a note when handing over. When going on leave, write the open items from the summary next to the email as a team note.
- Check the figure from the source. In quote and payment emails, always verify the amount from the attachment or the email itself.