What are summaries in Task Manager?
You return to a thread where five people have been replying for a week, and need to know what came of it in a minute. Summaries in Task Manager let you read a thread one message at a time, with each message given a shorter version. Instead of scrolling through everything from the beginning, you work through the summaries and stop where something was actually agreed.
It's not a separate window or a chat bolted on to the side. The AI Assistant in Task Manager can organise messages in a task, chat or Mail thread. You can ask about the contents of attachments separately, in private question mode. The reply box has an “Organise” button and four reading modes: Original content turns off AI, Polish presents the same content more concisely and in the first person, Summarise shortens each message to one or two sentences or up to three bullet points, and Expert writes in a professional tone and adds a line of “Expert note” - advice, a risk or a question worth following up on.
Expert is the only mode in which the model can add something of its own in the “Expert note” line. In Polish and Summarise modes, AI reworks what someone actually wrote. All three AI modes are prohibited from making things up. Each processed message includes the note “AI can make mistakes”, which is more honest than pretending the summary is infallible.
What does a summarised thread look like?
AI works in batches of the eight most recent regular messages. A banner showing the active mode appears at the top of the thread, with an “Organise older messages (N)” button below it - click it to go further back. Older unprocessed messages aren't shown in their original form below the summaries until you request another batch. To return to the full thread, switch to “Original content” mode. System messages, AI replies and your private questions to the Assistant are left untouched.
The result isn't saved anywhere. It's only available for the duration of the session - message content is sometimes encrypted, so storing its summary as plain text in the database would be a step backwards for privacy. In return, switching back to a mode you've already run is instant: you can switch between Summarise and Expert without waiting again if both modes have already been run in this session.
If you'd rather ask about a thread than read through it, there's a second button in the reply box - AI Assistant. The editor turns purple, and the bar above it makes it clear: only you will see your question; it won't go to the other participants. The answer appears in the thread with a FOR YOUR EYES ONLY label. You can also ask for a file: “prepare a Word document summarising this thread” - AI writes the content, the app creates the document and adds a “Download” button.
What do you gain?
You return from two weeks of leave and don't need to set aside an hour to catch up. Instead of reading eighty messages in the order they were written, you go through the summaries in batches and stop at the three that really concern you. The rest were decisions between two other people, and you know that after five seconds, not five minutes.
The new person on the project stops asking questions that were answered a month ago. You don't have to ask someone to “summarise what it's all about for them” - something that would usually take up fifteen minutes of someone's time and still leave out half the context. They read the same thread, just in less time.
You don't have to search through a long conversation yourself for things worth following up on. You get a starting point for checking a potential risk or asking an additional question, rather than finishing the thread with the feeling that something slipped through the cracks.
When is it useful?
You're handling a customer complaint. The thread has been going on for three weeks: decisions, a change of date and two attachments containing reports mentioned in the messages. Your manager asks where things stand in a meeting. You switch on Summarise mode and review the summaries in batches of eight messages. In later batches, you find messages about the date being moved and the latest decision, which is waiting for your reply.
Then you switch to Expert because you want to know what you might have missed. The “Expert note” line can flag a risk, offer advice or suggest a question worth following up on. There's one last step: switch to private question mode and ask for a Word document summarising the thread, so you have something to put on the table. None of the participants can see that you asked for it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the summary include the contents of attachments?
No. “Organise” processes the messages in the thread, not the contents of attachments. You can ask about attachments separately in the private “AI Assistant” mode, which can see the thread and attachments. It can read TXT, CSV, MD, JSON, XML, HTML, DOCX, XLSX and PDF files. Scanned PDFs without a text layer won't be read, because the app doesn't have OCR.
Can I change the length of the summary?
The length depends on the mode you've selected. “Summarise” gives you one or two sentences per message, or up to three bullet points. “Polish” presents the same content more concisely and in the first person. Switch modes from the menu next to the “Organise” button.
Is the summary saved in the thread?
No. The result is only available for the duration of the session and isn't saved to the database. If you need a separate summary to download, ask the Assistant in private question mode for a Word, PDF or HTML file summarising the thread. This doesn't save the result of “Organise” mode.
Where is the thread content sent?
It goes to the AI provider selected by the administrator under Settings → AI - OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or Grok. The administrator configures the provider's API key there. The AI button is only visible if the administrator has configured AI and you've been given permission to use it in tasks or chats.