When a chat is too long for the AI to read

AIs can only read so much at once

Every AI service has a limit on how much it can read and keep in mind in one conversation. Free plans usually have smaller limits than paid ones, and limits vary by model and plan. Because they change often, it is more practical to watch for the symptoms below than to rely on a specific number.

Even within the limit, very long input tends to get a thinner summary in the middle. Being able to paste it all does not mean you should.

• The paste is rejected, or you see a "too long" message
• The summary covers only the last few days
• A decision you know was made is missing
• The answer stops partway

Check the character count first

The top of TalkCut's step 3 result screen shows the number of extracted messages and the character count. Extract the same chat with different date ranges and you can compare right away. Remember the count at which the symptoms appeared, and stay below it next time.

Three ways to make it shorter

• Split by date: the most reliable method. Split three months into months, or a month into weeks. Dates are listed with weekdays, so Monday-to-Sunday chunks are easy.
• Narrow the speakers: choosing only the organizers or people who post announcements cuts the volume a lot. Other people's reactions and questions are dropped, though.
• Attach as a file: the Download button on the result screen saves a .txt file with the prompt and chat, which you can attach to the AI service. Services that accept attachments sometimes take more than a paste, but the limit does not disappear.

Summarize in parts, then merge

Once the chat is split, summarize each part and merge the summaries at the end. Summaries are far shorter than the original, so length is rarely a problem at the merge step.

1. Extract the first part (e.g. week 1) in TalkCut with detail level Brief or Moderate.
2. Paste it into the AI service, then save the summary in a notepad under a "Week 1" heading.
3. Go back to step 2 (the "Back" button on the result screen), change only the date range to the next part and repeat. No need to upload the file again.
4. Paste all the summaries into the AI at once with a request like the one below.

Below are summaries of the same group chat for different periods.
Merge them into one summary.
- Where a decision changed over time, keep only the final one and note the change in one line
- Combine topics that came up in several periods

[Week 1 summary]
...
[Week 2 summary]
...

Start each part in a new conversation

If you keep asking for each part in the same AI conversation, the earlier raw text piles up and you hit the limit sooner. Open a new conversation for each part, and do the merge in a fresh one with only the summaries.

More use cases

• Pull only the final plans out of a trip or meetup group chat
• Turn a work group chat into meeting notes and weekly reports
• When your KakaoTalk export file won't upload