GPT-5.2OpenAI

Is GPT-5.2 Good for Summarization?

GPT-5.2 produces the most polished and readable summaries of any LLM, with strong audience adaptation and structured output. Here's how it performs across different summarization scenarios.

You only pay credits per request. No monthly subscription. Paid credits never expire.

Replace multiple AI subscriptions with one wallet that includes routing, failover, and optimization.

Why teams start here first
No monthly subscription
Pay-as-you-go credits
Start with trial credits, then buy only what you consume.
Failover safety
Production-ready routing
Auto fallback across providers when latency, quality, or reliability changes.
Data control
Your policy, your choice
BYOK and zero-retention mode keep training and storage scope explicit.
Single API experience
One key, multi-provider access
Use Chat/Compare/Blend/Judge/Failover from one dashboard.
Our verdict
8/10

GPT-5.2 is an excellent summarization model that produces the most readable, well-structured summaries among current LLMs. It excels at adjusting summary detail and tone for different audiences, from executive briefs to technical digests. It trails Claude Sonnet 4.5 on raw faithfulness, where Claude's lower hallucination rate makes it the safer choice for legal, medical, or compliance-sensitive documents. Gemini 3 Flash is faster and cheaper for high-volume batch summarization. GPT-5.2 is the top choice when summary readability and polish matter most.

Where GPT-5.2 excels at summarization

1Most Readable Summary Output

GPT-5.2 consistently produces the most polished, well-written summaries. Its output reads naturally, flows logically, and avoids the stilted phrasing that other models sometimes produce when condensing dense source material.

2Excellent Audience Adaptation

GPT-5.2 adjusts summary complexity, vocabulary, and emphasis based on the target audience. It can produce an executive brief, a technical digest, and a customer-facing overview from the same source document, each appropriately tailored.

3Strong Structured Summary Formats

When you need summaries in specific formats, such as bullet points, numbered key takeaways, TLDR plus detailed sections, or JSON, GPT-5.2 follows formatting instructions precisely and consistently.

4Good Multilingual Summarization

GPT-5.2 can summarize documents in one language and output the summary in another, or summarize multilingual source material into a single coherent output. This cross-lingual capability is valuable for international teams.

Limitations to consider

!
Slightly Higher Hallucination Risk

GPT-5.2 occasionally introduces details or emphasis not present in the source material, particularly when summarizing technical or specialized documents. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more faithful to source content.

!
Smaller Context Window Than Claude

For very long documents, Claude Sonnet 4.5's 200K token context window can process more source material in a single pass. GPT-5.2 may require document chunking for the longest inputs, which can reduce summary coherence.

!
Cost at Scale

For batch summarization of hundreds or thousands of documents, GPT-5.2's per-token pricing is significantly higher than Gemini 3 Flash, which handles routine summarization tasks adequately at a lower cost.

Pro tips

Get more from GPT-5.2 for summarization

01

Specify your target audience and desired summary length explicitly in the prompt to get the most useful output on the first try.

02

For compliance-sensitive documents, use LLMWise Compare mode to cross-check GPT-5.2 summaries against Claude Sonnet 4.5 for faithfulness.

03

Use structured output mode to produce JSON-formatted summaries that can be ingested by downstream systems or dashboards.

04

When summarizing very long documents, break them into logical sections and summarize each, then ask GPT-5.2 to synthesize the section summaries into a final overview.

05

Include specific instructions about what to prioritize, for example 'focus on financial impact' or 'emphasize timeline and milestones', to get more targeted summaries.

Evidence snapshot

GPT-5.2 for summarization

How GPT-5.2 stacks up for summarization workloads based on practical evaluation.

Overall rating
8/10
for summarization tasks
Strengths
4
key advantages identified
Limitations
3
trade-offs to consider
Alternative
Claude Sonnet 4.5
top competing model
Consider instead

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Compare both models for summarization on LLMWise

View Claude Sonnet 4.5

Common questions

Is GPT-5.2 or Claude better for summarization?
GPT-5.2 produces more readable, polished summaries. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more faithful to source material with fewer hallucinated details. Choose GPT-5.2 when readability matters most; choose Claude when accuracy is the top priority.
Can GPT-5.2 summarize long documents?
Yes, though very long documents may need to be chunked. For documents under GPT-5.2's context limit, it produces excellent single-pass summaries. For longer documents, use a section-by-section approach with a final synthesis step.
How do I get GPT-5.2 to produce consistent summary formats?
Use GPT-5.2's structured output mode or provide a clear template in your prompt. GPT-5.2 is the most reliable model for following specific formatting instructions, making it ideal for automated summarization pipelines.
Is GPT-5.2 cost-effective for batch summarization?
For small to medium volumes, GPT-5.2 provides the best quality. For high-volume batch jobs, consider using Gemini 3 Flash via LLMWise for routine documents and reserving GPT-5.2 for high-stakes summaries that need maximum polish.
Can I use GPT-5.2 for summarization with LLMWise?
Yes. LLMWise gives you API access to GPT-5.2 for summarization alongside every other major model. You can use Auto mode to route documents to the best model based on length and complexity automatically.
What are the limitations of GPT-5.2 for summarization?
GPT-5.2 has a higher hallucination risk than Claude Sonnet 4.5 on technical documents and a smaller context window for very long inputs. LLMWise Compare mode lets you cross-check GPT-5.2 summaries against Claude for faithfulness.

One wallet, enterprise AI controls built in

You only pay credits per request. No monthly subscription. Paid credits never expire.

Replace multiple AI subscriptions with one wallet that includes routing, failover, and optimization.

Chat, Compare, Blend, Judge, MeshPolicy routing + replay labFailover without extra subscriptions