AI is a huge help when you have to deal with long notes and files. It makes it easier to go through your notes. Even if those notes are in Obsidian, you can still go through them faster and save time by having a community plugin like Copilot help you. Once you set it up, it’s very easy to use, and you can ask it anything and get a concise response in the right pane.
The Copilot community plugin helps you find specific information about your notes. For example, it helps you quickly locate particular ideas, even if they’re buried a few lines deep in a wall of text. You can also use the Command Palette for easier access to particular options. The plugin makes using AI with your notes seamless since yo…
AI is a huge help when you have to deal with long notes and files. It makes it easier to go through your notes. Even if those notes are in Obsidian, you can still go through them faster and save time by having a community plugin like Copilot help you. Once you set it up, it’s very easy to use, and you can ask it anything and get a concise response in the right pane.
The Copilot community plugin helps you find specific information about your notes. For example, it helps you quickly locate particular ideas, even if they’re buried a few lines deep in a wall of text. You can also use the Command Palette for easier access to particular options. The plugin makes using AI with your notes seamless since you don’t have to open it in another tab, which can clutter your setup. Here are the reasons why I love using it.
Instantly summarize long notes
Get the key points you need
It’s frustrating when you only need to review a few lines of really long notes, but can’t quickly find them. You’re forced to re-read the entire note or copy and paste it elsewhere to find what you need. With the Copilot plugin installed, you get a NotebookLM-type of experience and can ask it to summarize a specific part of your file without leaving Obsidian.
I opened a note on what a strong password should look like. I entered a prompt asking it to summarize it. The summary was clear and concise, giving me a good grasp of the main points without having to read too much. It even showed me the date and time I entered that command. For testing purposes, I clicked on the “Regenerate” option, and it gave me a better-structured answer. Just like any AI, it did hallucinate, giving me info that had nothing to do with the note, but that’s what the “Regenerate” option is for.
Ask your entire vault
Get answers with sources
The Copilot Obsidian plugin lets you ask it any question from anywhere in your vault, and it’ll respond. This feature is very helpful when you know you have a note about something you need to know, but have no idea where it is.
For an easier-to-read output, I told it to give me the answer in bullet points, and that’s what it did. When I didn’t do that, the plugin gave me the answer in a single, long block of text, making the specific text harder to find.
It also showed me where it got its answer from, with the folder name and a link I could click. I went to that folder to confirm that the answer the plugin gave me was accurate. If the plugin got its answer from more than one source, it lists the sources in a numbered list. The plugin also offers the flexibility to select from a variety of chat models, and when I forgot to choose one, I only got an error message.
Scope your question with @
Point Copilot to a page or folder for better results
Using @ in my inputs was also very useful, as it let me add more context. I would enter the symbol, and a menu with all my folders would appear. I had the option to browse my folders, which is great when I can’t remember their names. But since I remembered the name, I typed it, and it automatically appeared.
I like using this feature because it tells the plugin to search the folder I selected first, then the rest of my vault. This way, I can make sure it checks the folders I consider most important before moving on to the rest. By using this symbol, your mind can rest assured that the plugin didn’t miss any folders you consider important when asking a question.
It’s only as good as your notes
@web is only for Plus users
The plugin can help, but it only reflects what’s in the notes. If the note is thin, outdated, or wrong, the answer will reflect that. On the free tier, you can’t use @web, so instant fact-checking is unavailable since you need to sign up for Copilot Plus to use it. In this case, you still need to use a separate tab to do a web search if you’re a free user.
To avoid vague answers, you have to make sure your notes have enough detail to give you the answers you need. By doing that, your notes could be too long and look like walls of text if you haven’t formatted correctly. By simply using the ChatGPT app, you can access features that you can also use in the Obsidian plugin.
Why it still earns a spot
In-vault summaries cut tab clutter and use the notes you already trust
The fewer apps you have to open, the better. By having the Copilot plugin in Obsidian, you can get summaries that save you time. It also helps me find notes I know I have, but forgot what folder I put them in.
I can’t use the @web feature to fact-check with the app, but I always make sure the facts are correct when I add the text to my notes in the first place. I can also get bullet-point lists of important points in my notes, which I’ll always welcome. I can still upload an image and ask Copilot in Obsidian to summarize it or describe it to me.
Turning good notes into better thinking
The Copilot plugin isn’t perfect, but it’s still a great help in giving you the information you need. I can get my summaries instantly and upload images for it to summarize, just like in the ChatGPT app. Sure, I’ll need to do a web search on the side, but despite that, the plugin is still a keeper.