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On a supported Pixel, open Settings and go to Notifications > Notification summaries. Turn the feature on or off, then use Don’t include these apps to exclude individual messaging apps. Google says notification summaries are off by default. The setting is available on Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series phones, when the primary system language is English or Japanese.
This guide explains the setting, eligibility, app exclusions, why a summary may not appear, how to test the feature reliably, and how notification summaries differ from Pixel’s separate Notification organiser.
What notification summaries do
Notification summaries use on-device AI features to condense unread messages from notifications. When a summary is available, it appears in the notification shade with a sparkle icon. You can expand the notification or tap it to read the complete conversation. Google’s description says that, when AI summaries are enabled, a summary of unread messages is shown in your notifications. See Google’s Pixel Help guidance on AI notification features.
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A summary is an additional presentation of an unread notification, not a replacement for the original message. The full thread remains available when you expand or open the notification. This matters when a message contains details that a shortened version may not preserve, such as a qualification, a time, a link, a phone number or the identity of multiple people in a group conversation.
Because summaries are generated from notification content, they cannot help with an alert that never reaches the phone. A blocked app notification, a disabled notification channel or a system mode that delays delivery must be fixed separately.
Check whether your Pixel supports summaries
| Requirement | Google’s stated support |
|---|---|
| Phone | Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series models |
| Primary system language | English or Japanese |
| Feature default | Off by default |
| Typical content | Unread messages from notifications issued by popular messaging apps |
The language requirement refers to your phone’s primary system language, not simply the language used in one conversation. If the device is set primarily to another language, the Notification summaries setting may not be available. Software updates can change capitalization or the way the label is presented, so look for the wording Notification summaries under Notifications if the screen differs slightly from these instructions.
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A Pixel model outside Google’s listed range cannot be made eligible by changing a setting. The documentation establishes feature eligibility for Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series, but does not identify a separate switch that adds support to older or excluded phones.
Eligibility is also different from app compatibility. A supported phone and language make the feature available, but an individual message still needs suitable content and a notification that the system can process. This is why the menu can be present even when a particular short or unusual alert receives no summary.
If you use Japanese or English as a secondary language while another language remains primary, changing only the language of a conversation will not satisfy the stated requirement. Check the phone’s main language configuration if the menu is missing or summaries never appear.
Turn notification summaries on or off
- Open the phone’s Settings app.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap Notification summaries.
- Turn the summaries switch on to enable AI summaries, or turn it off to stop them.
Turning the switch off removes the summary behavior; it does not disable the underlying app’s notifications. Messages can still arrive as ordinary notifications according to each app’s notification settings. Likewise, enabling summaries does not override Do Not Disturb, an app’s own notification permissions, or a notification channel that has been disabled.
If you cannot find the menu, first check the phone model and primary language against the eligibility table. On a supported phone, install available system updates and search Settings for Notification summaries. The exact capitalization or presentation can vary by software version or locale.
After enabling the setting, test it with a new message rather than expecting an existing notification to be rewritten immediately. A new notification gives the system fresh content to process. Leave the screen off briefly, then check the notification shade for the sparkle-marked summary.
To stop using summaries temporarily, return to the same switch. This is a global control for the feature. It is different from turning off notifications for an individual app, muting a conversation, or hiding notification text on the lock screen.
Exclude specific apps from summaries
You can leave summaries enabled while preventing selected apps from contributing to them. This is useful when you want normal alerts from an app but do not want its messages condensed.
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- Open Settings.
- Tap Notifications, then Notification summaries.
- Open Don’t include these apps.
- Select each app that should be omitted.
Exclusion affects summary generation, not necessarily the app’s ordinary notification delivery. If a selected app later stops showing any alert at all, inspect that app’s notification permission and notification channels separately. To include the app again, return to the same list and remove its selection.
Use the exclusion list when your goal is selective control. For example, you can keep summaries for a busy messaging app while excluding an app whose alerts contain private information, one-time codes or work content. The ordinary notification can still appear according to the app’s settings; the exclusion only keeps that app’s content out of AI summaries.
The list applies to notification summaries, not every notification feature on the phone. In particular, it does not control Notification organiser. That separate feature has its own app-management list and must be configured independently.
When a summary appears—and when it does not
Conditions that favor a summary
- Summaries are enabled and the messaging app is not listed under Don’t include these apps.
- The notification contains enough message text for the system to identify meaningful content.
- The language can be detected and is supported.
- The phone has been idle with the screen off briefly, allowing the system to process the notification.
Reasons a message may remain unsummarized
- The notification is too short. A brief alert may not provide enough text to condense.
- Language detection is uncertain. Mixed-language text or a notification made only of emoji can prevent a summary.
- The screen is active. Google says a summary may not be generated while you are actively using the phone; the screen needs to be off briefly.
- The app is excluded. Check the app list in Notification summaries > Don’t include these apps.
- The phone is not eligible. Pixel 9-and-later support excludes A-Series models, and the primary language must be English or Japanese.
- The alert itself never arrived. A summary cannot be created for a notification that was blocked, silenced or delayed before it reached the notification shade.
These limits mean the sparkle-marked summary is an occasional interpretation of eligible unread message notifications, not a replacement for opening the full conversation. Tap or expand the notification whenever the exact wording matters.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Do not judge the feature from a single notification. A one-word reply, an emoji-only response or a mixed-language group message may be skipped even when a longer message from the same app is summarized later. App behavior can therefore look inconsistent without indicating that the main switch is broken.
Active use is another easy condition to overlook. If you are already looking at and interacting with the phone, the system may not create a summary at that moment. Lock the screen and allow a brief idle period before testing again.
Fix summaries that are missing
Work through the checks in this order. Each step addresses a different reason the feature may fail, so you can stop once summaries return.
1. Confirm the feature and app inclusion
- Open Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries.
- Make sure the main switch is on.
- Open Don’t include these apps and verify that the messaging app is not selected.
Send or receive a new message after changing the setting rather than relying on an old notification that was already posted. If the app is absent from the exclusion list and the switch is on, continue with the permission checks instead of repeatedly toggling the feature.
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- Open Settings.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Notification read, reply and control.
- Confirm that Android System Intelligence is allowed.
This permission lets the system component read notification content for features that depend on it. If it is disabled, summaries may not be produced even though the summaries switch is on. Review this setting carefully: it is separate from the permission that allows the messaging app itself to post notifications.
3. Turn off Battery Saver while testing
Disable Battery Saver temporarily, then wait for a new eligible message. Power-saving restrictions can prevent background processing. After confirming that summaries work, decide whether the battery trade-off is acceptable before re-enabling the mode.
Battery Saver can affect both processing and delivery. If alerts arrive late or only appear after you wake the phone, keep that symptom separate from a notification that arrives normally but has no summary.
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4. Give the phone time to obtain AI updates
Connect the Pixel to Wi-Fi and a charger overnight. Google advises leaving it connected so required AI updates can download in the background. This is especially relevant after a setup, reset or system update, when supporting components may not yet be current.
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Do not treat an overnight connection as a guarantee that every message will be summarized. It simply gives the phone the conditions Google identifies for obtaining required updates; eligibility and message-content limits still apply.
5. Restart the Pixel
Restart after changing permissions, battery settings or the summaries switch. A restart can reload the system service that handles notification processing and clears a temporary state without deleting messages or app data.
6. Test with suitable notification content
Use a new, reasonably detailed message in English or Japanese. Avoid testing with a one-word notification, an emoji-only alert or text that switches repeatedly between languages. Lock the phone and leave the screen off briefly before checking the notification shade.
Testing this way isolates several variables at once: a supported language, enough text, a fresh alert and an idle screen. If a longer test message is summarized but a short reply is not, that behavior matches Google’s stated content limitation rather than indicating a settings failure.
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7. Check whether the problem is the alert, not the summary
If no notification appears at all, troubleshoot delivery before troubleshooting summarization. Google’s general notification guidance explains that Do Not Disturb silences most notifications, while Battery Saver and Adaptive Battery can stop or delay some alerts. Review those controls and the affected app’s notification permission and channels in Google’s Pixel notification controls guide.
Also check whether the app’s own notification categories or a specific conversation has been muted. A summary cannot be generated from an alert that the app is not allowed to post. Once the underlying alert arrives normally, return to the summary checks.
Once the underlying alert arrives normally, return to the summary checks. A delivery problem and a summary-generation problem can look similar in the notification shade but require different fixes.
Notification summaries versus Notification organiser
Pixel has another AI-related notification control called Notification organiser. It sorts notifications into categories; it does not condense unread message text. The two features have separate menus and different eligibility rules.
| Control | Purpose | Settings path | Eligibility and behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notification summaries | Condenses eligible unread message content into a summary marked with a sparkle icon. | Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries | Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series; primary language English or Japanese. App exclusions are managed through Don’t include these apps. |
| Notification organiser | Sorts notifications into categories such as Promotions and news, and Social and suggested content. | Settings > Notifications > Notification organiser | Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series; English must be the primary language; available in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. |
Notification organiser has its own defaults and controls. Google says Promotions and news are enabled by default, while social and suggested categories can be enabled in Settings. Changing organiser settings will not turn message summaries on or off.
The eligibility difference is important. Summaries can use English or Japanese as the primary system language, while Notification organiser requires English and one of Google’s listed regions: Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom or the United States. A phone can therefore meet the language requirement for one feature without meeting the full requirement for the other.
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Exclude an app from Notification organiser
To stop organiser processing for a particular app, either long-press one of that app’s notifications and turn off the organiser for it, or open Settings > Notifications > Notification organiser > Don’t include these apps > Manage apps. This exclusion list belongs to the organiser and is separate from the app list under Notification summaries.
If you are trying to stop condensed message text, use the summaries menu. If you are trying to keep an app out of categories such as Promotions and news, use the organiser menu. Checking the wrong list is a common reason a change appears not to work.
Practical privacy and control considerations
Notification summaries can make a busy notification shade easier to scan, but the condensed text may omit context. Expand the original notification or open the conversation before acting on a payment request, address, code, appointment change or other high-consequence message.
If you share a lock screen with other people, review your general notification privacy settings as well. A summary can expose the gist of an unread message even when the full thread is not expanded. Notification summaries do not replace the lock-screen notification visibility controls for deciding how much text appears before the phone is unlocked.
For sensitive apps, excluding the app from summaries is more targeted than disabling all notifications. You can keep an alert or vibration while preventing that app’s message content from being condensed by the AI feature.
Remember that summaries are based on what the app places in its notification. If the app hides message text in notifications, presents only a short preview or uses an emoji-only alert, there may be little or nothing for the feature to summarize. Adjusting privacy settings should therefore be considered alongside the content and language limits described above.
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- You want every eligible message shown normally: turn off Notification summaries.
- You want summaries generally but not from one app: keep summaries on and add that app under Don’t include these apps.
- You want categories instead of condensed text: open Notification organiser; it is a different feature.
- You cannot find the summaries menu: verify that the phone is a Pixel 9 or later excluding A-Series and that English or Japanese is the primary system language.
- A summary is missing for one message: check message length, language, emoji-only content, app exclusion and whether the screen was active.
- No alert arrives at all: check Do Not Disturb, Battery Saver, Adaptive Battery, app permissions and notification channels before investigating AI summarization.
- The feature worked before an update or reset: connect to Wi-Fi and charge overnight so required AI updates can download, then restart and test with a new message.
- An app still appears in categories: check Notification organiser’s separate Manage apps list rather than the summaries exclusion list.
Frequently asked questions
Are notification summaries enabled automatically?
No. Google says the feature is off by default. Open Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries and turn it on if your Pixel and primary language qualify.
How do I stop summaries from one messaging app?
Leave the main feature enabled, open Don’t include these apps in the Notification summaries menu, and select that app. Its ordinary notifications can continue according to the app’s own settings.
Why can I not see Notification summaries in Settings?
Check that the phone is a Pixel 9 or later and not an A-Series model. Also check that English or Japanese is the primary system language. Install available system updates and search Settings for the exact phrase if the menu is not immediately visible.
Does a summary appear for every message?
No. Google describes summaries for eligible unread messages from popular messaging apps, but short notifications, mixed-language text, emoji-only alerts and active screen use can prevent one from being generated.
What does the sparkle icon mean?
It marks a notification summary. Expand or tap the notification to see the complete conversation rather than relying on the condensed wording.
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Will turning summaries off stop my notifications?
No. Turning off the summaries switch stops the condensed presentation. The app can still deliver ordinary notifications if its permissions, channels and system notification controls allow them.
Why are my alerts delayed as well as unsummarized?
That may be a delivery issue rather than an AI issue. Check Do Not Disturb, Battery Saver, Adaptive Battery, the app’s notification permission and its notification channels. A summary cannot be created until an alert reaches the phone.
Are Notification summaries and Notification organiser the same thing?
No. Notification summaries condense eligible unread message content. Notification organiser sorts notifications into categories such as Promotions and news, and Social and suggested content. Each has a separate Settings path and app-exclusion list.
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Google lists Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States for Notification organiser. It also requires English as the primary system language. Those requirements are separate from the English-or-Japanese language requirement for summaries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn off notification summaries on a Google Pixel?
Open Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries and switch the feature off. This stops condensed summaries but does not disable the app’s ordinary notifications.
How do I exclude one app from notification summaries?
Go to Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries > Don’t include these apps, then select the app. Remove it from the same list to include it again.
Which Pixel phones support notification summaries?
Google lists Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series models. The primary system language must be English or Japanese.
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Why is a notification not summarized?
The message may be too short, mixed-language, emoji-only, from an excluded app, or received while the screen was active. Battery Saver, permissions and missing AI updates can also interfere.
What should I check if no notification arrives?
Check Do Not Disturb, Battery Saver, Adaptive Battery, the app’s notification permission and notification channels. Delivery must work before a summary can be generated.
The Bottom Line
Use Settings > Notifications > Notification summaries to enable or disable Pixel’s AI message summaries, and use Don’t include these apps for selective exclusions. Google lists Pixel 9 and later, excluding A-Series, with English or Japanese as the primary language. If summaries are missing, check Android System Intelligence permission, Battery Saver, overnight Wi-Fi charging, message length and language, screen activity, and ordinary notification delivery. Notification organiser is a separate categorization feature with different language and region requirements.
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