AI Outlines

An AI outline takes any source — a dense reading, a lecture chapter, a set of slides — and structures it into a clean hierarchy: main topics, sub-points, and supporting details, nested in order (I / A / 1). Scholarly reads your material, decides what the main topics are, and organizes everything underneath them so the shape of the topic is obvious at a glance.

Outlines are built to reinforce understanding of how ideas fit together — not skimming a wall of text. The AI separates what's a main point from what's just support and nests it accordingly, so the outline reflects the structure your course is actually teaching.

When to use an outline

An outline is the right tool when the structure of the material is the point. Reach for it when you're:

• Organizing a reading or a chapter before you sit down to study it.
• Planning a paper and want a skeleton of topics and sub-points to write from.
• Turning a dense PDF into a scannable hierarchy you can review at a glance.
• Breaking a broad subject into its main parts so you can see what to focus on.

If you're specifically planning an essay — thesis, arguments, and evidence to draft from — the Essay Outline Generator is shaped around that. If you want a structured document to read and review, generate a Study Guide. If you want a visual, branching overview of how ideas connect, generate a Mind Map.

Creating a AI Outline

Open the Outline tile on your home page create grid, or pick it from the New menu. The create window lets you build an outline from any of these starting points:

• Upload — Drag in PDFs, Word documents, or PowerPoints from your computer.
• Library — Pick a PDF or file you've already uploaded to Scholarly.
• Google Drive — Connect Google Drive and choose the exact files — Docs, Slides, PDFs, Word docs, or PowerPoints — without downloading and re-uploading. See Uploading Content.
• Link — Paste a website or PDF URL and the AI pulls in the content.
• Prompt — Skip files entirely and describe a topic, like "Outline of the causes and effects of the French Revolution." Great for planning when you don't have a source on hand yet.

You can combine sources — for example, pick two readings from your library and add a prompt to steer what to emphasize.

Customize before you generate

After choosing your sources, the customize step lets you shape the outline:

• Theme — Pick the look of the finished PDF. Every outline is professionally typeset, and you can choose from four themes:

• Language — Generate the outline in your preferred language.
• AI model — Some models are reserved for paid plans and show a lock badge. See Choosing an AI Model.
• Custom instructions — A free-text field for specific directions, like "Go three levels deep" or "Organize it by chapter and keep it printable."

Click Generate Outline and the work runs in the background — you can close the window and keep studying. You'll be notified when it's ready, and it appears under Background Tasks while it generates.

What you get

Your finished outline is a professionally typeset, downloadable PDF that lands in your library like any other content item. It lays out the main topics, sub-points, and supporting details in a clear nested hierarchy — laid out in the theme you picked. Open it and you can:

• Read and study it in the PDF viewer, with chat alongside to ask follow-up questions about any point.
• Download it to keep or print.
• Share it with a link so classmates can view it.
• Turn it into more study material — from the outline's follow-up actions you can spin up Flashcards, a quiz, a study guide, or a podcast from the same content, no re-uploading required.

Because the output is a real PDF in your library, everything you can do with an uploaded PDF you can do with your outline. See the PDF guide for the full set of viewer and conversion options.

Tips

• Richer sources make fuller outlines. A full chapter produces a deeper hierarchy than a single slide; a one-line prompt produces a broad skeleton.
• Say how deep to go. Use custom instructions to control the depth — a shallow overview or a detailed multi-level breakdown, depending on what you need.
• Use it to plan, then write. An outline is a natural starting point for a paper or presentation; build it first, then flesh out each point in your own notes and pages.
• Pair it with active recall. An outline shows you the structure; convert it into flashcards or a quiz and test yourself to actually lock the material in.
• Keep a unit together. Group a topic's outline, study guide, and source PDFs in one folder so everything for that exam is in one place.

Frequently asked questions

What can I make an outline from?

Uploaded PDFs, Word docs, and PowerPoints; files already in your library; Google Drive files; a website or PDF link; or just a typed prompt. You can mix several sources in one outline.

How is this different from the essay outline generator?

This tool structures any source into a topic hierarchy — great for organizing a reading, a chapter, or a broad subject. The Essay Outline Generator is shaped specifically around planning an essay, with thesis, arguments, and evidence you can draft from.

How long does it take?

Generation runs in the background and usually takes a few minutes. You don't need to wait on the screen — keep working and you'll be notified when it's ready.

Can I download or print my outline?

Yes. Every outline is a PDF you can download, print, or share with a link.

Is it free?

You can create outlines on the free plan using your shared lifetime AI creation credits. Those free credits do not reset. Paid plans raise those limits and support longer source documents. Limits depend on your plan — see Plans and Limits.