Yes. Modern AI tools like Learnco parse the text out of any PDF, identify the key concepts, and generate question-and-answer flashcards that are ready for spaced repetition. A 30-page chapter typically becomes 40–60 cards in under a minute. Our PDF to flashcards guide shows the full workflow.

Very accurate for lectures, tutorials, and explainer content. AI uses the video's transcript as its source, so it captures everything that was said and organizes it into a structured outline. Accuracy drops for videos with heavy visual content that isn't narrated — demos, whiteboarding, etc.

Upload the audio or video file to a tool that transcribes and summarizes in one pass. You want the tool to output both a full transcript (for searching) and a structured summary (for review). Our lecture-to-notes article walks through the exact process.

No, as long as you are summarizing for your own study use. Using an AI summary instead of reading is equivalent to using the textbook's chapter review — it is a starting point, not a replacement for engaging with the material. The real win is getting to active recall faster.

PDFs, Word documents, slide decks, images of handwritten notes, YouTube links, lecture audio, lecture video, and plain text. Learnco supports all of these and outputs flashcards, quizzes, summaries, and AI podcasts.

Seconds for most text-based sources and 1–3 minutes for long audio or video files. The slowest step is almost always your upload, not the AI processing.