Understand Tool Summaries In Chat
When Chat runs tools, it shows a card naming what it did plus how long it took and how many steps it ran. Expand it to see each step.
What the card says#
When Chat reaches for Gmail, your calendar, Drive, or the web, a small card appears above the reply. It holds two pieces of text side by side:
- An activity phrase naming the work, such as "Drafting a reply" while it runs and "Drafted a reply" once it finishes. Other runs read "Searching inbox" / "Searched inbox", "Searching calendar" / "Searched calendar", "Sending the draft" / "Sent the draft", and so on.
- The run size, written as the duration and step count together, like "4s · 3 steps".
Screen readers announce the same card as "Working for 4s" while it runs and "Worked for 4s" afterwards.
Expand it for the steps#
Click the card to open it. Each step gets one row with its name, a marker on the left, and its own timing on the right:
| Marker | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pulsing dot | The step is still running. The right column reads "Working". |
| Green check | The step finished. The right column shows how long it took. |
| Red dot | The step failed. The right column reads "Failed". |
Some internal steps are left out on purpose. The list shows the steps that describe the work, not every call underneath.
When this matters#
Tool summaries earn their place on multi-step work, like finding the right email thread, loading a draft, searching Drive, or checking calendar availability. If a reply looks wrong, the step list usually shows which lookup went sideways.