Adobe introduces an AI assistant that can find and summarize content within PDFs

Adobe, the tech giant known for its various software applications, announced that it has rolled out a new AI assistant. Currently in its beta form, this advanced tool will be integrated into Adobe’s Reader and Acrobat applications, with the primary purpose of creating summaries for PDFs and other documents. The app will also be capable of interacting with users by answering questions regarding the documents.

As of now, the AI assistant is only available on Acrobat, but Adobe confirmed that it will make its way into Reader in the forthcoming days and weeks. Adobe also plans to monetize this tool by introducing a subscription plan once it exits the beta phase.

Adobe’s AI assistant is designed to ease the process of extracting information from extensive PDF documents. It accomplishes this by generating concise overviews of the document content. To further facilitate interaction, it employs a conversational interface to answer user queries about a document and even suggests possible questions that users might find helpful.

One more useful functionality of Adobe’s AI assistant is its ability to generate verifiable citations. It can also produce text tailored to various formats like emails, reports, and presentations, thereby enhancing its versatility.

While other AI models like ChatGPT also offer similar services to facilitate quick analysis of large documents, Adobe’s AI assistant distinguishes itself by being a built-in feature. It does not necessitate the uploading of PDFs.

The launch of this AI assistant is driven by Adobe’s aim to democratize access to the vast array of PDFs in use. This was confirmed by Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”. The CEO emphasized the tool’s ability to provide a summary and enable a conversation around a 100-page document, along with correlating that information with other documents.

When asked about OpenAI’s recent tool launch that can generate high-definition videos based on a text prompt, Narayen did not see it as an intrusion into Adobe’s territory. Instead, he revealed that Adobe is also developing video models and is intent on implementing such technology in a responsible manner into their tools and workflows.