This AI chatbot can sum up any PDF and any question you have about it

April 26, 2023

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

Whether you are a student or a working professional, you likely interact with PDFs frequently through the form of presentations, academic research, business reports, and more.

Regardless of whether it is a 90-page slide deck or a lengthy research paper, PDFs in the classroom or workplace are often tedious to wade through. ChatPDF is here to help.

Also: The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and alternatives to try

As the name implies, ChatPDF allows you to chat with your PDF.

ChatPDF runs on OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 large language model and can answer any question you have about the PDF you upload. The chatbot can even give you a full summary of the PDF without you having to read it.

Also: The 5 biggest risks of generative AI, according to an expert

Free plan users are limited to three PDF uploads of 120 pages or less a day. However, if you need more access, you can upgrade to a plus plan for $5 per month.

I put the chatbot to the test and was thoroughly impressed with the results.

Using ChatPDF for an academic paper

I recently wrote an article on AI based on a 58-page paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research. I chose to use this paper as my test subject for ChatPDF as I knew its contents well.

After uploading the paper to ChatPDF, it automatically generated a very brief summary for the paper and suggested questions I could ask, as seen by the photo below.

Image: ChatPDF

Instead of using one of the suggestions, I asked the chatbot what study was conducted in the paper. I was met with accurate results and even a page number that told me where the chatbot got the information from in the paper, which was super-useful in case I wanted to refer back to it myself.

Also: How to use ChatGPT to write an essay

I then asked what the results of the study were and was met, yet again, with accurate results and a page reference.

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

Finally, I wanted to see if the chatbot could sum up the entire article accurately and concisely. When prompted, the chatbot did exactly that — it summarized the study and the findings in one, five-sentence paragraph.

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

Using ChatPDF for a presentation

After the positive results I got from using ChatPDF to summarize an academic paper, I decided to try a presentation. I went all the way back in my Google Drive archives to find a final presentation I worked on in college, which made the perfect candidate for the test.

After uploading the PDF, the chatbot output a brief, one-sentence summary of my own presentation. When I asked for a more thorough summary, the chatbot delivered again, as seen below. It even included an anecdote about two videos in the presentation that I forgot were in there.

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

To truly test its ability, I asked it a more specific question about one slide. The results, once again, were accurate.

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

ChatPDF vs ChatGPT

To use ChatGPT to sum up articles, you are supposed to type in “TDLR”, and then follow that with the link of the article.

Also: How to use ChatGPT to summarize a book, article, or research paper

I used that method and the results were incorrect. ChatGPT gave me a summary for an article that wasn’t even related to the topic at hand.

Image: Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

The incorrect results make sense, since ChatGPT doesn’t have access to the internet or to information after 2021. However, this fault makes ChatGPT wildly unreliable for our use case.

If you need to summarize a PDF, I would recommend utilizing ChatPDF instead of ChatGPT as the results are accurate, quick, and free.