Adobe has announced the rollout of a beta version of its new generative AI chatbot, which will be integrated into its Reader and Acrobat products.
Dubbed AI Assistant, this conversational AI aims to streamline tasks previously reliant on tools like ChatPDF or the need to upload a PDF to ChatGPT. With AI Assistant seamlessly integrated into the PDF reader, users can interact with documents without requiring additional tools.
AI Assistant boasts the ability to generate summaries and insights from lengthy documents, answering questions about the document’s content and formatting outputs for easy sharing in emails, reports, and presentations.
To assist users in formulating questions, AI Assistant suggests inquiries based on the PDF’s content. Moreover, its custom attribution engine directs users to the exact location in the document, ensuring transparency regarding the source of AI Assistant’s responses.
While PDF remains the predominant document format, Adobe states that AI Assistant will also support other formats such as Word, PowerPoint, and meeting transcripts. For individuals tasked with navigating lengthy PDFs for research or work purposes, AI Assistant offers a significant productivity boost. Its potential applications are diverse, ranging from academic research to business analysis.
Looking ahead, Adobe envisions further enhancements for AI Assistant:
- Future iterations will enable AI Assistant to handle multiple documents, sources, and types simultaneously, drawing insights from various sources in response to user queries.
- Acrobat users can expect AI Assistant to assist with tasks such as generating first drafts, text editing, copy shortening, and providing content design and layout suggestions.
- Adobe’s generative Firefly models will integrate more closely with Adobe Express, adding creativity to document creation.
- AI-powered collaboration tools will streamline the process of collating, analyzing, and implementing feedback and comments from team members.
During the beta phase, AI Assistant is accessible for free to users with an Acrobat Standard or Pro Individual and Teams subscription plan. Reader users can expect access in the coming weeks. Once the full suite of functionalities is available, users will need to subscribe to an add-on subscription plan, although pricing details have not been disclosed.
Adobe has partnered with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Services to power AI Assistant, although specifics regarding the context window or character limit remain undisclosed.
With over 3 trillion PDFs in existence, most of which are not searchable on the internet, Adobe’s Senior Vice President of Document Cloud, Abhigyan Modi, believes that generative AI holds promise in transforming information overload into actionable knowledge and professional-looking content. If tools like Adobe’s AI Assistant can effectively process resources such as research papers on platforms like arXiv, they could unlock previously inaccessible knowledge instantly.
