Chat With Your PDF — AI With Citations
Ask any question about your PDF. Every answer includes source citations with page numbers + preview quotes. 500-page docs supported. Free,
About Chat With PDF
Chat with PDF lets you ask any question about a document and get an answer grounded in the actual source text — with inline citations showing the exact page and paragraph each claim came from. It's built around a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipeline: we extract and chunk the PDF, index it for semantic search, retrieve the most relevant passages for your question, and generate a cited answer. Threads are saved in localStorage (up to 10 threads, 100 messages per thread) so you can return to a document conversation next week without re-uploading or re-explaining context.
Compared to ChatPDF and AskYourPDF, the two biggest differences are inline citations (every claim links to a specific page) and thread persistence across sessions (localStorage-based, no account needed). The citation layer is the trust feature: if the AI makes a claim you want to verify, click the citation and jump straight to the supporting passage. No hallucinations slip through unchecked. The collapsible citation panel below each answer keeps the interface clean but exposes the evidence on demand.
Key Features
- Retrieval-augmented generation — answers grounded in your document, not general knowledge
- Inline citations — every claim links to the specific page and paragraph it came from
- Thread persistence via localStorage — up to 10 threads, 100 messages each, no account needed
- Semantic search over the PDF — finds the relevant passages even when your question uses different words than the source
- Collapsible citation panel — clean UI with full evidence available on demand
- Time-stamped message history — review when each question was asked
- Handles 500+ page PDFs via chunked indexing (paid tier; 50 pages free)
- Works with scanned PDFs — OCR preprocessing runs automatically
How to Use Chat With Your PDF — AI With Citations
- Step 1: Drop your PDF into the drop zone and wait a few seconds while we extract and index the text
- Step 2: Type your question in the chat box — anything from "summarize page 5" to "what are the key risks mentioned in this contract?"
- Step 3: The AI retrieves relevant passages, generates an answer, and shows inline citations linking back to the source pages
- Step 4: Ask follow-ups — the thread keeps full context, so "explain that in simpler terms" works without re-specifying what "that" is
- Step 5: Close the tab and come back later — your thread is saved in localStorage on your device, not on our servers
Who Uses This Tool
- Lawyers questioning long contracts: "What are all the termination clauses?"
- Researchers querying papers: "What's the sample size and p-value for the main finding?"
- Students studying textbooks: "Explain chapter 4's main argument in simpler terms"
- Analysts questioning 10-K filings: "What risks does the company flag in the MD&A section?"
- HR asking policy documents: "What's the parental leave eligibility requirement?"
- Journalists questioning government reports: "Which agencies were cited as responsible?"
Why Choose PDF AI Tools
We've built PDF AI Tools to replace expensive desktop software like Adobe Acrobat for 95% of common document workflows — at zero cost to you. Unlike competitors who gate features behind paywalls, add watermarks, or limit file sizes, our tools are genuinely free and genuinely unlimited. Your privacy matters: files processed client-side in your browser never touch our servers, and even AI-powered features use encrypted, auto-deleting processing pipelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know the AI isn't making things up (hallucinating)?
Every answer has inline citations linking back to the source passages. If you don't see a citation for a specific claim, treat it with skepticism. Click any citation to jump to the exact page and paragraph — if the source text doesn't support the claim, you've caught a hallucination. This is the whole point of the citation layer: it makes verification trivial.
Do I need an account to chat with a PDF?
No. Threads are stored in your browser's localStorage, not on our servers, so there's no signup. The trade-off is that if you clear your browser data or switch devices, old threads won't follow you. For multi-device thread sync, a free account handles that.
How many PDFs can I chat with at once?
One at a time per thread — the AI needs focused context to give accurate cited answers. If you need to cross-reference multiple documents, our Multi-Document AI tool handles that specifically (uploads multiple PDFs and answers questions across all of them).
What happens to the PDF after I close the chat?
The file is processed on an encrypted server-side pipeline and auto-deleted after your session. The thread history stays in your browser's localStorage, but the AI processing cache is wiped. We don't train models on your documents.
Can I chat with a scanned PDF or image of a document?
Yes for scanned PDFs — OCR preprocessing runs automatically and the resulting text is indexed. Accuracy depends on scan quality. For raw photos of documents (phone pictures), use the OCR tool first to convert to text, then the answer quality is comparable.
What's the page limit for free vs. paid?
Free handles documents up to 50 pages. Paid tier extends to 500+ pages with chunked indexing. Beyond 500, split the PDF into logical sections (chapters, parts) and chat with each separately.