AI PDF Summarizer
Summarize PDF content with AI
Click or drop a PDF file hereChoose a PDF file
Up to 100 pages and 300,000 characters of text per PDF; every page is summarized.
About AI PDF Summarizer
AI PDF Summarizer gives one summary of a whole PDF of up to 100 pages and 300,000 characters of text. Your browser extracts the text of every page with PDF.js and cuts it into parts of up to 24,000 characters at page boundaries; our server sends each part to OpenAI's gpt-4o-mini model for a partial summary, then sends the partial summaries back to it for one summary of the whole document. A text that fits in one part is summarized in a single request. A longer PDF is refused before anything is sent, and a scanned PDF has no text to summarize.
How to summarize a PDF
- 1Click or drop the PDF you want summarized.
- 2Click "Summarize PDF".
- 3Read the summary, then click "Copy summary" or "Download" to keep it as a .txt file.
Formats and limits
- Input format
- PDF with a text layer
- Document size
- Up to 100 pages and 300,000 characters of extracted text; every page is read
- Output
- Summary on the page, to copy or download as a .txt file
- Usage limits
- Up to 10 summaries an hour and 30 a day per network, within the per-network allowance shared with the site's other tools that rely on a paid service, and a monthly budget for the site
Common uses
- A short report before a meeting
- Summarize a 40-page report the evening before: all 40 pages are read, so the conclusions at the end are in the summary too.
- A later chapter of a long document
- For only chapter 6 of a manual, cut that chapter out with Split PDF and summarize the new file, or copy its text with Extract Text from PDF and paste it into Text Summarizer.
- A research paper to triage
- Summarize a whole paper, methods and results included, to decide whether it is worth a full read.
Which tool to use
- Text Summarizer: Text Summarizer takes pasted text instead of a file, up to 8,000 characters, and refuses longer text. Pick it for one passage you have already copied.
- Extract Text from PDF: Extract Text from PDF gives back the text of every page, or only the pages you list, with no AI involved, read in your browser with PDF.js.
- OCR PDF: OCR PDF reads the text in scanned pages with Tesseract and returns a searchable PDF; run it first when this page finds no text.
Where your file is processed
The PDF itself is opened by PDF.js on your device and is not uploaded. Its extracted text is sent over HTTPS through our server to OpenAI, part by part, and OpenAI writes the summary, which comes back to the page.
Frequently asked questions
Does it read my whole PDF?
Yes, every page, up to 100 pages and 300,000 characters of text. A longer text is cut into parts that are summarized one by one, and the final summary is written from all of them, so the end of the document counts as much as its start. Above either limit the page refuses the file before anything is sent.
Can it summarize a scanned PDF?
No. A scan holds pictures of pages with no text layer, so nothing can be extracted, and the page says so. Run it through OCR PDF first, then summarize the searchable PDF.
Is there a usage limit?
Yes. A summary costs us one OpenAI request per part of about 24,000 characters plus one for the final summary, so AI PDF Summarizer has its own limit of 10 summaries an hour and 30 a day per network. Each summary also counts once toward your network's hourly and daily allowance, shared with the site's other paid AI and conversion tools, and the site has a monthly budget. Reaching a limit shows how many minutes to wait, that you can try again the next day (days are counted in UTC), or the date the monthly budget resets.
How long is the summary, and can I ask for bullet points?
There is no length or style setting. The model is asked for a clear, concise summary of the whole document in at most 600 words, however long the PDF is.
Why is the summary different when I run it again?
The model writes with some randomness, so two runs on the same PDF word the summary differently and may stress different points. Each run also counts again toward your usage limit.
Can it summarize a password-protected PDF?
No. A PDF that asks for a password to open is refused with a message; take the password off with Unlock PDF and summarize that copy.
Which language is the summary written in?
The page has no language option: it sends the document's text with a fixed instruction written in English. If the summary does not come out in the language you need, paste it into AI Translator.
Tips and tricks
- ✓For a document over 100 pages, split it with Split PDF and summarize each part.