Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Adobe’s Acrobat PDF editor is getting new AI-powered features starting tomorrow, including a image generator.
- The AI Assistant will support analysis of multiple documents at once and expand support for file types beyond PDF.
- Adobe maintains that it will never access user data to train any of its AI models.
Adobe has announced a significant upgrade to the AI Assistant feature in Acrobat, the company’s popular PDF editing software. This update comes after the Assistant’s launch in February, which introduced AI-generated summaries and a chatbot that can answer questions about the contents of massive documents. Adobe is making this chatbot more capable starting tomorrow, adding the ability to analyze and query multiple documents at once.
Acrobat is also gaining an AI image generator powered by the company’s Firefly model. Adobe already has a suite of generative AI-powered editing features in Photoshop and Illustrator, and it’s bringing those features to Acrobat as well. You’ll be able to remove backgrounds from images or make slight alterations directly within existing PDF documents. Adobe says that its generative AI models are “safe for work,” meaning they won’t compromise your privacy or create imagery that could affect a brand’s image.
The multi-document AI analysis feature coming to Acrobat is arguably the much more interesting part of this update. Until now, the assistant focused on individual documents, allowing users to ask questions and receive answers with inline citations linked to sources within the document.
Adobe's AI Assistant can now analyze multiple documents at once, including non-PDF files.
Adobe is now expanding the feature to allow AI analysis from a group of documents instead. You’ll also be able to drag and drop non-PDF file types like Word and PowerPoint documents into the chatbot interface. From there, you can ask questions as usual or ask the AI to identify trends across multiple documents.
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
While other chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT also allow you to upload documents for analysis, Adobe is betting that users of its document editing software will see the value of an integrated solution versus uploading documents elsewhere.
Acrobat’s offering is also cheaper — the AI Assistant is priced at $5 per month, lower than the $20 per month you’ll have to pay for ChatGPT Plus or Gemini Advanced. Moreover, Adobe is making the feature available to all users for free between June 18 and 28, 2024.
Trust in Adobe’s generative AI features has wavered in recent weeks after the company first admitted to using a small sampling of Midjourney images to train its Firefly model. More recently, it faced user backlash over certain clauses in its terms of service that potentially granted Adobe the right to analyze user content. The company eventually revised its terms and clarified that it will never access user content to train its AI models.
Adobe maintains the same stance regarding user privacy with this update — documents will be uploaded to the cloud for analysis, but the company will not use the data to train its models. It will also prohibit third-party LLM providers from using the data, mirroring Apple’s upcoming ChatGPT integration in that aspect.
Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at [email protected]. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.