Alex RaineyAlex is an experienced CTO and founder who largely focuses on all the technical areas of My AskAI, from AI Engineering, Technical Product Management and overall Platform Development.
Table of Contents
- What Are Chat PDF Tools?
- How Can Chat PDF Tools Benefit You?
- Enhanced Document Interactions
- Time-Saving
- Increased Productivity
- Criteria to Consider When Choosing Chat PDF Tools
- Clear and Concise Outputs
- Multiple Languages
- Supports Many File Types
- Cost-Friendly
- Best Chat PDF Tools For Increasing Workflow Efficiency
- 1. My AskAI: Best for Fast Setup and Cross-Channel Support
- Key Features
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons
- 2. LiveChatAI: Best for Reducing Support Volumes
- Key Features
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons
- 3. ChatPDF: Best for Summarizing Content and AI-Powered Q&As
- Key Features
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons
- 4. LightPDF: Best for Multilingual Support and Multi-Doc Chats
- Key Features
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons
- 5. ChatDOC: Best for Suggested Queries and Cited Sources
- Key Features
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons
- Conclusion
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Oct 13, 2023 04:40 PM
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Oct 13, 2023
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best-chatpdf-alternatives-we-found
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PDFs are a standard tool in most businesses. But, navigating through these files to find specific information can be time-consuming.
Chat PDF tools like My AskAI transform static PDFs into searchable wells of information and insights—helping to make workflows more efficient. Rather than searching for information manually, you can ask questions in natural language and get the correct answers instantly.
Stick around for more insights into how these tools work and our top five picks for the best chat PDF tools available.
What Are Chat PDF Tools?
Chat PDF tools use the generative power of AI to allow users to “chat” with their documents.
What does that mean exactly? It’s complicated, but the gist is this—these tools use AI technology to scan PDFs and extract the data within. This creates a searchable database that lets users ask questions in natural language (like you would with ChatGPT) and get an accurate answer—all without having to sift through countless pages of text.
For a more in-depth answer, check out our guide to AI document interaction tools.
Before we get the benefits of these tools, here’s an example. In the picture above, you can see a user posing questions to a My AskAI trained on an industry report. Since only the data contained within is being processed, the user can get answers quickly without false information creeping in.
How Can Chat PDF Tools Benefit You?
Enhanced Document Interactions
Chat PDF tools encourage readers to interact with the document, making the experience more enjoyable and engaging. Tools like My AskAI even allow you to build AI chatbots personalized to your specific needs, offering customizable tones and answer styles.
Time-Saving
Find information in your PDFs faster and receive answers to complex questions in seconds. This gives you more time to focus on complex tasks instead of manually scrolling through multiple documents.
Increased Productivity
Since AI chatbots help you pinpoint specific information more quickly, they also allow for faster decision-making, smoother workflows, and an overall boost in productivity.
Criteria to Consider When Choosing Chat PDF Tools
Clear and Concise Outputs
Ensure your chosen chat PDF tool answers your questions accurately and can follow specific prompts.
Multiple Languages
Your chat PDF tool should offer multilingual support in various languages to accommodate global audiences.
Supports Many File Types
Aside from PDFs, your tool should ideally support other file formats for more flexibility. For example, My AskAI allows you to upload CSV, Word, and TXT files.
Cost-Friendly
Finally, ensure your chat PDF tool is affordable according to your budget. Check if they offer a free plan or trial so you can test their features before purchasing.
Best Chat PDF Tools For Increasing Workflow Efficiency
If you’re short on time, here’s the TL;DR:
- My AskAI: Best for Fast Setup and Cross-Channel Support
- LiveChatAI: Best for Reducing Support Volumes
- ChatPDF: Best for Summarizing Content and AI-Powered Q&As
- LightPDF: Best for Multilingual Support and Multi-Doc Chats
- ChatDOC: Best for Suggested Queries and Cited Sources
Now, onto our list.
1. My AskAI: Best for Fast Setup and Cross-Channel Support
My AskAI allows you to create AI assistants trained on your documents and in data in minutes—no code required.
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To begin using My AskAI, all you need to do is connect the documents (like PDFs, DOCs, TXTs, CSVs), sources (like Google Docs and Notion), and/or websites (Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, etc.) you want to analyze. Once you establish this connection, My AskAI will automatically generate responses to any questions you have.
You can customize the response style around your goals to make sure you’re getting the information and level of depth you need.
Key Features
- Customization: Personalize almost every aspect of your AI chatbot, including its appearance, answer style, and tone.
- Analytics: Access your chatbot’s usage analytics to find out common customer issues, install questions asked, collect leads, and more.
- Enhanced security: We keep your files in an isolated container behind bank-grade encryption (AES-256) to ensure your data remains secure.
- Multilingual: Our chatbots can respond in 95 different languages to accommodate users around the globe.
- Share AskAI: Share your AI chatbot via a unique link. Anyone who has that link will be able to access your AskAI bot.
- Embed Your AI Bot: Integrate your AI bot onto your website or connect with third-party platforms like Zapier, WhatsApp, Slack, and more.
Pricing
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My AskAI has a free forever plan that offers you 1 AI chatbot, 50 questions per month, 10 document uploads, and customizable tones and answer styles. If you’re looking to expand these limitations and access premium features like Slack and WhatsApp integration, analytics, and lead collection, subscribe to one of the following plans:
- Hobby ($13.30/month)
- Pro ($66/month)
- Beast ($666/month)
No matter which plan you choose, you can access web chat support, Zapier integration, and the ability to share your chatbot via link or embed.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free forever plan.
- Quick setup.
- Accurate answers.
- Custom pricing.
- Bank-grade security.
- Supports 95 languages.
- Limitless branding customization.
- Many third-party integrations available.
- Full API control and access.
- Can download questions asked.
- 7-day money-back guarantee.
- Usage analytics available.
- You can upload various types of data.
Cons:
- Limited questions per month for every plan except Beast.
2. LiveChatAI: Best for Reducing Support Volumes
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LiveChatAI is a GPT-powered AI tool that specializes in answering customer queries. Train your bot using PDFs, websites, Q&As, or text, and ask questions in 95 languages. Regularly monitor your AI conversations to ensure your bot provides accurate answers, and fine-tune your bot with custom Q&As or new file uploads if necessary.
Key Features
- Train Your Bot: Upload content like website data, PDF, and TXT files to start training your bot. Your bot should complete its training in a matter of minutes.
- Inbox: Monitor AI conversations from your inbox to check the quality of your bot’s responses. If necessary, you can tweak its answers by adding custom Q&As, removing outdated content, and adding new data.
- Agent Transfer: Streamline your customer support with automated bot-to-human agent transfer. If your AI cannot respond to a query, it will pass the conversation on to a human agent.
Pricing
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LiveChatAI has a free plan available, which comes with 1 AI bot, 100 messages, and one seat. To access over 2,000 messages and up to 50 AI bots, you need to pay for one of their premium plans:
- Basic ($39/month)
- Pro ($89/month)
- Expert ($389/month)
With their paid subscriptions, you can access more seats (three to six), agent transfer options, over five million character data imports, and API access.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free plan.
- API access.
- Human routing options.
- Support multiple file formats.
- Allows you to monitor AI conversations.
- Unified inbox.
- Fast training process.
- Can remove outdated content.
Cons:
- Expensive pricing.
- No custom pricing.
- Limited messages.
3. ChatPDF: Best for Summarizing Content and AI-Powered Q&As
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ChatPDF summarizes PDF content and answers questions instantly in multiple languages. Simply add a PDF file via upload or URL and start typing queries in your preferred language. ChatGPT provides three example questions per document to get you started and includes citations in each response so you can reference specific pages.
Key Features
- Ask Questions: ChatPDF can answer questions about various documents, from exams and academic papers to legal contracts and instruction manuals. Each response includes source citations, allowing you to locate which pages the AI referenced immediately.
- Any Language: ChatPDF allows you to upload files and ask questions in any language.
- Simple and Secure: The tool features a simple UI for easy use and keeps your data safe in a secure cloud storage. Your data will not be shared—you can permanently delete your files anytime.
Pricing
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ChatPDF offers both a free plan and a paid plan ($15.99/month). With their free plan, you can upload 2 PDFs daily, have 120 pages per file (10 MB file size limit), and ask 20 questions daily.
If you upgrade to their premium plan, you can access 1,000 daily questions, upload 50 PDFs daily, and have a maximum of 2,000 pages per file (32 MB file size limit).
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free plan.
- Cheap prices.
- Supports multiple languages.
- Reference checks.
- Secure cloud storage.
- Simple UI.
- Generates three example questions.
- Can share & export AI chat.
Cons:
- Can’t handle multiple PDFs at once.
- Limited GPT-4 availability.
- Can’t read images in PDFs.
4. LightPDF: Best for Multilingual Support and Multi-Doc Chats
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If you need to work with multiple PDFs, LightPDF is a great option. It supports over 100 languages and works on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. Plus, you can work on multiple files at once using its multi-doc chat feature and receive assistance from AI.
Key Features
- Accurate & Reliable: LightPDF provides accurate answers and references their sources in every response. Simply click on the footnotes or references to jump to the exact location in the document and discover where the AI extracted its information from.
- Chat with Multiple Files: Upload and interact with multiple documents simultaneously with their multi-doc chat feature.
- Extract Information: Analyze different types of documents along with website data and extract information in the form of text, tables, markdown, and other formats.
Pricing
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LightPDF has six pricing options available, which all differ in terms of billing cycles:
- Weekly Pass ($13.99/week)
- Billed Monthly ($19.99/month)
- Billed Annually ($59.99/year)
- Six years ($149.99)
- One year ($79.95)
- Two years ($129.90)
They also offer a free web app, which provides PDF support, up to 50 pages per file, and five file uploads per day. With their premium plans, however, you can access unlimited file uploads, unlimited pages per file, and support for over seven different file types.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free web app.
- Unlimited file storage.
- Unlimited file upload.
- Supports over 100 languages.
- Cited sources.
- Can provide answers in various formats.
- Supports multiple file types.
- Cross-platform compatibility.
Cons:
- Free version only supports PDF.
- Limited questions per month for GPT-4 answers.
- No analytics.
5. ChatDOC: Best for Suggested Queries and Cited Sources
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ChatDOC provides up to five suggested questions for each uploaded file and includes cited sources in each AI-generated answer. Add PDFs, epubs, TXT files, or Word documents to ChatDOC, and start asking questions in 20+ languages. You can highlight text or tables to ask the AI about specific document sections.
Key Features
- Suggested Queries: ChatDOC automatically generates five relevant queries based on your uploaded file content. Select a question to ask it, or type in your custom query instantly. You can click the lightbulb icon to access the five suggested questions anytime.
- Ask About Selected Text: Highlight pieces of text or tables in your document and click the button beside it to ask the AI about the selected sections. ChatDOC can analyze, summarize, or explain the information for you.
- Check References: Every ChatDOC response contains cited sources, which all link back to specific pages of the document. When you click on a footnote or citation, it will highlight which pieces of text the AI used to formulate its answer.
Pricing
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ChatDOC has a free plan allowing two daily uploads, 20 pages per file, and 20 daily questions. To access more uploads and questions per day and other file-type uploads, you need to subscribe to their Pro plan ($7.99/month).
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free plan.
- User-friendly interface.
- Supports various file formats.
- Replies in 20+ languages.
- Can ask about highlighted text or tables.
- Source citations.
- Five suggested questions per document.
- Can analyze tables.
Cons:
- Daily question limit.
- Free plan only offers PDF support.
- Daily upload limit.
Conclusion
Manually scouring through PDFs for information can take up time—time that might be better spent elsewhere.
Tools like My AskAI can instantly provide the details you need while keeping your data secure behind enhanced security measures. Just upload your documents, choose a response style, and ask away—your My AskAI will generate accurate answers instantly.
Sign up for our free plan today to build your AI assistant and transform status documents into dynamic, AI-enabled information sources.
Written by
Alex Rainey
Alex is an experienced CTO and founder who largely focuses on all the technical areas of My AskAI, from AI Engineering, Technical Product Management and overall Platform Development.
