Adobe has launched the beta version of its AI Assistant, a generative AI-powered conversational engine integrated into Reader and Acrobat.

The AI Assistant is designed to generate summaries and insights from lengthy documents, answer questions, verify sources of AI answers and format information for sharing in emails, reports, and presentations through a conversational interface. The technology is built on the same AI and machine learning models behind Acrobat Liquid Mode, Adobe's technology for responsive reading experiences for PDFs on mobile. The AI assistant can also be used with other document formats such as Word and PowerPoint.

The AI Assistant is aimed at unlocking new value from the approximately 3 trillion PDFs in the world. The beta version is currently available to Acrobat Individual, Pro and Teams customers and Acrobat Pro trialists, with features expected to be added to Reader in the coming days and weeks.

The AI Assistant's features include generative summary, intelligent citations, easy navigation, formatted output, and respect for customer data. It can be used with all kinds of document formats, including Word, PowerPoint, and meeting transcripts. Adobe has implemented enterprise-grade security and information governance for AI Assistant in Reader and Acrobat. The AI Assistant is developed in alignment with Adobe’s AI Ethics processes and prohibits third-party LLMs from training on Adobe customer data.

Adobe plans to expand AI Assistant capabilities to work across multiple documents, document types and sources, and to include AI-powered authoring, editing and formatting, intelligent creation, and AI-supported reviews. Reader and Acrobat customers will have access to the full range of AI Assistant capabilities through a new add-on subscription plan when AI Assistant is out of beta.

“Generative AI offers the promise of more intelligent document experiences by transforming the information inside PDFs into actionable knowledge and professional-looking content," Adobe's senior vice president, Document Cloud, Abhigyan Modi, stated. "PDF is the de facto standard for the world’s most important documents and the capabilities introduced today are just the beginning of the value AI Assistant will deliver through Reader and Acrobat applications and services.”