PDF.ai

Overview

PDF.ai is an AI-powered document intelligence platform that combines conversational chat with a production-grade PDF processing API. End users can upload a PDF and start chatting immediately — asking questions, getting concise summaries, finding specific information, and extracting key insights. For developers and businesses, PDF.ai offers a REST API that turns PDFs into structured data, enabling seamless automation, data extraction, and intelligent document workflows. Whether you are interacting with a single contract or processing thousands of documents monthly, PDF.ai bridges the gap between human-friendly conversation and machine-readable structured output.

At the core of the platform is a highly accurate PDF parsing API built on advanced OCR and layout detection. The parser converts PDFs into structured JSON that preserves headings, paragraphs, tables, and figures, making downstream processing reliable. In addition, AI-powered field extraction allows users to define custom prompts and retrieve specific data points such as names, dates, amounts, and other entities from unstructured documents. The document splitting feature intelligently separates PDFs into custom-defined sections, automatically identifying boundaries without manual rules. The API hub provides straightforward integration: a single POST request to /v2/parse with your API key and document URL returns markdown, contents, and pageCount, and a /v2/ask endpoint supports chat-based questioning against parsed documents with docIds and natural-language prompts.

Performance and security are central to the design. Most documents receive responses in under five seconds, making the API suitable for interactive applications. Files are deleted after processing, and enterprise-grade security measures protect sensitive content during transit and storage. No SDK is required — integration needs only an API key and a URL. The pricing model is transparent and usage-based: a free plan provides 200 credits per month with no credit card required, while paid tiers — Starter at $49, Pro at $99, Scale at $249, and Growth at $599 per month — offer 3,000, 10,000, 30,000, and 100,000 credits respectively. Credits cost as low as $0.006 per credit at the highest tier, so you pay only for what you parse.

PDF.ai is more than an API. It includes an intuitive web interface for uploading and chatting with PDFs, a Chrome extension for on-the-go access, and AI agents that can automate document-centric tasks. The platform also offers a complete suite of free tools: parse, extract, split, merge, compress, and convert between PDF, PNG, JPEG, Markdown, and more. Additional AI-powered utilities such as Resume AI scanner, Invoice AI scanner, and Quiz AI generator demonstrate the broad applicability of the underlying technology. Trusted by millions of users, including students from all Ivy League schools, PDF.ai supports academic research, legal document review, invoice processing, automated quiz generation, and large-scale document automation pipelines. It is positioned as an all-in-one solution for extracting value from PDFs, from simple chat-based Q&A to complex production workloads.

Core capabilities

Chat with any PDF

Ask questions, get summaries, find information, and more through an interactive chat interface.

PDF Parsing API

Advanced OCR and layout detection converts PDFs into structured JSON with headings, paragraphs, tables, and figures.

AI Field Extraction

Custom-prompt-driven extraction pulls specific data points such as names, dates, amounts, and other entities.

Intelligent Document Splitting

Define custom sections and AI automatically identifies and separates them.

Single REST Endpoint

One API call parses documents; no SDK required, just an API key and a URL.

Fast Response Times

Most documents are processed in under 5 seconds.

Enterprise-Grade Security

Files are deleted after processing, ensuring sensitive data is not retained.

Usage-Based Pricing

Free 200 credits/month and scalable paid plans starting at $49/month; pay only for what you parse.

Free PDF Tools

A suite of utilities for parse, extract, split, merge, compress, and conversion between PDF, PNG, JPEG, Markdown, and more.

Chrome Extension & AI Agents

Extend functionality with a browser extension and autonomous AI agent workflows.

Use cases

Chatting with long PDF documents to get summaries and answers

Extracting names, dates, and amounts from invoices and forms

Parsing academic papers into structured JSON for downstream analysis

Splitting a large PDF into custom-defined sections automatically

Building production-ready document workflows with a single REST API

Creating AI agents and quizzes from resumes, invoices, or study material

Converting and processing PDFs with the suite of free utilities