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PDF Chat

You can chat with any PDF!

The PDF Chat feature, allows your users to upload PDF files and interact with them directly in the chat interface.

This feature introduces an innovative way to interact with documents, providing users with quick and easy access to information within their PDF files.

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PDF Chat feature is available only in the Pro plan.

You can try out the demo here: https://aipower.org/chatpdf/

The PDF Chat feature provides the following functionalities:

  • PDF Upload: Users can upload a PDF file of up to 120 pages directly in the chat interface.
  • Page Limit Control: Set a page limit for the uploaded PDFs, ranging from 1 to 120 pages.
  • Customizable Success Message: Customize the message displayed to users upon successful upload of a PDF.
  • Automated Question Suggestion: Upon a successful upload, the plugin will automatically generate and display three random questions from the PDF to guide the user interaction.
  • PDF Icon Color Customization: Customize the PDF icon color to align with your brand or preference.

Enabling PDF Chat

This guide will walk you through the steps to enable and configure the PDF Chat feature in your chatbot.

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Please note that the PDF chat feature only works with embeddings, so make sure you have configured your Pinecone or Qdrant correctly.

  • Navigate to the ChatGPT - Shortcode tab in your dashboard.
  • Click on the Context tab located on the right side of your screen.
  • Make sure that the Use Embeddings box is checked. This option enables the chatbot to use embeddings for better understanding and response accuracy.
  • Look for the Enable PDF Upload checkbox:
    • Check the Enable PDF Upload box to allow users to upload PDF files in the chat interface.
    • In the Page Limit field, specify the maximum number of pages allowed for the uploaded PDFs. The limit can range from 1 to 120 pages.
    • Under Success Message, customize the message displayed to users upon successful upload of a PDF. The default message is "Congrats! Your PDF is uploaded now! You can ask questions about your document. Example Questions:[questions]".
    • Still under Bot Settings, navigate to the Style tab on the right side of your screen.
    • Here, you can customize the color of the PDF icon to match your brand or preference.
  • After adjusting the settings, click on the Save button to apply the changes.

Once these steps are completed, go to your chatbot.

You will notice a PDF icon appearing next to the microphone button. This allows users to upload PDF files directly in the chat interface.

Viewing Uploaded PDFs

As an admin, you have the ability to access and manage the PDFs uploaded by your users.

All user-uploaded PDFs can be found under the ChatGPT - Uploaded PDFs tab in your dashboard.

From this tab, you can view all the PDFs that have been uploaded and embedded by users.

This is a convenient way to keep track of the documents being interacted with on your platform.

Moreover, you have the option to delete any of these PDFs if you no longer want to keep them in your index.

This gives you control over the content that remains accessible to your users through the chat interface.

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To maintain a clear distinction between your website content and user-uploaded PDFs, you can create separate bots for each type of content and assign each bot a different index.

By doing this, you can ensure that your chatbot accurately retrieves and delivers the appropriate information to your users.

This is particularly helpful if you do not want your website content to mix with the content from user-uploaded PDFs.

By managing your user-uploaded content effectively, you can ensure that your chatbot continues to provide accurate and relevant responses, while maintaining the integrity and security of your platform.

Clearing the PDF Session

Once a user uploads a PDF, the upload PDF icon will disappear and be replaced with a clear session button, represented by an "X" symbol.

This option is designed to allow users to clear their current PDF session and return to chatting with the website's native content.

Let's walk through how this process works:

After a user has uploaded a PDF, they will interact with the content of the document in the chat interface. During this time, the upload PDF icon will not be visible.

If a user decides to clear the PDF session, they can simply click on the "X" button. This action will clear the current PDF session, removing any uploaded PDFs from the chat interaction. This step is important to ensure that the chatbot returns to addressing inquiries related to the website's native content.

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Clearing a PDF session does not delete the uploaded PDF from the system. It only removes it from the current chat interaction. The PDFs can still be accessed by the admin under the ChatGPT - Uploaded PDFs tab in the dashboard.

Once the PDF session is cleared, the upload PDF icon will reappear, allowing users to upload a new PDF if they wish.

By providing users with the option to clear their PDF session, you can ensure that the chatbot interaction remains flexible and adaptable to the users' needs. Whether they're interacting with an uploaded PDF or chatting about the website's content, the user remains in control of the chatbot interaction.

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Additionally, a user can also clear the current PDF session by simply refreshing the page.

Remember, managing your PDF sessions effectively is crucial for maintaining an efficient and user-friendly chatbot interface. It helps ensure that your chatbot provides accurate and relevant responses, while keeping the user experience smooth and intuitive.

Segregating User Content

To ensure a personalized user experience within our PDF Chat feature, we employ a content separation system.

This system utilizes namespace (on Pinecone) or group_id (on Qdrant) to segregate user-uploaded PDFs from the content of your website.

This is a critical component of our plugin, designed to prevent the mixing of content between different users or with your website's native content.

When you upload content through our plugin, it automatically assigns a default value in the group_id section for your uploads. This acts as a fixed identifier for your content.

However, when a user uploads a PDF, our plugin generates a unique random value for that particular user's group_id or namespace.

This ensures that a user's queries are strictly confined to their uploaded content, enhancing privacy and content relevancy.

This unique approach not only preserves the integrity and exclusivity of user interactions but also significantly boosts the efficacy and user-friendliness of our PDF Chat feature.

By adopting this method, we empower users to interact with their documents in a more organized and efficient manner, ensuring that their content remains distinct and protected.

Limitations

While the PDF Chat feature is robust and interactive, there are a few limitations to keep in mind for optimal usage:

  • Question Specification: Once you upload a PDF, you'll need to ask specific questions about the content within the PDF. Asking general questions such as "Summarize the document" or "Summarize the PDF" won't yield the expected results, as the AI is optimized for addressing more precise queries.
  • Page Split and Embedding: Our plugin splits and embeds PDFs by page, so it's crucial that you ensure your document doesn't exceed 1000 words on a single page. This is to ensure effective processing and interaction with the content.
  • Non-textual Content: Make sure your PDF does not contain non-textual elements such as images, charts, or infographics. Currently, the AI's ability to interpret and interact with these types of content is limited. The AI can only extract and work with text-based information.
  • Pinecone's GCP-Starter Environment Limitation: If you're operating in a GCP-Starter environment provided by Pinecone, you should be aware that this environment does not support Namespaces. Since our PDF Chat feature relies heavily on namespaces, it won't work in the GCP-Starter environment. You'll need to either approach Pinecone to change your environment or upgrade your Pinecone plan to switch to an environment that supports namespaces.

By understanding and working within these limitations, you can make the most of the PDF Chat feature and provide your users with a seamless and efficient interaction experience with their documents.