Adobe has incorporated new generative AI capabilities into its Acrobat, Acrobat Studio, and Adobe Express platforms. These updates introduce features for chat-based PDF editing, the creation of audio summaries in a podcast format, and the generation of presentations from various documents. The integration aims to streamline document review, content creation, and collaborative workflows.
Overview of Generative AI Integration
Acrobat Studio, which initially launched in August, serves as a central hub for PDF tools, workspaces, and AI assistants. The current updates connect Acrobat Studio to Adobe Express, establishing a unified workflow for document-centric tasks and content creation. This initiative reflects Adobe's broader strategy to embed generative AI across its document and creative software product lines.
Key Generative AI Features
The integrated AI features enable users to transform and interact with documents in new ways:
- Presentation Generation: A "Generate presentation" feature allows users to convert source materials, such as notes, reports, or financial data, into slide decks. An AI assistant can develop an initial outline, with Adobe Express then handling the design to produce a draft presentation. Users can customize presentation length and tone, apply Adobe Express theme libraries, use Adobe Stock assets or personal images, and directly edit slides in Acrobat. These presentations can also be shared for collaborative editing. The functionality competes with existing tools such as Canva and Google's NotebookLM.
- Audio Summaries (Podcasts): The "Generate podcast" feature creates audio summaries from single documents or collections of materials compiled in a shared workspace. This allows for reviewing large volumes of text without on-screen reading, with potential applications in meeting preparation, educational guides, and mobile use. The feature typically defaults to a two-host conversation style and is comparable to offerings from Google’s NotebookLM, Speechify, and ElevenLabs’ Reader app. Adobe has indicated that the current use of a Microsoft GPT model for transcription and a Google voice model may be subject to change as alternative technologies are evaluated.
- Chat-Based PDF Editing: Users can perform various PDF document editing tasks using natural language prompts within a chat interface. Actions include adding signatures, e-signatures, passwords, text, comments, and images, as well as removing pages, text, comments, or images, and finding and replacing specific words or phrases. The Help section has also been updated to provide chat-guided instructions.
Expanded Collaboration and Workspaces
PDF Spaces, an AI-driven knowledge hub within Acrobat, has been expanded to enhance team collaboration. Functioning as a shared environment, it allows users to store files and web links. New collaboration tools enable users to invite others to contribute files, leave notes, and provide comments for material review. When files are shared, they now include AI-generated summaries with citations pointing to original content locations. Users can also select from default AI assistant roles or customize an assistant using a prompt, such as "analyst," "entertainer," or "instructor."
Reported User Response
Adobe reports that its AI features in Acrobat have been utilized by users to save time. Students, in particular, have reportedly used the AI integration to summarize course materials and generate citations for fact-checking.