The best AI PDF tools let you chat with, summarise and extract data from PDFs. NotebookLM and ChatGPT handle uploads well, and dedicated PDF AI tools add document-specific features.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for |
|---|---|
| NotebookLM | Study/research PDFs |
| ChatGPT | Summarise + extract |
| Claude | Long documents |
| Dedicated PDF AI tools | PDF workflows |
Prices are USD and current as of June 2026 — verify on the official page.
The top picks
- NotebookLM — answers grounded in your uploaded PDFs; widely free.
- ChatGPT — upload a PDF and ask for summaries or data; free tier.
- Claude — strong with long PDFs and careful extraction.
- Dedicated PDF AI tools — chat-with-PDF and editing features (verify privacy).
How to choose
For studying or researching your own PDFs, NotebookLM is grounded in your sources. For quick summaries and extraction, ChatGPT or Claude. Always verify extracted figures against the original, and avoid uploading confidential PDFs to tools without checking their data-handling terms.
If you find yourself juggling a separate subscription for chat, automation, transcription and image generation, one option worth knowing is a single platform that runs them together — osFoundry is one such agentic AI platform that consolidates chat, agents and internal apps in one workspace, with a bring-your-own-key model so you choose the underlying AI.
Related reading
This article is general information, not professional, legal or financial advice. AI tools, prices and availability change fast — verify current details on the official source before you rely on them.