Search a PDF by meaning
Describe what you're looking for and get the passages that match its meaning, each with a page number.
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or paste with Ctrl/⌘+V
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What it does
AI search in PDF, explained
AI search finds passages by meaning rather than exact words. Search for “who pays for repairs” and it surfaces the clause titled “Maintenance obligations” that never uses the word repairs. Each result shows the page number and a snippet, ranked by how closely it matches.
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Plain Search PDF matches characters exactly: it is free, instant and the right tool for an invoice number, a name or a defined term. AI search is for concepts, when you don't know the document's vocabulary, or when the same idea is phrased differently in different sections.
AI search returns passages, not answers; you read them yourself. To get a written answer with citations, use Chat with PDF. Each search costs 1 AI credit. To match meaning, the document's text and your query are processed by OpenAI's API under OpenAI's API data-usage terms, which by default exclude API data from model training.
How to do it
Search a PDF by meaning in 3 steps
1Your PDF
2Ask or summarize
3Answers that cite pages
- 1
Upload the PDF
It opens in the editor with the AI search panel. Scans need OCR first.
- 2
Describe what you need
Type a phrase or question, such as “limits on liability” or “data retention period”.
- 3
Review ranked matches
Each match shows the page and a snippet; click to jump to it. Uses 1 AI credit per search.
Example
Before and after
A 120-page vendor security questionnaire and the query “how quickly do they tell us about a breach”.
Ranked matches including the incident-notification section on one page and a related subcontractor clause on another, neither of which uses the word “breach”.
Settings & formats
What you can control
Input
Output
Good to know before you start
- Matches are ranked by similarity, which can surface related but irrelevant passages; read each result.
- It can't search text inside images or scans without OCR.
- For exact strings like account numbers, plain Search PDF is more reliable and free.
If something goes wrong
If something goes wrong
- The results are loosely related
- Make the query more specific, or include a term the document is likely to use.
- Nothing comes back from a scanned file
- The pages have no text layer. Run OCR PDF first.
AI search in PDF: questions people ask
How is AI search different from normal search?
Normal search finds exact words. AI search finds passages with similar meaning, even when the wording is different.
Does AI search give me an answer?
No, it returns passages with page numbers. For a written answer with citations, use Chat with PDF.
How much does it cost?
1 AI credit per search. Plain Search PDF costs nothing.
Can it find every occurrence of a word?
Use plain Search PDF for that. AI search ranks the most relevant passages rather than listing every exact hit.
Is my document sent anywhere?
Text is processed by OpenAI's API under OpenAI's API data-usage terms, which by default exclude API data from training.