Whether you're using ChatGPT for data analysis or just to work on your resume, you might be wondering how to get the tool to read a PDF file. There are a couple of primary ways you can do this. These methods cover the range from essentially doing it manually to letting ChatGPT do it for you. Here are your best options.

Method 1: Copy and paste the PDF contents into ChatGPT

The labor-intensive approach

If you don't have a subscription to ChatGPT, this will be the easiest way to handle this task, although it will simultaneously take the most work. You'll likely have to copy chunks repeatedly (one at a time) from the PDF doc and paste them into the "Message ChatGPT ..." field. This is because ChatGPT has a context window limitation concerning how much text it can read and "remember" before it starts to lose what was at the beginning of the input. It's a matter of trial and error to determine the effective limits of the context window during a copy-and-paste operation.

In other words, this method isn't exactly ideal, but it'll work in a pinch.

Method 2: Use ChatGPT Plus and upload your file

The easiest way

This is the best method, but it'll set you back the cost of a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which is around $20. You can upload files with a Plus subscription for analysis, and that includes PDF files. Simply upload your PDF, and then you can ask questions about its contents with ease.

To upload a PDF to ChatGPT, you just need to click the paperclip button to the left of the prompt input, and this brings up a File Explorer interface. Select your PDF file, and simply ask a question about it. ChatGPT will then analyze the document and answer your questions. This is obviously the easiest option. You can see in the above screenshot that I saved a PDF of my review of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and was then able to ask questions about it.

The only downside to this method is the subscription cost, but it's by far the most efficient and, dare I say, intelligent method. It's also very quick, as ChatGPT will analyze the document in a flash. If you want to process multiple PDFs quickly and painlessly, this is clearly the way to go. It also goes without saying that this method is a lot easier on a phone or tablet than repeatedly copying and pasting text from one diminutive screen to another.