--- title: "Summarize a PDF, search it by meaning, or map it" description: "Get a cited summary of a PDF in three lengths, search for ideas instead of exact words, or turn a document into a mind map where every node quotes its page." url: https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/summarize-pdf-ai/ collection: "AI with citations" section: "Ask & summarize" updated: 2026-10-18 publisher: "PDFBetter (AI Generated Inc.)" --- # Summarize a PDF, search it by meaning, or map it > In the AI assistant, the **Summary** tab writes key points that link to their pages (2 credits), and **Search** finds passages by meaning (1 credit). For a visual overview, [PDF to mind map](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-mind-map/) builds a map whose nodes quote their pages. - Counts toward: AI credits ## Summarize 1. **Open the Summary tab**: From the dashboard, click ✨ **AI assistant** → **Summarize a PDF**, or, with a document open in the editor, click the ✨ **AI assistant** button in the top bar and switch to the **Summary** tab. 2. **Pick a length**: Choose **Brief**, **Standard** or **Detailed**. Add a **Focus on** topic if you want, such as "payment terms and deadlines". 3. **Run it**: Click **Summarize**. Each key point links to the pages it comes from. 4. **Check what's missing**: Open **What this summary leaves out** to see topics it didn't cover. Click **Copy summary** to paste it elsewhere. Points that couldn't be tied to a specific page are flagged so you can check them. Pages with no text layer, and pages past your plan's AI page cap, are listed as not read. The latest summary stays in the tab; **Summarize again** runs a new one. ## Search by meaning The **Search** tab finds passages about an idea even when the wording differs. Type what you're looking for ("what happens if rent is late") and click **Search**. Results show each passage, its page and how closely it matches, plus how many exact matches your words have, for contrast. If nothing in the document is about it, it says so. ## Mind map 1. **Open the tool**: Go to [PDF to mind map](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-mind-map/) and click **Choose a PDF**. 2. **Set options**: Pick **Compact**, **Standard** or **Detailed**, and an optional **Focus**. 3. **Make it**: Click **Make mind map**. Every node's quote is checked word for word against its page; nodes that fail are removed and counted. 4. **Use it**: Click a node to see its verified quote and preview the page. **Export** saves PNG, SVG, PDF, Markdown or OPML, or click **Add as last page** to append it to the document. A mind map costs 3 credits. One map reads only part of a very long document and says which pages it skipped; [split the PDF](https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/split-pdf-extract-pages/) to map the rest. > **Heads up:** AI summaries can miss nuance. Use the page links to check anything you'll rely on, especially numbers, dates and obligations. ### Can I summarize several documents together? Use a workspace and generate a **Brief**. It cites each document, version and page. ### Why did my summary skip pages? They have no text layer ([run OCR](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/make-scanned-pdf-editable-ocr/)) or they're past your plan's page cap (100 pages on Free). ## Related articles - [Ask questions about a PDF and check the cited pages](https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/chat-with-pdf-citations.md): Open the document, go to the Ask tab of the AI assistant, type a question and click Ask. Answers come only from that file and list Sources: click a p. 4 chip to jump to the quoted page. Each message costs 1 credit. - [Ask across several documents and make briefs, slides or quizzes](https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/ai-workspaces-briefs-quizzes.md): Create a workspace in Workspaces, add documents, and use Ask across documents (2 credits per answer) or Make something from these documents to generate a brief, slide outline, quiz or audio brief. Every citation names the document, version and page. - [How AI credits work](https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/ai-credits.md): Every AI action costs a fixed number of credits, shown on its button before you run it. Your plan includes credits every month; an AI credit pack adds 500 credits for $5 that never expire and are used after the monthly ones. - [How accurate AI answers are, and how to check them](https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/ai-privacy-accuracy.md): AI answers can be wrong or miss nuance, so every result links to the pages it came from and chat quotes are checked word for word against the page. Check numbers, dates and obligations against the cited page before you rely on them. - [Split a PDF or extract pages](https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/split-pdf-extract-pages.md): Open Split PDF, choose Custom ranges, Every N pages, Each page or By file size, and click Split PDF. To pull a few pages into one new file, use Extract pages instead. Both run in your browser. --- Source: https://help.pdfbetter.com/ai/summarize-pdf-ai/ · PDFBetter Help Center · Last checked against the product 2026-10-18. Questions: support@pdfbetter.com