Over three decades after the launch of its portable document format (PDF), Adobe is integrating AI tools into the software, allowing users to upload multiple documents and receive bespoke answers from an AI assistant.
The launch of Adobe Acrobat Studio has been labelled by some as the company’s “biggest inflection point since launch”, but Adobe is not the only developer leaning into generative AI for everyday software; Google Docs, Instagram, and iPhones all now utilise AI features, sometimes to the annoyance of users.
Despite some fatigue with the omnipresence of AI, the technology has become an integral part of the PDF experience, with Kirschenbaum, an English professor at the University of Maryland, observing that “AI is now embedded in these very specifically human-centred document forms”.
Adobe sees the move as an opportunity to “redefine what a PDF is”, but whether it will be seen in hindsight as an essential development, like the addition of transparency support, or an irrelevant gimmick remains to be seen.
