PDF files are ubiquitous in the business world. They are used for reports, contracts, invoices, receipts, and many other purposes. However, working with PDFs can also be challenging, especially when they are long, complex, or poorly formatted. How can you quickly find the information you need, understand the content, or generate new content based on the PDFs you have?
Copilot can now integrate with PDF files directly within the Edge browser. This means you can use Copilot's capabilities without leaving your PDF document. In this blog post, I'll show you how to use Copilot with PDFs, and how it can save you time and boost your productivity.
Use Cases
Copilot can help you with various tasks related to PDF files. Here are some of the common use cases and how Copilot can assist you with them.
Business Reports: If you have any business report in PDF format, Copilot can help you summarise it, extract key figures, trends, and recommendations, and generate new content based on the report. For example, you can ask Copilot to "Summarise this report, outlining the key headings and points with recommendations on next steps" or "Write a paragraph about the main challenges and opportunities for this company based on the report".
Legal Documents: If you have to review or write a contract, agreement, or legal brief in PDF format, Copilot can help you understand the complex language, identify the critical clauses, and provide concise explanations. For example, you can ask Copilot to "Find the cancellation terms and conditions and list out in a formatted table" or you can use a mor refined prompt like "Search through this document and highlight any concerns around the terms and conditions against our own terms and conditions using [file] as a reference. List the results out in a table and provide context to why this has been highlighted as a concern".
Expense Receipts: If you have to process or analyse a receipt in PDF format, Copilot can help you quickly locate the information you need, extract the items, the summary, and the key details. For example, you can ask Copilot to "List out all of the items within this receipt" or something more refined like "Create me a table using the items on this document. Use line items and value as the headings for the table which will allow me to extract the data easy. Also add a total of the value with and without tax of the combined items".
Potential Time Savings
Using Copilot with PDFs can save you a lot of time and hassle. Instead of spending hours reading, searching, or summarising, you can simply ask Copilot to do it for you. Copilot can provide you with accurate and relevant information, summaries, and content in a matter of seconds. Copilot can help you improve the quality and efficiency of your work, and free up your time for other tasks.
How to Use Copilot with PDFs
Using Copilot with PDFs is easy and convenient. All you need is the Edge browser and a PDF file. Here are the steps to follow:
Open your PDF file in Edge. You can either drag and drop the file into the browser, or use the File menu to open it.
Select a word or phrase in the PDF that you want to ask Copilot about. A mini drop-down menu will appear. Among the options, you'll find "Ask Copilot". Click on it.
A new pane will open on the right side of your screen. This is where you can interact with Copilot. You can type in your question, request, or command, and Copilot will respond accordingly. You can also use voice input by clicking on the microphone icon.
You can resize, minimise, or close the Copilot pane at any time. You can also access it again by selecting another word or phrase and clicking on "Ask Copilot".
Give it a try with your next PDF document and let us know how you get on!
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