How do I start a summary of my Accession File using AI Assistant?

Open your Accession File in Acrobat. Click the 'AI Assistant' button. Choose 'Generate AI summaries' to get an outline and key insights.

What is the difference between AI Assistant and just reading the document myself?

Feature AI Assistant Reading Yourself. Speed Very fast, gives outline and key insights quickly. Can be slow, requires reading every word. Understanding Helps grasp main points and structure quickly. Full, detailed understanding, but takes more effort. Source Check Provides clickable links to original text. You find the information as you read. Decision Making Summarizes facts, human judgment still needed. You make decisions based on your full understanding.

Summarize Accession File in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Create a short annotated accession summary for [object=2001.05] by extracting key provenance…+

Create a short annotated accession summary for [object=2001.05] by extracting key provenance lines, adding margin comments highlighting teaching hooks, and adding a header with [object title] for distribution to education staff for a gallery talk.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”Make the education brief easy to use: produce a one-page annotated accession extract with clear…+

Make the education brief easy to use: produce a one-page annotated accession extract with clear headings (Provenance, Date, Inscriptions), highlight three teaching points, add page headers with [object title] and [cabinet location], and include a single comment with suggested 3-minute gallery-script lines.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open Adobe Acrobat and sign in with your Adobe account.
2
Ensure your subscription includes access to the AI Assistant feature.
3
If using Acrobat desktop, go to the Edit menu, select Preferences, and check for a Generative AI section to confirm the feature is enabled.
4
Open the PDF document you want to summarize.
5
Locate and select the AI Assistant panel or button, typically found in the right-hand sidebar or toolbar.
6
In the AI Assistant interface, type or select the option to generate a summary of the entire document.
7
Wait for the AI Assistant to process the PDF and display a concise, structured summary of the main points.
8
Review the summary and, if needed, copy or export it for your records.
Best practiceFor sensitive documents, review Adobe's privacy settings and consider whether to use the AI Assistant, as summaries may be processed in the cloud.

In the appWith the API

You can quickly get a structured summary of any PDF by using the AI Assistant panel in Acrobat without reading the entire document.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

Accession FileA document that records new items added to a collection, like in a library or museum.ExampleThe museum created an Accession File detailing the origin and condition of the newly acquired painting.

AI AssistantA tool in Acrobat that lets you ask questions about your PDF and get answers with source links.ExampleYou ask the AI Assistant, 'What are the main conclusions?' and it provides a summary with page numbers.

Source CitationsThese are links that show you exactly where information came from in your document.ExampleClicking on the bracketed numbers in the report reveals the source citations for the data.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

Make a short, annotated version of an accession file to share with education staff for a gallery talk.

FAQ

about this task

Open your Accession File in Acrobat.
Click the 'AI Assistant' button.
Choose 'Generate AI summaries' to get an outline and key insights.

The main benefit of AI Assistant is saving time. It quickly gives you an outline and key insights from a document. This helps you understand long files faster without reading every word. It also provides links to the original text, so you can check the information easily.

Yes, AI Assistant is designed to summarize long and complex documents. It will provide an outline and key insights, making it easier to grasp the main points. However, for very important or complex legal/technical decisions, always use your own judgment. The AI helps you understand, but it does not make decisions for you. It's a tool to surface information, not to replace human expertise.

You can trust AI Assistant's summaries because it cites its sources. This means that for every piece of information or insight it provides, there is a clickable link back to the exact place in your original PDF document. This allows you to easily check the facts and verify the summary's accuracy, making it a reliable tool for understanding your documents.

Feature	AI Assistant	Reading Yourself
Speed	Very fast, gives outline and key insights quickly.	Can be slow, requires reading every word.
Understanding	Helps grasp main points and structure quickly.	Full, detailed understanding, but takes more effort.
Source Check	Provides clickable links to original text.	You find the information as you read.
Decision Making	Summarizes facts, human judgment still needed.	You make decisions based on your full understanding.

Summarize Accession File

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help