Uploading PDFs
PDF documents are the most common content type for knowledge bases.
Upload a PDF
- Open your chatbot
- Go to "Knowledge Base"
- Click "Upload Document"
- Select your PDF file
- Wait for processing to complete
Supported PDF Types
| Type | Support |
|---|---|
| Text-based PDFs | Full support |
| Scanned PDFs | OCR processing available |
| Password-protected | Not supported |
| Encrypted | Not supported |
Processing Status
After upload, your PDF goes through these stages:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Uploading | File is being transferred |
| Processing | Text extraction and embedding |
| Ready | Available for queries |
| Failed | Processing error (see troubleshooting) |
File Limits
| Plan | Max File Size | Max Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 MB | 50 pages |
| Starter | 25 MB | 200 pages |
| Pro | 50 MB | 500 pages |
| Business | 100 MB | Unlimited |
Best Practices
Before Uploading
- Ensure the PDF has selectable text
- Remove unnecessary pages
- Check that content is relevant to your chatbot's purpose
Document Quality
Good PDFs have:
- Clear, readable text
- Proper headings and structure
- Machine-readable content (not just images)
Scanned Documents
For scanned PDFs:
- Enable OCR during upload
- Ensure high scan quality (300 DPI minimum)
- Expect slightly lower accuracy than text-based PDFs
Viewing Uploaded PDFs
- Go to "Knowledge Base"
- Find the document in the list
- Click to view details:
- Page count
- Processing status
- Chunk count
- Access settings
Troubleshooting
Processing Failed
Common causes:
- Corrupted file
- Password protection
- File too large
- Unsupported format
Solution: Try re-uploading or check file format.
Poor Answer Quality
If your chatbot isn't using PDF content well:
- Check if the PDF has selectable text
- Try enabling OCR for scanned documents
- Verify content was processed (check chunk count)