You can upload a PDF to ChatGPT using the Attachment function indicated by the “+” icon and selecting Add files and photos; the process is the same on both desktop and mobile devices.
After uploading, the chatbot will extract the important information from your content and answer any questions you have. By learning how to attach a PDF to a ChatGPT conversation, you can analyze your documents directly and save time on tasks such as reviewing reports.
Below, we will walk you through the upload steps, show you how to fix common issues, and provide tips to help you prepare your PDFs to get the best results with ChatGPT.
Key Takeaways
- You can upload PDFs up to 512MB per file to ChatGPT within all its plans, but you should know that limits apply, especially for lower-tiered accounts.
- After logging in, you can start a new chat, click the Attachment icon, and select your PDF from your storage to upload it; these steps are the same on desktop and mobile.
- ChatGPT struggles with large, scanned, and complex files, so polishing your PDFs before uploading will help the AI parse and process them better.
Can You Upload a PDF to ChatGPT?
Yes, you can upload documents to ChatGPT on the Free, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans. The file size limit for a GPT or chat/conversation is 512MB, and each GPT can receive up to 20 files in a single upload, for its lifetime.
You can upload up to 80 files every three hours, but if you are a Free user, you are limited to just three per day.
The size limits for Plus, Pro, Business, and Edu plans are based on Projects; Plus plan users are allowed to upload up to 20 files per project, while the maximum for the remaining plans is 40 files.
Aside from the PDF format, ChatGPT supported file types also include images, spreadsheets, and presentations, with size limits as follows:
- Images: up to 20MB per image
- Spreadsheets: up to 50MB per spreadsheet
- Presentations: up to 512MB per presentation
ChatGPT uses models that count tokens instead of words. A token is a piece of text; it can be a word, part of a word, or just punctuation. Most English words are one to two tokens each. All PDFs uploaded to a GPT or chat/conversation are limited to 2 million tokens.
In addition to the ChatGPT file size limits above, there is a 10GB usage cap for users and a 100GB usage cap for organizations.
How to Upload a PDF to ChatGPT: Desktop Version
Here is how to upload a PDF to ChatGPT on a desktop device:
- Open ChatGPT and log in to your account.
- Click New chat to start a conversation with the AI chatbot.
- Click the Attachment (+) icon and select Add photos and files from the drop-down menu.
- Wait a few seconds for ChatGPT to analyze the PDF.
- Enter your prompt when the PDF loads fully and ask ChatGPT to do whatever you need with it.
How to Upload a PDF to ChatGPT: Mobile Version
Follow these steps to use ChatGPT with a PDF on mobile:
- Download the ChatGPT app and log in to your account.
- Press the Attachment (+) icon and choose Add photos and files from the drop-down menu.
- Select Choose files and upload your PDF.
- Give the ChatGPT PDF reader a few seconds to process.
- Ask the chatbot to extract any information you need from your PDF or perform any other activity required once it is loaded.
Why You Can’t Upload a PDF to ChatGPT: Troubleshooting Tips
You can’t upload a PDF to ChatGPT if you encounter the following common issues:
#1. The Upload Button Isn’t Showing
The upload button might not show after clicking the Attachment icon if you have reached your upload limits for the day. In this case, you just need to wait for those limits to reset.
Upgrading to a higher-tiered plan is another option, as your usage cap will be expanded. However, this isn’t recommended for one-off PDF processing. The best option is to upload your document to PDF.net and use our Chat PDF tool instead.
#2. The PDF File Is Too Large
If the PDF is larger than 512MB, ChatGPT won’t be able to process it. Sometimes, even if your file hasn’t exceeded this size, the platform’s limited bandwidth during peak usage hours can cause freezes, lags, and crashes. A workaround is to compress your PDF in advance.
You can do this in five steps with our PDF editor:
- Open PDF.net, hover over More tools, and choose Compress from the options available.
- Upload your document by dragging and dropping it in the Drop file here to compress box or using the Choose file button.
- Wait for the tool to process your PDF; it should take only several seconds.
- Pick your preferred compression level.
- Click Compress and download.
Besides resizing your document, you can also manually remove pages that you don’t need the AI to process, such as the cover page, table of contents page, or bibliography pages.
#3. The PDF is Scanned/Not Readable
If your PDF is made up of scans or images, ChatGPT won’t be able to parse it. When this happens, you have two options:
- Convert your PDF to image files. The AI chatbot can apply OCR to process them. You can do this with our PDF-to-JPG or PDF-to-PNG tools; both are browser-based, so there is no need for you to download any apps. After conversion, it is best to upload your images individually, as ChatGPT handles them better that way.
- Use a separate OCR (Optical Character Recognition) PDF tool. It will turn your image-based PDF into a selectable, searchable one, which the AI chatbot can read. Afterwards, you can reupload the PDF to your chat/conversation.
#4. ChatGPT Can’t Read Part of the PDF
Sometimes, despite correctly following the ChatGPT file upload guide above, the AI can’t read part of your PDF because it:
- Doesn't just contain machine-readable text, but also other content stored as embedded elements. A simple solution is to manually paste the problematic parts into ChatGPT; you can also extract your images and upload them separately.
- Has complex formatting, which may include tables, columns, fillable fields, and overlays. To do this, you can break the content into sections and upload them to the chatbot. We have a Split tool that you can use to get this done.
- Is password-protected or locked; the PDF permissions might block selecting, extracting, and copying the content. In this case, you will have to remove restrictions before reuploading the document to ChatGPT.
5 Extra Tips to Prepare Your PDF Before Uploading
Keep the following tips in mind when preparing your PDF before uploading it to ChatGPT:
- Change the fonts. Stylicized fonts can be more difficult for AI to read and recognize via OCR, so you can use our PDF editor to change the font to a standard option like Arial, Times New Roman, or Helvetica.
- Label images. This way, you provide context for the chatbot to detect and make sense of figures, screenshots, etc., in your content. You can type directly in the PDF and include, “Figure 1. Sales trend by year,” for instance.
- Compress large files. PDF compression ensures ChatGPT won’t take too long to parse and process your document, which also reduces the likelihood of lags, freezes, and crashes.
- Add page numbers. You can prompt the chatbot to reference certain parts of your PDF more easily if your document’s pages are numbered. We have the Add page numbers tool that allows you to do this in your browser.
- Split long content. If your PDF is over 30 pages, it is a good idea to split it into multiple documents and upload them one by one. This usually improves the AI’s results and response times.
Our PDF editor includes 15+ tools that you can use to ensure your documents are ready to be uploaded to ChatGPT. We have an incredibly intuitive interface, so you won’t have to worry about overcoming any learning curves.
Plus, we let you use the tools however you want for free and without registering for an account. You will only have to do that and purchase a plan before downloading. PDF.net works on any device; you only need an Internet connection to produce a fully polished, professional file!
An Affordable Alternative for Chatting with PDFs
Chat PDF is our latest AI-powered integration to help students, professionals, and everyday users dig deep into their PDFs and streamline their workflows. It works in four simple steps:
- Open PDF.net’s Chat PDF tool.
- Drag and drop your document into the Drop file here to chat box or click Choose file and select your document from storage.
- Wait a bit for the PDF editor to load your document with a three-panel display and a full suite of tools in a new tab.
- Ask Chat PDF any questions about your document.
Tip: You can also use our prewritten prompts and additional AI features, such as Summarize PDF and Translate PDF.
You can use Chat PDF alongside features for annotating, highlighting, drawing, etc., so there is no need to switch back and forth between tabs and tools when interacting with your document; the entire process is seamless and stress-free, especially if you are short on time.
Final Thoughts
Uploading a PDF to ChatGPT can be done on both desktop and mobile in just a few steps. The key is to prepare your PDFs before they are uploaded to get better results from the chatbot. This is easy as long as you apply our tips and get a PDF.net account; with everything set, you can upload your file and start getting clearer, faster answers from ChatGPT.
How to Upload a PDF to ChatGPT FAQs
#1. Can you upload a PDF to ChatGPT and get a summary?
Yes, you can upload a PDF to ChatGPT and get a summary. Once the document is loaded, you can ask the chatbot to “give you a summary,” or “summarize the content for you.” If you want, it is also possible to save your ChatGPT conversation for recordkeeping afterwards.
#2. Can ChatGPT fill in PDF?
No, ChatGPT cannot fill in a PDF; it can read a document and answer your questions about the document’s content, but it can’t interact with the PDF in other ways. If you are looking to edit your document, you can use our editor instead.
#3. Can I upload multiple PDFs?
Yes, you can upload multiple PDFs to ChatGPT. The AI supports up to 80 files every three hours and up to 20 files in a single upload, for its lifetime. If you are using the Free plan, you get three daily uploads. However, regardless of the account you have, files must be under 512MB.
#4. Is it safe to upload sensitive documents?
It is not always safe to upload sensitive documents to ChatGPT. You can only opt out of having your content used for AI training with a Business or Enterprise plan. These are also the only plans with SAML SSO, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701 certification. Privacy concerns with ChatGPT have especially grown after thousands of conversations were publicly indexed around mid-2025.