Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant summarises PDFs and answers questions about their contents. Its document questions and generative summaries use Adobe’s cloud service, so using them on a client statement sends document content beyond your computer. Adobe says it does not use that content to train its AI models. You can disable generative AI in Acrobat’s preferences.
For a brokerage, the decision includes whether the client information can go to that service and whether the resulting figures are accurate.
What Acrobat AI Assistant Does
Acrobat AI Assistant helps you read document content and turn it into answers or draft text. Adobe’s AI Assistant FAQ describes summaries, questions and extraction of main points, with references back to the source.
You can ask for the obligations in a contract or a draft email based on a document. PDF Spaces brings several files into a shared workspace for questions across those files. These are generative outputs, so a plausible answer can still misstate what the document says.
Translation and Extraction
AI Assistant can translate supported content and respond in supported languages. Acrobat’s separate full-document Translate PDF workflow opens the file in Adobe Express. Scanned or complex PDFs can be unsuitable for that workflow.
Asking AI to extract information produces a generated answer. For example, you could ask it to list salary credits from a statement. Check every returned amount and transaction description against the original pages before using that list in a lending assessment.
An AI answer is also different from exporting a PDF table into a spreadsheet. Decide whether you need a summary of the content or a complete set of transaction rows. A short summary cannot establish that every transaction has been captured.
Which Plans Include It
Acrobat Studio and Acrobat Express include AI document features. Adobe also sells AI Assistant as an add-on for eligible Acrobat and Reader users. A Standard or Pro subscription alone does not establish that the user has the AI Assistant entitlement.
The AI Assistant Plus documentation describes another add-on that includes AI Assistant. Access still depends on the subscription and any organisation controls. A button inviting you to try AI does not prove that every feature is included in your existing plan.
What Adobe Does With Your PDFs
Adobe processes document content to answer questions and generate summaries, while its no-training commitment concerns how that content is used afterward. Those are separate privacy questions.
Adobe says it does not use customer data to train or fine-tune large language models. Its enterprise security explanation identifies Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service for Acrobat’s generative AI processing. Adobe says that service is contractually prohibited from manually reviewing or training its model on Adobe customer data.
That commitment does not make the interaction local. Document content and your question must reach the service that generates the answer. Review that processing against your licensee’s approved software policy before using identifiable client documents.
Temporary Processing and Saved History
Adobe says uploaded documents, prompts and generated responses are automatically deleted from its cloud after 12 hours, except retained chat history and reported content. Treat that as a temporary-processing rule with exceptions.
Adobe’s AI Assistant security fact sheet describes longer retention for flagged content and session data supplied for product improvement. It describes a 30-day period, with legal reasons potentially extending retention of flagged content. Avoid submitting confidential client material with a feedback report.
Chat history is stored on the device for desktop and mobile apps, and in Adobe cloud storage for the web app. It can contain information from a document removed from a PDF Space. Removing that document therefore does not establish that its content has disappeared from the conversation.
You can clear a document’s chat history through its Options menu. Turning AI Assistant off is a separate action and does not, by itself, clear earlier history.
Using It on Client Statements and Payslips
Client financial PDFs can reveal identity details and a detailed record of someone’s finances. A bank statement can also reveal health-related spending or other information beyond the loan assessment. Sending the file for a summary exposes more than the few numbers you want back.
Adobe’s generative AI user guidelines prohibit uses that violate privacy rights. They also restrict entering sensitive personal information unless the product is designed to process it. A paid subscription alone does not establish permission to upload a client’s records.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, or OAIC, says privacy obligations cover personal information entered into AI and personal information generated by it. Its commercial AI guidance calls for due diligence and human oversight. Use the brokerage’s approved authority and disclosure process before sending client documents to a cloud AI service.
Redact a Working Copy
When the task can be completed with less information, prepare a separate working copy and remove the information it does not need. Keep the original client evidence in the approved file system.
- Identify direct identifiers and any transaction details that could still identify the client.
- Use a proper redaction tool and apply the redactions. A rectangle drawn over text can leave readable content underneath.
- Remove hidden information where the document contains it, including metadata or comments.
- Save the working copy, reopen it and search for the removed details. Check selectable text as well as the visible page before sharing it.
Use the redact PDF guide for the removal workflow. Acrobat Pro also has redaction and sanitising instructions. Removing names alone can leave a person identifiable from other details.
Keep the Document Local
For a few figures, read the PDF locally and copy only the required values into your approved assessment system. This avoids sending the document to a generative AI service for that task.
For longer documents, a local LLM (large language model) can summarise content on a controlled computer when the model and document processing both run locally. A desktop interface can still connect to cloud services, so local installation alone does not establish local processing.
Whichever method you use, retain the original statement and check the output against it. For example, a list of monthly salary credits must preserve the difference between a salary payment and a transfer from another account.
Turn AI Assistant Off
You can disable Acrobat’s generative AI features on your desktop, while an enterprise administrator can control access through product profiles. Use both where the brokerage requires a common policy.
On Windows or macOS
Adobe’s desktop disable instructions use these steps:
- Close all open documents in Acrobat.
- On Windows, open Menu, then Preferences. On macOS, open View, then Preferences.
- Select Generative AI.
- Clear Enable generative AI features.
- Select OK to save. Reopen Acrobat and confirm the preference stays cleared before opening client records.
If the control is unavailable or resets under your work account, give your administrator the Acrobat version and the affected account profile. A managed policy can require an administrator to make the change.
Across an Enterprise Organisation
An administrator can use Adobe’s service controls for the affected product profiles:
- Open Products in the Adobe Admin Console and select the relevant Acrobat product.
- Open View Details for its product profile.
- Turn Adobe Acrobat AI off in the enabled services and save the change.
- Apply the restriction to every profile that gives those users AI access.
- Restart the desktop app, or sign out and back in on web and mobile. Confirm AI Assistant is unavailable on an affected account using a non-client test document.
A user assigned to another profile with AI enabled retains access. A personal subscription can also retain its own access. Enterprise settings therefore need an approved account policy alongside the service restriction.
Adobe lists PDF Services separately from Adobe Acrobat AI. Turning cloud storage off while leaving AI on still permits AI Assistant to process local files. Disable the AI service itself when the policy prohibits that processing.
