Adobe launches AI assistant for students

Adobe has introduced a new Acrobat AI Assistant subscription specifically designed for college students, priced at AUD $2.49 per month.

The AI Assistant aims to simplify study routines by summarising documents into concise outlines, thereby enabling students to focus more on analysing and understanding key information.

Acrobat AI Assistant helps students organise their study material efficiently. By summarising dense academic articles, readings, and other documents into easy-to-navigate formats, it allows students to quickly find the information they need. Adobe stated, "Acrobat AI Assistant can help students focus their study time and effort – prioritising the most important information at the right time."

One of the core features of Acrobat AI Assistant is its ability to provide intelligent citations. This feature ensures that students can easily attribute sources within their documents, which is crucial for academic work. The AI tool generates clickable attributions, allowing students to verify sources and include accurate references in their essays, reports, or projects.

Another significant aspect is the integration capability across various document types. Students often need to compare and contrast information from multiple readings and articles. Acrobat AI Assistant supports multiple file formats, including PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations. This comprehensive functionality eliminates the need for manual file conversion, streamlining the study process.

The AI Assistant also offers study support on various devices, including desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, ensuring that students can study from different locations such as dorm rooms, classrooms, and libraries. A forthcoming two-way voice interaction feature will further enhance user experience by allowing verbal communication with the AI Assistant.

Adobe described how the AI Assistant can aid in creating effective study guides. "With Acrobat AI Assistant, students can bring all of the relevant documents together instantly and then organise the information by key themes, definitions, dates or other thematic elements so students can review and learn the material in ways that are most effective for them." This organisational feature allows students to collate and categorise information efficiently, aiding in better preparation and learning.

For exam or presentation preparation, students can utilise the AI Assistant to test their understanding of specific topics. For instance, users can input their class documents and ask the AI to generate quiz questions or flashcards. The tool also helps in anticipating potential questions from professors or peers during presentations, allowing students to practice their responses extensively.

The tool is also beneficial for brainstorming sessions. Adobe illustrated this by stating that after reading a report about the Fall of the Roman Empire, students could use the AI Assistant to generate themes such as instability, economic decline, and overexpansion, which can serve as starting points for group discussions or presentations.

Adobe emphasises its commitment to responsible AI usage, ensuring that all features of Acrobat AI Assistant undergo a rigorous AI Ethics governance process. This includes adherence to strict data privacy norms where user data is not employed for training models. Additionally, third-party technologies used in the tool follow confidentiality and security protocols mandated by Adobe.

Moreover, Adobe has introduced a Responsible AI and Media Literacy Curriculum as part of its Content Authenticity Initiative. This curriculum involves critical discussions on AI and is aimed at middle school, high school, and university students. Adobe encourages responsible use of its AI features by the students as well.

In summary, Acrobat AI Assistant offers college students a tool to reduce the time spent on searching for information, enabling them to focus more on learning and understanding their study materials. Adobe looks forward to seeing diverse and innovative ways in which students will utilise this new tool to enhance their academic experiences.