Files AI can read, and how to get yours ready

Step by step

What AI can and cannot do here

An AI tool can read many kinds of file and answer questions about them. It can also misread a photo, miss a page, or make up a detail that is not in your file. It cannot know what is in a file you did not give it, and it cannot check that your file is correct.

Your part

You choose what to share, you prepare the file, and you check the answer against the original. What you are allowed to share is your decision, not the tool’s.

Step 1: Decide if you need a file at all

If the information is short, such as a paragraph, a price list or a message, copy it and paste it as plain text. This is the simplest way and usually the most accurate. Use a file when the material is long, is a photo, or has a layout you cannot paste.

Step 2: Know the common kinds of file

• Plain text and Word documents (.txt, .docx): normally read well. Remove anything private first.
• PDF (.pdf): there are two kinds. A text PDF was made on a computer, and you can select and copy its words. A scanned PDF is only a picture of a page. A scanned PDF may be read less accurately, so check it closely.
• Photos and screenshots (.jpg, .png): good for a handwritten note, a price list, a receipt or a screen. Quality matters a lot (see step 3).
• Spreadsheets (.xlsx, .csv): a CSV file is a plain list of values separated by commas, which is simple for a tool to read. If your tool struggles with a spreadsheet, export the sheet you need as CSV (in most spreadsheet apps: File, Download or Save as, CSV).
• Voice notes and recordings (.mp3, .m4a, .wav): some tools can turn speech into text. Others cannot. Check what yours accepts, and read the text carefully, because names and numbers are often wrong.

Which files your tool accepts, and how big they can be, changes from tool to tool and from plan to plan. Check its official help page.

Step 3: Prepare a photo or scan

1. Put the page flat, in daylight or good light, with no shadow.
2. Hold the phone straight above it and get the whole page in the picture.
3. Check that you can read every word yourself. If you cannot, the AI probably cannot either. Retake it.

Step 4: Keep it small and focused

Tools can only keep a limited amount of material in view at once. You can think of it like a desk: if you cover it with a 300-page book, things fall off the edge and the tool starts to miss or forget parts. Give it only the pages you need, such as the two pages of a contract that you have a question about, not the whole file.

Step 5: Remove private details

Before you upload, black out or delete ID numbers, bank and card details, passwords, home addresses and other people’s private information. For a photo, cover those parts before you take it.

Step 6: Ask a test question and check it

Read the attached file. Tell me what kind of document it is and list the names, numbers and dates you can see in it. If any part is unclear or missing, say so instead of guessing.

Compare the list with the original, item by item. If the AI missed something or invented something, fix the file or type that part in as text, then ask again.

Troubleshooting

• The tool says it cannot read the file: try another type (photo instead of PDF, CSV instead of spreadsheet), or paste the text.
• Answers ignore part of the file: send fewer pages, and ask about one section at a time.
• Slow connection or costly data: prepare and check the file first, then upload on Wi-Fi, or paste only the key text.

Value check

Try this on three real files. Note how long it takes you to prepare and check each one, and whether the answer was correct. Keep using files only for the jobs where it saved you time without mistakes.