AI is increasingly used to read, organize, edit, and extract information from PDF files. Specialized PDF skills make these workflows more reliable by helping AI agents summarize documents, convert formats, extract tables, compare files, fill forms, and create polished PDFs. By turning complex document tasks into repeatable workflows, these skills reduce manual effort and improve accuracy. This article introduces practical AI skills for handling PDFs more efficiently.
What is an AI PDF skill?
An AI PDF skill is a reusable workflow that helps AI agents handle PDF-related tasks more effectively. It guides agents through processes such as creating documents, extracting information, converting file formats, summarizing content, and reviewing PDF files while maintaining accuracy and formatting. These skills help streamline document workflows and make PDF processing more consistent across different use cases.
Explore 2 PDF skills in Kimi
If you're looking for ready-to-use AI solutions, Kimi offers dedicated PDF skills for common document tasks. These skills help you convert, create, edit, and process PDF files using structured workflows instead of relying on generic prompts. Below are 2 Kimi PDF skills that can help streamline your document workflows.
| Skill name | Description |
|---|---|
| md-to-pdf | Convert Markdown documents to PDF format. Use when the user needs to transform .md files into .pdf, including documentation export, report generation, or document sharing. Supports multiple conversion methods from simple to advanced formatting needs. |
| Professional PDF solution. Create PDFs using HTML+Paged.js (academic papers, reports, documents). Process existing PDFs using Python (read, extract, merge, split, fill forms). Supports KaTeX math formulas, Mermaid diagrams, three-line tables, citations, and other academic elements. Also, use this skill when the user explicitly requests LaTeX (.tex) or native LaTeX compilation. |
Beyond general PDF creation and processing, Kimi also includes specialized skills that generate professional PDF reports for research, analysis, and business workflows. These skills help transform complex information into structured, publication-ready documents for specific scenarios.
| Skill name | Description |
|---|---|
| vc-industry-research | Generate professional primary market/venture capital industry research reports, including sector deep-dives, investment memos, and market analysis. Produces detailed PDF reports covering TMT, consumer, healthcare, and industrials. Triggered by requests to analyze an industry, create a market report, write a sector deep-dive, or generate any PE/VC-style research document in Chinese or English. |
| equity-research | Analyze companies and generate investment research for Chinese A-shares, HK stocks, and US stocks. Two output modes: (1) Tear Sheet — concise 3-5 page PDF. (2) Equity Report — in-depth> 25-page PDF with financial model. Triggered by ANY company analysis request including: 'analyze [company]', 'look into [stock]', 'what do you think of [company]', 'tell me about [stock]', 'research [company]', or explicit keywords: 'tear sheet', 'one pager', 'deep dive', 'equity report', or any stock code (e.g., 600519.SH, 0700.HK, AAPL). When intent is ambiguous, ask the user whether they want a report or just a quick conversational answer. |
| daily-report | Generate a professional daily intelligence brief PDF covering global geopolitics, macro policy, industrial supply chains, and tech trends. Use when the user needs a comprehensive daily report similar to institutional research formats. |
How to use Kimi's built-in AI PDF skills?
Kimi makes it simple to complete PDF-related tasks with built-in AI skills. Choose the appropriate skill, describe what you need, and Kimi will follow the skill's workflow to process your document. Here's how to get started.
Step 1: Input a skill command
Enter a skill command such as /pdf in the chat box to activate Kimi's PDF skill for creating, editing, extracting, or processing PDF documents.
Step 2: Start your task
Describe what you want Kimi to do with your PDF, and it will use the selected skill to complete the task following its specialized workflow.
Example prompt:
Then Kimi automatically researches the topic, organizes relevant information, and generates structured outputs with clear formatting, helping you complete tasks more efficiently.
Step 3: Review and download your PDF
Check the generated PDF or processed document, make any changes if needed, and download the final version for sharing or future use.
10 open-source PDF skills you need to try
Open-source PDF skills help AI agents handle a wider range of document workflows with specialized methods. You can deploy these community-built skills in Kimi to support tasks such as creating, editing, converting, extracting, reviewing, and automating PDF processing. Below are 10 open-source PDF skills worth exploring for improving your document workflows.
| Skill name | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| pdf-pro | Professional PDF creation, editing, review, conversion, extraction, visual verification, forms, redaction, CLI automation, and presentation-quality layout design using Python tools (reportlab, pypdf, pdfplumber). | https://github.com/DXBMark/pdf-pro |
| book-to-skill | Turn any technical book PDF into a Claude Code skill that extracts, structures, and converts PDF/EPUB content into reusable agent skills with chapter-based progressive disclosure. | https://github.com/virgiliojr94/book-to-skill |
| openpaper | Open-source AI agent skills for managing research libraries, reading, annotating, and understanding academic papers (PDF) with AI-assisted literature review capabilities. | https://github.com/khoj-ai/openpaper |
| pdf-viewer-sdk-skills | Platform-specific PDF viewer SDK skills for Blazor, React, Angular, Vue, Flutter, MAUI, and more may provide structured SKILL.md guides for integrating PDF viewing capabilities. | https://github.com/syncfusion/pdf-viewer-sdk-skills |
| document-skills | Professional document creation, editing, and analysis across Word, PDF, PowerPoint, and Excel formats, including PDF text/table extraction and document merging workflows. | https://github.com/travisjneuman/.claude/tree/main/document-skills |
| office-automation | Comprehensive office automation skills covering PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint processing with batch operations, format conversion, and document template generation. | https://github.com/texiaoyao/office-automation-skill |
| document-illustrator | AI-powered illustration generation that analyzes document content (including PDF) and creates styled images for each key topic, supports gradient glassmorphism, ticket-stub, and flat vector styles. | https://github.com/op7418/document-illustrator-skill |
| pdf-to-markdown | Standalone CLI wrapper and docs for Nutrient's PDF-to-Markdown extractor, which converts PDF documents to structured Markdown format for further processing. | https://github.com/topics/skill-md |
| research-paper-review | Systematic academic paper review skill with numerical consistency checks, structured critique, and venue-specific feedback processes for PDF research papers for peer-review-style analysis. | https://github.com/BESSER-PEARL/research-agent-skills |
| kreuzberg | Universal document extraction library supporting 91+ formats. Extracts text, tables, metadata, and images from PDF and other document types with a unified interface. | https://github.com/kreuzberg-dev/kreuzberg |
How to use open-source AI PDF skills in Kimi?
Installing an open-source PDF skill in Kimi only takes a few steps. Once installed, you can use it just like any built-in skill to handle your PDF workflows. The following are some simple steps to using these skills in Kimi.
Step 1: Enter a prompt
Open Kimi and paste the URL of the open-source PDF skill you want to install, along with a clear prompt asking Kimi to add and configure the skill for your workspace.
Example prompt:
Step 2: Let AI install the skill automatically
Kimi downloads the required files, configures the skill, and adds it to your workspace automatically. After installation, the skill is ready to use.
Step 3: Use the skill
Open the installed skill, enter your PDF task, and let Kimi process it according to the skill's workflow.
Take AI PDF skills further with custom skill development
Kimi also lets you create your own PDF skills from existing documents. This is useful when you want AI to follow your preferred document workflows, formatting rules, or processing methods for future PDF tasks. Here's how you can create a custom skill from a document in Kimi.
Step 1: Access the "Document to skills" tool
Open Kimi Skills and choose "Document to skills" to begin creating a custom PDF skill.
Step 2: Upload the files
Upload the PDF documents, templates, guides, or workflow instructions that you want Kimi to learn from. It will organize the content into a reusable AI skill.
Step 3: Create and use your skills
After processing is complete, your custom PDF skill is ready to use. You can apply it to similar document tasks, such as extracting information, reviewing files, generating reports, or creating formatted PDFs more consistently.
You can update the skill whenever needed or export it as an .md file to reuse, share, and apply it across different projects.
Pro tips for working with AI PDF skills
Before using AI PDF skills regularly, following a few simple practices can help you get better results. A thoughtful approach allows AI to process documents more accurately, reduce unnecessary revisions, and create smoother workflows. Here are some practical tips to help you get the most out of these AI skills.
Choose the right PDF skill for your task
Different PDF tasks require different workflows. Select skills designed for specific needs, such as summarizing reports, extracting data, analyzing documents, or converting PDF content, to get more accurate results. Using a task-specific skill also reduces errors and improves the quality of the final output.
Provide clear instructions and document context
AI performs better when PDF skills include detailed task requirements, expected output formats, and relevant document background. Clear guidance helps AI understand what information to focus on and how to process it. This makes the results more relevant and minimizes the need for manual corrections.
Combine PDF skills with structured workflows
For complex document tasks, combine multiple skills to create step-by-step workflows, such as extracting information first, analyzing key points next, and generating a final report. Breaking work into stages helps produce more organized and consistent results.
Create custom PDF skills for repeated tasks
If you frequently process similar PDF files, turn your preferred instructions, formats, and processing steps into custom skills. This helps AI handle recurring document workflows more consistently. It also saves time by eliminating the need to repeat the same instructions for every task.
Review and refine skill instructions over time
Improve your PDF skills by updating instructions based on output quality and changing needs. Continuous refinement helps AI deliver more reliable results for different document types. Small improvements over time can significantly enhance the accuracy and consistency of future outputs.
Conclusion
Managing documents becomes easier when AI can understand tasks and follow structured workflows without repeated manual input. PDF skills help simplify document handling by making processes like analysis, editing, and organization more efficient. Explore Kimi to create and use AI skills that fit your daily document needs. Start using Kimi today to make PDF tasks simpler and more productive.