ChatGPT Plugin for Aspose.PDF
How to Automate PDF Content Summarization Using ChatGPT and .NET

How to Automate PDF Content Summarization Using ChatGPT and .NET

Automating the summarization of PDF documents with AI unlocks powerful efficiencies for .NET developers, knowledge workers, and automation teams. In this guide, you’ll learn how to extract text from PDF files using Aspose.PDF Plugin for .NET, send content to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and parse concise AI-generated summaries—fully programmatically.

Prerequisites

  • Aspose.PDF.Plugin installed via NuGet
  • OpenAI API access and key (or Azure OpenAI Service)
  • .NET 6+ project
  • Internet access for ChatGPT requests

1. Extracting Text from PDF

Use Aspose.PDF.Plugin’s TextExtractor to extract text from PDF content for AI processing.

using Aspose.Pdf.Plugins;

string inputPath = @"C:\Docs\sample.pdf";
var extractor = new TextExtractor();
var options = new TextExtractorOptions();
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource(inputPath));
var resultContainer = extractor.Process(options);
string textContent = resultContainer.ResultCollection[0].ToString();

2. Sending Content to ChatGPT

Send extracted text to ChatGPT for summarization. (Use HttpClient to call OpenAI API with your API key and a prompt.)

using System.Net.Http;
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using System.Text;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

string apiKey = "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY";
string prompt = $"Summarize the following PDF content in 5 bullet points:\n{textContent}";

var httpClient = new HttpClient();
httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", apiKey);
var requestBody = new
{
    model = "gpt-3.5-turbo",
    messages = new[]
    {
        new { role = "system", content = "You are a helpful assistant that summarizes PDF content." },
        new { role = "user", content = prompt }
    }
};
string jsonBody = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(requestBody);
var response = await httpClient.PostAsync(
    "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
    new StringContent(jsonBody, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json")
);
string responseString = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
// Parse summary from responseString

3. Parsing & Saving AI Summaries

Extract the summary from ChatGPT’s API JSON response and store it as needed (e.g., in a database, file, or back into a new PDF).

4. Error Handling

  • Handle API rate limits, network errors, and malformed responses.
  • Validate extracted text before sending to AI.
  • Log all operations for traceability.

5. Security Note

Never send confidential PDFs to cloud AI services unless compliance is confirmed. For on-premises AI, consider deploying a local LLM.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I summarize scanned PDFs? A: Only if they have been OCR’d or contain selectable text. Otherwise, use OCR plugins first.

Q: Is this secure for confidential documents? A: Only send data to ChatGPT if your privacy requirements permit. Consider local processing for sensitive content.

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