Traditional PDF search relies on exact keyword matching, making it nearly impossible to find information when you don’t know the precise terminology. Researchers, students, and professionals waste hours manually skimming through hundreds of pages. Existing AI solutions require uploading sensitive documents to cloud services, creating privacy and security concerns. That’s why I created SmartReader - a completely free desktop application that enables natural language querying of PDF documents using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), running completely offline. SmartReader can handle large PDF files (900+ pages) without breaking a sweat. Upload your PDF document, wait for it to be indexed (only happens the first time) and use the built in AI Assistant to synthesize, discuss or retrieve the required information in seconds. SmartReader saves you time, which is exceptionally valuable in research, finance and medical environments. The desktop app was built with non-technical personnel in mind. It comes with a setup wizard that installs everything (all of the models and tools required) on its own! You will have to, however, install Ollama manually since it requires administrative privileges, which, if an outsider app has, could put you at risk. The total size comes down to merely 2GBs - you can put SmartReader in any modern day USB and have it on you everywhere you go! The interactive GUI is as simple as it can get - load your PDF and use the chat box to type your queries to the built in AI.

Grab your copy of SmartReader for free from the here

Keep in mind, the tool is still in development. I do my best to improve it every single day, but a bug might slip by, so if you notice something off, contact me immediately.