Ask questions of a long co-op program guide with Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant

What This Does

A retailer's co-op program guide can run to dozens of pages, and the answer you need is usually in a table on page 31 and a footnote on page 38. AI Assistant in Acrobat lets you ask the PDF questions and gives answers with numbered citations that point back to the passage. You use it to find claim deadlines, required documents, eligible media and pre-approval rules, then you read the passages yourself.

Before You Start

• You have Adobe Acrobat on your computer with the PDF open. Adobe's help page describes AI Assistant as asking questions about a PDF and getting answers with source citations. Where it appears depends on your Acrobat plan and version. Look for an AI Assistant button or icon in the toolbar or side panel, and check Adobe's pricing page or ask IT if you cannot find it.
• You have checked whether the program guide is confidential. Retailer and dealer program guides often sit under the vendor agreement, and some companies bar uploading them to AI features. Read the agreement and your company's AI policy first, and look at Acrobat's data and privacy settings for how your files are handled.
• The PDF is the current version of the guide. Ask the retailer's program contact if you are unsure.

Steps

1. Open the guide and find AI Assistant

Open the program guide PDF in Acrobat. Look for AI Assistant in the toolbar or side panel. Adobe's page says it answers questions about the open document, so you do not need to copy text anywhere.

2. Ask one question at a time

Ask in plain words, and ask for the citation each time. Four prompts cover most of what you need:

1. "What are the deadlines for submitting a co-op claim, and what happens if a claim is late? Cite each answer."
2. "List every document the guide says must accompany a claim. Cite each one."
3. "Which media types does the guide say are eligible, and which does it exclude? Cite each one."
4. "Does the guide say any ad or promotion needs approval before it runs? Say who approves it and how far ahead, with citations. If the guide does not say, answer 'not in the document'."

Adobe's page also describes suggested follow-up questions, which you can use to narrow in on a section.

3. Click every citation

Adobe's page says answers carry numbered citations that highlight the source in the document. Click each one and read the passage. Accept a date, a deadline or a rule only when the passage says it in plain terms. When a question returns an answer with no citation, or the highlighted text does not say what the answer claims, treat it as "not in the document" and ask the retailer.

4. Write the claim checklist yourself

Copy the confirmed items into your own co-op claim checklist with the page number next to each. Keep the checklist as your working record and share it with the people who submit claims.

Real Example

Scenario: An invented guide titled "Retailer A Co-op Program Guide" for the Brand X SPRING-A promotion.

What you do: Ask the four prompts in step 2.

What you get: For the deadline prompt, a short answer with numbered citations. You click citation 1, find the paragraph on claim timing, and note the page. For the pre-approval prompt, the assistant says "not in the document". You email Retailer A's program contact to ask instead of assuming there is no rule.

Tips

• Ask about one topic per question. Long compound questions give vague answers with fewer citations.
• If the guide has an appendix with exceptions, ask a separate question about exceptions to each rule you rely on.
• AI Assistant does not tell you whether you qualify for anything. It reports what the document says, and your retailer contact confirms it.

Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar AI Assistant options in the same toolbar or side panel.