How to make AI answer from your files (PDFs and images)

Your menu is a photo, your price list is a PDF, your services are in a brochure — and your customers ask about them on WhatsApp every day. Instead of copying answers out of those files by hand, upload them once to ATMET Chat and let AI answer your customers from them around the clock.

This article explains which files the AI reads, how to upload them, how it uses them in its answers, and what it does when the answer isn't there.

What does it mean for AI to answer from your files?

The AI in ATMET Chat answers your customers from your business information: what you write in AI settings — the “Master instructions”, “About your business” and “Business policies” — and the files you upload under “Your business files”, your knowledge base.

When a customer asks something, the AI searches your files for the passages closest to the question and answers from their text. If a customer asks your restaurant how much a dish costs, the AI finds the price on the menu photo you uploaded and gives it.

The knowledge base is built for businesses without an online store. A store on Salla, Zid or Shopify gets its products and prices to the AI from the store itself, so it doesn't need to upload them.

When should you write information as text, and when should you upload a file?

Not everything needs a file. A simple rule:

• Write it in “About your business” if it's short, fixed and asked by most customers: your location, opening hours, payment methods, how to book or order. The AI knows it without searching.
• Write it in “Business policies” if it's a rule your business keeps: cancellations, refunds, delivery fees, warranties.
• Upload it as a file if it's long or detailed, or already sits in a file: the full menu, the price list, the services brochure, the catalogue, seasonal offers.

That way the AI finds the basics in your text directly and searches your files for the details.

Which files does the AI read?

The AI in ATMET Chat reads these types, each with a size limit:

• PDF — up to 20 MB and 200 pages.
• JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC images — up to 10 MB each.
• MP4 or MOV video — up to 90 MB and 10 minutes.
• MP3 or WAV audio — up to 25 MB and 30 minutes.
• TXT or Word (DOCX) text — up to 5 MB.

It doesn't read Excel, PowerPoint or old Word (DOC) files, or password-protected files. Save those as PDFs before uploading them.

How does the AI read a menu photo or a price list?

When you upload an image, the AI writes down everything in it — every word, number, price, name and table row — exactly as it appears, in its original language and without translating it. It keeps each price on the same line as its item, then adds a short description of what the image shows. That makes a menu photo, or a picture of the price board in your shop, a good source for its answers.

In a video, it transcribes what is said word for word and briefly describes the scenes, so if you have a video explaining your services or touring your clinic, the AI can answer from what was said in it. In audio, it transcribes the speech too.

The AI then searches that written text when a customer asks. The clearer the writing in the image and the cleaner the speech in the video, the more accurate the answer.

How do you upload your files?

1. Open “AI settings” in your dashboard.
2. Scroll to the “Your business files” card.
3. Press “Upload a file” and choose the file from your device.

Each file then shows its status:

• “Processing” — the AI is reading the file now; a video may take a few minutes.
• “Ready” — the AI answers from it.
• “Couldn't process” — the processing didn't finish, and the reason shows beside the file with what to do: a password-protected file means uploading a copy without the password, and a month's AI allowance running out means uploading it again once it renews.

A file larger or longer than its type's limit is refused at upload, with a message saying so.

You don't need to stay on the page while it processes; the status updates by itself.

What does an answer from your files look like?

An example: a restaurant uploads a photo of its menu, with each dish's price beside it. A customer asks, “How much is the burger?” The AI searches the restaurant's files, finds the burger line on the menu, and answers with the price written there.

When a question needs more than one file — say, the price of a service and how long it takes — the AI puts the answer together from the passages it finds. It answers only from the text in your files and adds nothing of its own.

What happens when the AI can't find the answer in your files?

The AI doesn't guess, and it doesn't say “we don't offer that”. When neither your files nor your business information answer the question, it hands the conversation to your team:

• The AI stops replying in that conversation, and the customer is told your team will take it from there.
• You're alerted in the dashboard, by email, and on your WhatsApp alerts number if you have a number connected through ATMET Chat channels.

That way your customer never gets wrong information, and you learn which questions your files are missing.

When does the AI start replying in that conversation again?

After the AI hands a conversation to your team, it answers the customer's next message once 24 hours have passed with no reply from your team or from the AI — even if the customer kept writing in the meantime. It comes back right away if you remove the escalation label from the conversation. So your customer isn't left unanswered when your team is busy.

What if a file disagrees with your business information?

What you write yourself in “About your business” and “Business policies” wins over what's in your files. If a price changes, update it in your written text even before you replace the file, and the AI will go by what you wrote.

Better still, delete the old file and upload the new one whenever your price list changes, so there are never two versions.

What should you upload for your kind of business?

• Restaurants and cafés — the menu photo or file, the delivery areas, current offers.
• Clinics — the services and prices file and the doctors' schedule. The AI answers with the doctors' hours as the schedule gives them, but it can't see booked appointments and doesn't book: if your business information says how to book, it gives the patient that; otherwise it hands the request to your front desk.
• Salons — the list of services and prices, or a photo of the price board in your shop.
• Real estate — project brochures, floor plans and tour videos.
• Home services — the price list, the areas you cover, your warranty terms.
• Education and training — the course schedule, fees and registration requirements.

Which number does the AI answer from your files on?

The AI answers from your files on the number it replies on:

• If you have a number on the official WhatsApp API — the AI answers there, and it starts switched on.
• If your number is connected through ATMET Chat channels only — the AI answers there once you switch it on in AI settings.

If you have both, on two different numbers, the AI answers on the official number only. The AI doesn't reply in WhatsApp groups; from the Pro plan, messages from the groups you choose show up in your inbox for your team to answer.

Which plan includes the knowledge base?

The business plans from Pro, together with AI replies on WhatsApp. The free trial of the business plans opens every Ultra feature for 14 days with no card, the knowledge base included, so you can try it with your real files before choosing a plan.

Understanding the images, voice notes and PDFs your customers send is a different feature, from the Ultra plan, which you switch on in AI settings.

How do you get more accurate answers from your files?

• Make prices readable — a sharp menu photo beats a tilted or dark one, and a typed PDF beats a scanned one.
• One file per topic — prices in one file, policies in another, the services guide in a third. It helps the AI find the right passage.
• Delete the old ones — don't keep two price lists from different years.
• Write the basics in “About your business” — your location, opening hours and payment methods, so the AI knows them without searching.
• Read the conversations in the first week — the questions the AI handed to your team tell you what your files are missing.

How do you test the AI's answers before your customers see them?

Once your files show “Ready”, message your number from another phone with the questions your customers really ask, in their words: the price of a particular item, how long a service takes, whether you deliver to an area. Then compare each answer with the file itself.

If an answer comes back incomplete, the information usually isn't written clearly in the file, or is written two ways in two files. If the AI hands a question to your team, the information is in neither your files nor your business information. Add it as text in “About your business” if it's short, or in a file if it's long, then ask again.

How do you get started?

1. Sign up for ATMET Chat and connect your business number.
2. Write “About your business” and “Business policies” in AI settings.
3. Upload your files under “Your business files” and wait until they show “Ready”.
4. Send your number a question from another phone, and check the answer.

Compare the business plans and pick the one that fits on the pricing page.