Extract data from PDFs and create a searchable collection

What you will achieve

By the end of this tutorial you will have a complete flow: upload a PDF, extract structured data with AI, and allow an agent to answer questions based on that information. Estimated time: 20 minutes.

Prerequisites

• An active Rela AI account with dashboard access
• A test PDF file (e.g., equipment data sheet, purchase order, or certificate)
• A configured agent (optional, for the query step)

Step 1: Create an extraction template

1. In the sidebar, go to Data > Templates.
2. Click New Template.
3. Define the fields you want to extract:

4. Assign a name to the template: Equipment Data Sheet.
5. Click Save.

You should see the template listed in the table with the 5 configured fields.

Step 2: Upload a PDF document

1. Go to Data > Extractions.
2. Click New Extraction.
3. Select the template Equipment Data Sheet.
4. Drag your PDF file to the upload area or click to select it.
5. Click Start Extraction.

You should see a progress indicator while the AI analyzes the document.

Step 3: The AI extracts the fields

1. Wait for the status to change to Completed (usually 10-30 seconds).
2. Review the results in the preview:

{
  "serial_number": "SN-2024-00847",
  "manufacturer": "Siemens",
  "manufacturing_date": "2024-03-15",
  "power_kw": 75,
  "voltage": 480
}

You should see each extracted field with its value and a confidence indicator.

Step 4: Verify and save the data

1. Review each extracted field and correct any errors.
2. If everything looks correct, click Approve & Save.
3. The data is stored as a record within a collection.

You should see the saved record in Data > Collections inside the collection associated with the template.

Step 5: Create a query tool

1. Go to Tools > New Tool.
2. Select the type Collection Query.
3. Configure:
   • Name: Query Equipment Sheets
   • Collection: select the collection for the Equipment Data Sheet template
   • Description for AI: Use this tool to look up technical equipment information such as serial number, manufacturer, power, and voltage.
4. Click Create.

You should see the tool listed and available for assignment to agents.

Step 6: The agent answers with extracted data

1. Go to Agents and select your agent.
2. In the Tools section, add Query Equipment Sheets.
3. Save the changes.
4. Send a message to the agent: What is the power rating for equipment SN-2024-00847?

You should see a response like: "Equipment SN-2024-00847 manufactured by Siemens has a rated power of 75 kW."

Summary

Next steps

• Process multiple PDFs in batch to load large volumes of documents
• Configure automatic extractions with processing rules
• Generate reports from extracted data