Petal is an AI-driven document analysis platform that enables users to engage in natural language conversations with their documents and knowledge bases. The platform provides context-aware generative AI that delivers fully sourced, reliable answers by training on documents users trust, making it particularly valuable for research workflows and technical document comprehension.

The platform centralizes document storage and management through a cloud-based system with automatic metadata extraction, file deduplication, and specialized support for technical and scientific documents. Users can upload PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files, and other common text formats to create a unified knowledge repository.

Petal supports advanced research capabilities including single-document and multi-document chat functionality, enabling users to query multiple documents simultaneously and compare information across sources. The AI Table feature allows users to extract and compare data from selected documents using conversational queries, streamlining literature reviews and data analysis processes.

The platform includes comprehensive annotation and collaboration tools, allowing users to highlight text, add comments, and share documents through shareable links. Teams can collaborate efficiently with workspace sharing capabilities, eliminating the need for document exchange via email. Petal's AI assistant provides translation services across over 10 languages, summarization capabilities, explanation of complex topics in simplified language, and automatic identification of key points and arguments within documents.