What you need
Start with an imported PDF or EPUB, an internet connection, and a ChatGPT account eligible for the app’s connection method. Your account’s Codex access and usage limits apply. Device-code login must be allowed in your ChatGPT security settings or workspace permissions. Reader does not include a subscription or an API-key fallback.
Read the privacy policy’s ChatGPT section before sending text. An online action sends selected text and relevant context directly to OpenAI, and the provider’s data practices apply.
Connect your account
- Open Settings from the Library, then find the AI and Account sections.
- Choose ChatGPT and tap Sign in to ChatGPT.
- Use Continue in browser to open the provider’s page. Enter the displayed code and approve the connection there.
- Return to Reader and choose a model available to your account. If model discovery is unavailable, you can enter an account-supported model ID.
- Use Test Connection to check that the chosen model accepts a request. A successful sign-in or a listed model alone does not guarantee inference access.
Ask about selected text
The first online reading action asks for permission to share selected text and relevant context with OpenAI. Read the disclosure and choose Allow and continue, or Not now to keep reading without sending the passage. You can withdraw this permission in Settings → Privacy & Support.
Open your book and select a word or passage. Use the selection’s reading action menu:
- Explain: ask for a short explanation in context. Reader can include the book title, current location, preceding text, and relevant earlier excerpts.
- Translate: translate the selected passage into the language set in Reading Settings. Surrounding sentence text helps disambiguate meaning.
- Define: understand the selected word in its sentence, rather than receiving unrelated dictionary senses.
The app asks for responses grounded in the supplied passage and to avoid later plot details. AI can still make mistakes or reveal something you did not intend to learn. Compare the response with the source text and avoid using it as your only authority.
When an action is unavailable
A scanned PDF may contain no selectable text. Reader does not currently advertise built-in OCR, so you may need a PDF with a text layer or a publisher-provided EPUB. If your selection works but the request fails, check the chosen model, sign-in status, account permissions, and usage limits. See Reader support.
Disconnect when you want
In AI settings, choose Disconnect account to remove the local credential. It does not cancel your ChatGPT subscription or delete information already processed by OpenAI. Provider-side account and grant controls remain with OpenAI.
ChatGPT is the only connected online provider currently supported. Flashcards and learning features are coming soon; they are not part of this workflow.