"PDF Remediation Takes Forever"
"PDFs are a proverbial tool of Satan and not to use them. But we have thousands of PDF course materials already created."
— IT Director, r/highereducation (31 upvotes)
Manual PDF remediation takes 10+ hours per document. Here's how to speed it up 10x with AI automation.
10-15 hours
Manual remediation per PDF (typical)
1-2 hours
With Aelira AI automation (90% faster)
Why PDF Remediation Is So Slow
1. Scanned Images (No OCR)
Many PDFs are just scanned images. Text isn't selectable, searchable, or accessible to screen readers.
Manual fix: Retype all text, or run OCR and manually correct errors (5-8 hours per document)
2. No Document Structure
PDFs lack semantic headings (H1, H2, H3). Screen readers can't navigate the document.
Manual fix: Manually tag every heading, paragraph, list, table (3-4 hours per document)
3. Missing Alt Text on Images
Images, charts, and diagrams have no descriptions. Blind students can't understand visual content.
Manual fix: Write descriptive alt text for every image (2-3 hours per document)
4. Tables Without Structure
Data tables need header rows/columns tagged for screen reader navigation.
Manual fix: Tag table headers, scope attributes (1-2 hours per document)
Total Manual Remediation Time
OCR + error correction: 5-8 hours
Structure tagging: 3-4 hours
Alt text for images: 2-3 hours
Table structure: 1-2 hours
11-17 hours per PDF (average)
× 100 PDFs per course = 1,100-1,700 hours of work
How Aelira Speeds This Up 10x
1. Automatic OCR
Tesseract 5.5.0 at 300 DPI extracts all text from scanned PDFs automatically.
Time saved: 5-8 hours 5 seconds
2. AI Structure Detection
Heuristics + AI detect headings, paragraphs, lists, and generate semantic tags.
Time saved: 3-4 hours 30 seconds
3. Batch Alt Text Generation
AI analyzes all images and generates context-aware alt text descriptions.
Time saved: 2-3 hours 1-2 minutes
4. One-Click Export
Export accessible HTML with all structure, alt text, and ARIA labels ready.
Time saved: 1-2 hours 10 seconds
Total Time with Aelira
Automated processing: ~5 seconds
Review AI-generated content: 30-60 minutes
Manual fixes (edge cases): 30-60 minutes
1-2 hours per PDF (average)
× 100 PDFs per course = 100-200 hours of work
Save 1,000+ hours per course
Real Example: Large University History Department
Manual Remediation
- Files: 850 PDFs (lecture notes, syllabi, readings)
- Time per PDF: 12 hours average
- Total time: 10,200 hours
- Cost (at $75/hr): $765,000
- Completion: 14 months (with 3 FTE staff)
Misses April 2026 deadline by 10 months.
With Aelira
- Files: 850 PDFs (same workload)
- Time per PDF: 1.5 hours average
- Total time: 1,275 hours
- Cost: $11,988/year (software) + $95,625 (labor)
- Completion: 2 months (with 1 FTE staff)
Meets April 2026 deadline with time to spare.
Total Savings
Time Saved
8,925 hours
Money Saved
$657K
Faster Completion
12 months
Stop Spending 10+ Hours Per PDF
Automate 90% of PDF remediation work with Aelira AI.
30-day free trial · Process up to 10 PDFs free
See PDF Automation Demo
Watch Aelira process a 50-page scanned PDF in under 5 seconds. Join 500+ universities preparing for April 2026.