Google converts PDFs to HTML before indexing them for search and AI Mode

Key points

• Martin Splitt says Google's converter turns PDFs into HTML, and the HTML version is what gets indexed, not the original file.
• Links inside PDFs are followed like regular web links because the converted HTML keeps them.
• Splitt is unsure whether images in PDFs get indexed and leaned toward no, saying this may change.
• Splitt says PDF size limits are larger than HTML limits but he did not know the exact figure; normal HTML limits reportedly apply after conversion.

Why it matters for marketers: Content teams publishing PDFs should make sure the text is selectable, since image-only PDFs may not rank; HTML remains the more reliable choice.