Death of the PDF? Why dynamic documents are the future of business

Like an old friend, the PDF is still there for you whenever you need it — you open it, sign it (if you use the right software), and send it back without printing a thing.

However, you won't be able to do much else. That's because Adobe, its creator, designed the PDF for a completely different time — 1993, not 2025.

The big issue here is that PDFs are completely static. Once created, it may be tough to change a file or any of the content in it. It's like everything's frozen in time.

So, what's the alternative?

How PDFs became a problem

PDFs may not seem like a big deal now, but they were pretty revolutionary when they first came out. Because of its universal format and reliable display, a PDF ensures everything in a document — text, images, layout, etc. — appears the same on any screen.

However, as the years have passed, business needs have evolved far beyond what PDFs offer.

That’s because updating a PDF, which is a static file format, can be tricky and time-consuming. You'll need to manually edit it or recreate it entirely, which zaps up costs and resources.

PDF editors like Lumin can certainly help in many circumstances, but even these tools have some limitations, and you probably won't be able to change more complex layouts or formatting. Plus, spending too much time manually editing PDFs is just poor document management, which accounts for 21.3% of productivity loss.

Another issue with PDFs is that they don't have built-in version control, making it hard to track edits made by your team.

What makes a document dynamic?

A dynamic document can be continuously updated by multiple users across multiple devices, with changes always showing up in real time. Think of a Wikipedia article or a Google Doc, which are examples of dynamic docs. Both are easily editable and shareable, and they have version control capabilities that track every single edit made.

So, how do dynamic documents work in practice?

Well, say you wanted to update a contract or other legal agreement. Instead of painstakingly recreating the document from scratch, you can make as many modifications as you'd like, from adjusting a few lines of text to altering the entire formatting.

All this allows for more flexibility, as well as potential time and cost savings.

Static documents and dynamic documents aren't mutually exclusive. Instead, the concepts of "static" and "dynamic" exist on a spectrum, and some documents combine elements of both. These are called semi-dynamic documents.

Key features of a dynamic document include:

• Be easy to edit without additional software or lots of technical skills
• Have collaborative features, such as the ability to leave comments
• Incorporate intelligence assistance for document creation and editing
• Track changes and maintain a history of those changes

Benefits of dynamic documents

Some of the advantages of dynamic documents include:

• Time savings: Switching to dynamic documents is one way to automate your document management process. Research shows that document automation can save up to 82% of your time when generating contracts and other legal documents.
• Reducing errors: Automatic updates, tracked changes, and other features in dynamic documents could reduce human error by some margin.
• Consistency: Dynamic documents automatically populate with the latest information, ensuring consistency across all docs linked to the same data source.
• Collaboration: Multiple team members are able to work on the same dynamic document at once.
• Integration: Dynamic documents can sync with customer relationship management (CRM) systems and other tools, meaning everyone has access to the latest information.

Transforming static documents into dynamic documents

Now, you can convert static, uneditable documents into dynamic documents — and update and customize them just how you like.

AI-powered agreement creation and editing tools, like Lumin's AgreementGen, do all the hard work for you, automatically identifying and converting static text into interactive form fields. An AI assistant will guide you as you edit documents like old PDFs, making document management so much easier than before.

This all means you can rework, repurpose, and redesign all those legacy documents in your business over the years, even if you lack technical skills.

The future of business documents

AI-powered tools do more than just convert static PDFs into living, interactive, and intelligent documents. Among other things, they can create professional legal agreements from scratch, including NDAs and service contracts. AI assistants provide intelligent suggestions for terms, clauses, and language so you can meet business standards and comply with requirements in your industry.

And this is just the start of it all. Imagine what AI could do for document editing and creation five or 10 years from now. It's anyone's guess what the future holds, but expect more collaboration, interaction, and automation.

Shift from static to dynamic documents

PDFs aren't going anywhere just yet, but dynamic documents are becoming the go-to choice for companies that crave collaboration, customization, and flexibility. And with the right tool, you can convert all your old uneditable PDFs into documents that are far more valuable and intelligent for your business. You'll still be able to preserve your old content without dealing with rigid formats and overly complex workflows.

AgreementGen, currently in beta, transforms static documents into engines of business growth. You can import your existing PDFs into its intelligent workspace and transform them into dynamic documents that are easily editable and customizable.

We're looking for feedback from users on their experiences with AgreementGen and how we can improve it.

Try AgreementGen today for free and see how much time you can save.