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Beginner Guide

How to Use SpecLens

A dead-simple, step-by-step guide. No technical skills needed — if you can attach a file to an email, you can use SpecLens.

7 steps
·~5 min read·~5 min to do

The Short Version

SpecLens reads your vendor documents and creates a side-by-side comparison table so you can see which product is best — without spending hours reading PDFs manually.

1. Sign up
2. Upload
3. Label
4. Describe
5. Start
6. Results
7. Export

Before You Start

What You Need

  • An email address — to create your free account
  • Your vendor documents — datasheets, proposals, or brochures (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or web page)
  • Optionally, your RFP — if you want to check how well vendors meet your requirements

Supported File Types

PDF

.pdf

Word

.doc, .docx

Excel

.xls, .xlsx

PowerPoint

.ppt, .pptx

Web Page

.html, .htm

Max file size: 50 MB per file · Up to 5 documents per comparison

Choose Your Workflow

SpecLens auto-detects which workflow to use based on how you label your documents:

Single Vendor Analysis

1 document

Upload 1 vendor document to get a detailed breakdown of all specifications and an executive report.

Use when: You want to understand what a single product offers before purchasing.

Multi-Vendor Comparison

2+ documents

Upload 2 or more vendor documents to get a side-by-side comparison matrix with a recommended pick.

Use when: You have competing products and need to decide which one is best.

RFP Compliance Check

1 RFP + vendors

Upload your RFP + 1 or more vendor responses to see which vendors meet your requirements.

Use when: You sent out an RFP and need to score vendor responses against your requirements.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Follow each step below. The whole process takes about 5 minutes.

1

Create Your Free Account

Takes about 1 minute

a

Go to speclens.ai and click "Start Free Comparison".

b

Sign up with Email + Password or Google Sign-In (one click).

c

If you used email, check your inbox and click the verification link.

d

Done! You'll land on the upload page automatically.

Screenshot: Sign-up modal with email and Google options

Screenshot coming soon

First comparison is completely free — no credit card needed.

2

Upload Your Documents

Drag and drop or browse files

Two ways to add documents:

Option A: File Upload

  1. Drag files onto the dashed box
  2. OR click the box to browse
  3. Select up to 5 files

Option B: Paste a URL

  1. Click "Add by URL"
  2. Paste a product page URL
  3. Click "Add URL"

Screenshot: File upload dropzone with uploaded files listed below

Screenshot coming soon

You can mix files and URLs in the same comparison.

Files must not be password-protected or corrupted. SpecLens can't read locked files.

3

Label Each Document

Tell SpecLens what each file is

For each file, do two things:

3a. Choose the Document Role

Vendor

Product datasheet, proposal, or brochure from a seller.

Requirements

YOUR document listing what you need (RFP, requirements spec).

3b. Give Each a Short Name

This name becomes the column header in your comparison table.

"dell-poweredge-r760-spec.pdf" → Dell PowerEdge R760

"hpe-proliant-dl380.pdf" → HPE ProLiant DL380

"our-server-rfp.docx" → Our RFP

Screenshot: Document role selector (Vendor/Requirements toggle) and product name input

Screenshot coming soon

Most people label everything as "Vendor". Only use "Requirements" if you have an actual RFP document.

4

Describe Your Comparison

Help the AI understand what matters

Fill in the text boxes below the file list:

Required

Run Name

Short title so you can find it later

Server comparison for datacenter upgrade

Required

Description

What are you comparing? 1-2 sentences.

Comparing rack servers from Dell and HPE for our new datacenter.

Required

Purpose

What decision will this help you make?

Pick a server vendor for 50-rack deployment. Compare performance, power, support.

Optional

Key Features to Compare

CPU performance, RAM, power consumption, warranty, price

Optional

Additional Considerations

Must integrate with VMware. Budget is $500K.

Screenshot: Comparison form with Run Name, Description, and Purpose fields

Screenshot coming soon

Not sure about optional fields? Skip them — just fill in the three required fields and the AI handles the rest.

5

Start the Comparison

One click, then AI takes over

a

Check the credits panel at the bottom — your first run is free!

b

Click the blue "Start Comparison" button.

c

Watch the progress bar as AI processes your documents:

Extraction
Normalization
Consolidation
Comparison
Report

Under 20 min — our multi-stage pipeline ensures accuracy. You can close the browser — processing continues in the background.

Screenshot: Processing progress bar showing pipeline stages

Screenshot coming soon

Button grayed out? Scroll up and check for red error messages on required fields.

6

View Your Results

Explore the AI-generated comparison

Your results dashboard has multiple tabs:

Comparison

Side-by-side table of every specification across all vendors

Executive Report

AI-written summary with recommendations, strengths, and risks

Ask

Chat interface — ask any question about the comparison and get cited answers

Vendor Specs

Full list of every specification extracted from each vendor

RFP Compliance

Requirements vs vendor capabilities matrix (RFP workflows only)

Gaps & Unique

Specs that one vendor has but others don't

Pricing

Price comparison table (if pricing data was found in docs)

Screenshot: Results comparison table with side-by-side vendor specifications

Screenshot coming soon

Click any spec value to see the source document, page number, and exact text it came from.

Use the Ask tab for questions like "Which server has the best power efficiency?" — the AI answers with citations.

7

Export & Share

Download reports or share with your team

Export Your Results

Click "Export" in the top-right corner and choose a format:

Excel (.xlsx)

Multi-sheet spreadsheet with all specs and analysis

PDF Report

Formatted report ready for stakeholder presentations

PowerPoint (.pptx)

Presentation-ready slides with comparison data

CSV

Simple tabular data for custom analysis

Share with Your Team

Click "Share" to generate a link or invite people by email. They can view without needing an account.

Screenshot: Export dropdown with Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, CSV options

Screenshot coming soon

Common Questions

Ready to Try It?

Your first comparison is free. Upload your vendor documents and see the magic in minutes.