diff --git a/src/server/modules/ContentChunk/index.ts b/src/server/modules/ContentChunk/index.ts
index ce61616968cb8..4972883cdfcc5 100644
--- a/src/server/modules/ContentChunk/index.ts
+++ b/src/server/modules/ContentChunk/index.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@ import { Strategy } from 'unstructured-client/sdk/models/shared';
 
 import { NewChunkItem, NewUnstructuredChunkItem } from '@/database/schemas';
 import { ChunkingStrategy, Unstructured } from '@/libs/unstructured';
+import { getEnvironment } from '../../utils/env';
+import { knowledgeEnv } from '@/config/knowledge';
+
+// Get environment variable to control PDF processing method
+const USE_UNSTRUCTURED_FOR_PDF = getEnvironment('USE_UNSTRUCTURED_FOR_PDF') === 'true';
 
 export interface ChunkContentParams {
   content: Uint8Array;
@@ -26,7 +31,10 @@ export class ContentChunk {
   }
 
   isUsingUnstructured(params: ChunkContentParams) {
-    return params.fileType === 'application/pdf' && params.mode === 'hi-res';
+    return params.fileType === 'application/pdf' &&
+           USE_UNSTRUCTURED_FOR_PDF &&
+           !!knowledgeEnv.UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY &&
+           !!knowledgeEnv.UNSTRUCTURED_SERVER_URL;
   }
 
   async chunkContent(params: ChunkContentParams): Promise<ChunkResult> {
diff --git a/src/server/utils/env.test.ts b/src/server/utils/env.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a58fccf56aae7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/server/utils/env.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+import { getEnvironment, isDev, isOnServerSide } from './env';
+
+describe('env utils', () => {
+  describe('getEnvironment', () => {
+    it('should return empty string if process is undefined', () => {
+      const originalProcess = global.process;
+      // @ts-ignore
+      global.process = undefined;
+
+      expect(getEnvironment('TEST_KEY')).toBe('');
+
+      global.process = originalProcess;
+    });
+
+    it('should return empty string if env var not found', () => {
+      expect(getEnvironment('NON_EXISTENT_KEY')).toBe('');
+    });
+
+    it('should return env var value if exists', () => {
+      const originalEnv = process.env.TEST_KEY;
+      process.env.TEST_KEY = 'test-value';
+      expect(getEnvironment('TEST_KEY')).toBe('test-value');
+      process.env.TEST_KEY = originalEnv;
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('isDev', () => {
+    const originalNodeEnv = process.env.NODE_ENV;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      vi.resetModules();
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      process.env.NODE_ENV = originalNodeEnv;
+    });
+
+    it('should be true in development environment', async () => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development';
+      const { isDev } = await import('./env');
+      expect(isDev).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should be false in production environment', async () => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production';
+      const { isDev } = await import('./env');
+      expect(isDev).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('isOnServerSide', () => {
+    const originalWindow = global.window;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      vi.resetModules();
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      global.window = originalWindow;
+    });
+
+    it('should be true when window is undefined', async () => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      delete global.window;
+      const { isOnServerSide } = await import('./env');
+      expect(isOnServerSide).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('should be false when window is defined', async () => {
+      // @ts-ignore
+      global.window = {};
+      const { isOnServerSide } = await import('./env');
+      expect(isOnServerSide).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/server/utils/env.ts b/src/server/utils/env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..465b8e25028cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/server/utils/env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+export const isDev = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development';
+
+export const isOnServerSide = typeof window === 'undefined';
+/**
+ * Get environment variable value
+ * @param key - Environment variable key
+ * @returns Environment variable value or empty string if not found
+ */
+export const getEnvironment = (key: string): string => {
+  if (typeof process === 'undefined') return '';
+  return process.env[key] || '';
+};