Introduction
Intelligent document processing, popularly known as IDP, has become the backbone of data-centric organizations. Whether in healthcare, legal services, or even invoice processing, AI document processing has become the world’s norm.
Imagine when organizations had to put in hours of manual work to extract, sort, classify, and analyze data. As a result of exponential advancements and growth in the technology sector, tremendous volumes of data can be extracted, sorted, classified, analyzed, and stored in computer systems within minutes now, thanks to IDP solutions!
A 2022 McKinsey survey found that the adoption of AI has doubled in the last five years due to increased investments in AI. This survey proves the increasing demand and scope of intelligent document automation worldwide.
This blog will take you on a journey to understand intelligent document processing and the revolution it has seen owing to the development of Generative AI.
Understanding GenAI In IDP
Before embarking on the journey of understanding intelligent document processing and the role Generative AI plays in document processing services, it is important to grasp the concepts of the various elements used in the process.
What Is Generative AI?
Generative Artificial Intelligence, or GenAI, is a form of artificial intelligence that can generate new content autonomously based on AI algorithms.
Unlike traditional AI, GenAI is not based on predefined patterns; instead, it improves through a feedback loop, generating content based on the patterns and examples found within the data.
With advancements in technology, Generative AI has been able to mimic human-like intelligence and creativity. This has been possible by using technologies like deep learning and reinforcement learning in AI algorithms.
GenAI has showcased remarkable capabilities in several domains, such as natural language processing (NLP), music composition, and image generation. Generative AI in OCR has been one of GenAI’s most significant capabilities, and this technology forms the base of intelligent document processing.
What Is Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)?
Intelligent document processing is a technology organizations use to extract and process data from unstructured documents by employing automated technologies.
IDP software uses technologies such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Machine Learning (ML) to automate an organization’s workflows, specifically document-centric workflows.
IDP solutions have revolutionized manual work in organizations by automating traditionally manual tasks. As a result, intelligent document processing has improved efficiency, accuracy, and scalability in document processing services. It has also made decision-making more effective, as the organization’s human resources can now focus on high-value tasks and decision-making.
GenAI In IDP
With the integration of GenAI in IDP solutions, document processing has evolved, enhancing the system’s ability to understand, interpret, and generate content that resembles human intelligence and creativity.
The introduction of GenAI in IDP has led to AI document processing that can extract text from data more accurately while effectively identifying data patterns and adapting to the ever-evolving landscape of changing formats, fonts, and languages.
With the use of GenAI in IDP, the challenges faced by traditional OCR technology have been resolved, leading to the automation of complex document processing tasks with increased efficiency and accuracy.
How IDP Works?
Below are a series of steps that are carried out for the efficient, effective, and accurate output provided by IDP software:
- Document Ingestion- In this first step, documents are provided to the IDP system by scanning or uploading.
- Pre-Processing- Before the actual process starts, it is important to pre-process the document. During pre-processing, documents improve their readability through processes like image enhancement and OCR.
- Data Extraction- Generative AI algorithms are used in this main step of intelligent document processing, where the text is analyzed to extract relevant information and ignore noises. Relevant information may include names, dates, amounts, and other key data points.
- Validation and Verification- The data extracted through data extraction is validated against predefined rules and verified for accuracy.
- Integration- The data processed due to employing IDP automation is integrated into the organization’s workflows for further processing or required action.
Intelligent Document Processing Revolution
With the advancement of Generative AI in OCR and the introduction of intelligent document processing, the world of intelligent document automation saw an exciting revolution.
It is important to understand the need and how Generative AI can unlock the full potential of IDP.
Why Should You Unlock The Full Potential Of IDP?
The various reasons for unlocking the full potential of intelligent document processing include:
- Increased Efficiency – IDP automation increases efficiency due to reduced manual effort and faster document processing.
- Improved Accuracy – With AI document processing, GenAI algorithms minimize errors that were present due to traditional manual data entry, leading to higher accuracy.
- Enhanced Compliance – IDP software also helps to reduce the risk of non-compliance as automated validation ensures that the data extracted complies with all the required regulatory requirements.
- Cost Savings – Organizations experience lower operational costs and improved resource allocation due to IDP automation. Manual labour is freed up to carry out tasks of higher value.
How To Unlock The Full Potential Of IDP?
For organizations to unlock the full potential of intelligent document processing, the following steps should be taken:
- Invest in GenAI-Powered Solutions – To garner enhanced performance; organizations must invest in IDP solutions that employ advanced GenAI algorithms.
- Customize and Train Models – To optimize the accuracy and efficiency of the organization, GenAI models should be customized for specific use-case.
- Integrate with Existing Systems – To unlock the full potential of IDP, ensure that the solution is effortlessly integrated with the organization’s existing IT infrastructure, leading to increased adoption and scalability.
- Continuous Improvement – To maximize the benefits of IDP solutions, the processes must be reviewed and refined regularly to adapt to the ever-changing business needs and technological advancements.
GenAI Reshaping IDP
With the introduction of GenAI in document processing, the whole landscape of intelligent document processing was reshaped.
The challenges faced by IDP and how GenAI helped to resolve them are given below:
Current Challenges In IDP
Some of the challenges faced by IDP are:
- Variability in Document Formats – Data extraction is considered to be challenging when the data is present in various formats and layouts.
- Language and Handwriting Recognition – IDP software is supposed to accurately interpret handwritten text and multilingual documents. This sometimes becomes challenging as every handwriting is different and not always entirely legible.
- Data Quality and Consistency – To attain reliable decision-making, it is important to have accuracy and consistency of the extracted data across all the document sources, which has been a challenge faced by IDP.
How GenAI Solves IDP Challenges?
GenAI has been able to resolve all the challenges of IDP in the following manner:
- Advanced Pattern Recognition – With the use of GenAI algorithms, the accuracy of data extraction has improved as the algorithms used by GenAI can recognize patterns across diverse document formats and layouts.
- Language Understanding – With the help of natural language processing (NLP), GenAI has improved language recognition as it can interpret and extract information from multilingual documents.
- Adaptive Learning – With the help of adaptive learning mechanisms, GenAI IDP solutions can continuously learn and improve from new data, leading to enhanced data quality and consistency across all document sources.
IDP Use Cases
According to intelligent document processing market analysis, IDP use cases are bound to expand exponentially, reaching a market size of around $20 billion by 2033.
Some of the intelligent document processing use cases include the following:
Invoice Processing
IDP services that are powered by GenAI help in the automation of extraction of invoice data which helps to minimize errors and reduce processing times.
Benefits of using IDP in invoice processing include:
- Improved accuracy in financial records
- Faster payment processing
- Enhanced supplier relationships
Contract Management
In the legal industry, IDP is extremely useful. With the help of GenAI, the contract review process is accelerated owing to faster and more accurate analyzing and summarizing of legal contracts. This leads to minimized legal risks and reduced review times.
The benefits of using intelligent document processing in contract management (legal industry) include –
- Improved compliance with legal obligations
- Reduced contract review times
- Minimized legal risks
Customer Onboarding
GenAI can be used to accelerate and simplify the process of customer onboarding as it helps to extract and verify customer information from various identity documents.
Benefits of using IDP in customer onboarding include:
- Faster account setup
- Enhanced customer experience
- Reduced risk of identity fraud
Healthcare Records Management
GenAI and IDP have been extremely helpful in the healthcare industry. They help healthcare providers extract and digitize patient records for analysis and decision-making.
Benefits of using intelligent document processing in healthcare records management include:
- Faster access to medical information
- Improve patient care coordination
- Enhanced data privacy compliance
Conclusion
Intelligent document processing has reshaped and revolutionized the landscape of document processing services with the introduction of Generative AI.
With the help of IDP, document processing has become more accurate, efficient, effective, easier, and faster.
As a result, it has improved the efficiency of various industries, minimizing their risks and making their operations more efficient. IDP solutions have also enhanced decision-making in organizations, as the human resources previously employed for manual data entry now give it increased value.
We at CrossML, with our dedicated team of experts, offer our clients personalized IDP solutions that cater to their organizational needs, leading to enhanced efficiency, decision-making, and, hence, profitability!
FAQs
The benefits of utilizing Generative AI for intelligent document optimization include improved accuracy, increased efficiency, enhanced scalability, advanced analytics, and cost savings.
The potential impact of IDP on several industries includes streamlining banking processes, digitizing patient records in the healthcare industry, efficient and accurate contract reviewing in the legal industry and optimizing inventory management for the entire retail sector.
Generative AI has changed the entire IDP landscape owing to enhanced automation, improved accuracy, customization and adaptation, integration with other technologies, and continuous improvement.
Generative AI solves IDP challenges with various capabilities, such as advanced pattern recognition, language understanding, adaptive learning, efficient processing, and error reduction.
