Document extraction: it’s repetitive, time-consuming, error-prone and can be very boring when done manually. So, how do we fix that? We’ll walk you through a demo of how to use generative AI with intelligent automation (IA) to automate document processing so it’s more accurate and efficient – saving you time and money.

A brief note: IA uses robotic process automation (RPA), business process management (BPM) and artificial intelligence (AI) to automate end-to-end business processes using digital workers, also known as your AI workforce. IA is sometimes referred to as AI automation. SS&C Blue Prism enterprise AI unifies your workforce by combining automation and process orchestration into one cohesive platform.

Now, how do you delegate your paper-heavy processes to a digital worker (without sacrificing quality)?

Generative AI for Document Processing

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) uses algorithms to create new content, such as videos, pictures, code and text based on its training data. Generative AI models are trained to recognize patterns in data and use that to generate new but similar data. That’s why the quality of training data is crucial to gen AI’s performance. The key benefit to gen AI is its ability to read large volumes of data very quickly.

You can apply that to process documents automatically using the right software.

Can AI extract data from a PDF?

Certain AI software can extract data from documents. Called intelligent document processing (IDP) or document automation, AI document processing is where you can transform unstructured and semi-structured data into a usable, machine-readable format. IDP enables data capture and extraction from various forms and documents before processing it. This includes PDFs and Word documents, but some also allow you to extract document images such as JPEGs. You can then feed this digitized data to your agentic AI (digital workers) to automate tasks and make decisions.

Is there an AI that can read handwritten documents?

Handwritten optical character recognition (OCR) software converts handwritten text to digital data using AI, machine learning (ML) and computer vision engines. It can extract the text from papers, scans and other low-quality documents, which you can then use in your AI agentic process automation. You can now try handwriting OCR for free in this test trial.

AI document understanding

Using natural language processing (NLP), deep learning and machine learning (ML) among other AI technologies, IDP helps you classify, categorize, validate and extract information – transforming it into structured data that’s easier to understand, analyze and use.

RESTful application program interface (API) is an interface between two computer systems that exchanges information over the internet. Some document intelligence platforms use REST API to extract text, key-value pairs and tables from various document types.

Find out how you can turn your ideas into reality with generative AI and automation.

What Are the Benefits of AI Document Processing?

This isn’t just about pulling information from a piece of paper and throwing it onto a computer screen. It’s about having important data readily accessible and secure; it’s about keeping track of business information; it’s about consistency. It’s also about freeing your people from tedious tasks. Here are the key benefits:

Getting started right away

By using SS&C Blue Prism’s prebuilt IDP solution, you can get started with your digital workers right away – no coding required. AI document processing draws on intelligent AI-powered agents that learn over time to improve their work.

Processing a wide range of documents

Your business documents don’t come in one format. Oftentimes, you’ll deal with a plethora of layouts and formats, some handwritten, others containing checkboxes and signatures. They can be low resolution, faded or skewed. But with AI agents on the task, it doesn’t matter. They use their AI-powered machine brains to not only extract data but contextualize it, routing it to a person to confirm it’s correct and nothing gets missed.

Using with ease

With drag-and-drop capabilities, you can plan, build and deploy your AI digital workforce to handle your document processing at the drop of a hat.

Scaling up and out

Say goodbye to paper piles. Integrating IDP with your IA initiative will help you further scale your business and automated processes. You can connect systems easily by connecting your data. Information is Queen when it comes to your business running smoothly, and document processing can take you a long way.

How To Extract Data With AI

We’re going to look at two examples of how you can use intelligent automation and generative AI together to turn structured and unstructured, high-volume documents into a usable format.

An unstructured tenancy agreement

Most of us know how text-heavy a legal contract like a tenancy agreement can be, and it’s easy to miss important information amidst all that paperwork. With scanned documents, generative AI can rapidly read, comprehend and accurately extract data to classify documents quickly. So, let’s take these lengthy, non-standardized contracts that are difficult (and tedious) to parse manually and simplify them to ensure no details are missed.

Sara has unstructured data in the form of a 24-page tenancy agreement. Rather than reading through everything, let’s use document AI to pull the information Sara needs.

Sara starts by creating a prompt asking for tenant names, maximum occupancy, included bills and the break clause summary.

She can then specify the responses, which should include the answer text with no additional text. Where there are multiple questions, each answer should begin with a question number.

Now, Sara can execute her flow of document processes in this order:

1. Retrieving the document.
2. Populating the queue with the agreement.
3. Extracting the text.
4. Sending it for data extraction.
5. Formatting the data.
6. Entering the extracted data.
7. Reviewing and marking as complete.

In this process, optical character recognition (OCR) converts the document to machine-readable text for the AI. The AI locates the requested details spread across the document in seconds and instantly extracts and structures the relevant data, avoiding lengthy manual review.

The output is returned as a JSON, parsed and written into a notepad ready for downstream automation. Now, Sara can access the extracted data on the notepad and see the answers to the questions posed in her prompt. She can then compare the data with the original tenancy agreement, confirming the AI has indeed extracted the correct list of tenants, occupancy limit, bills and exit clauses.

In this hypothetical, Sara used generative AI as an easy way to extract key information from lengthy, unstructured documents in seconds rather than hours.

The gen AI-powered digital workers eliminated tedious document analysis while capturing key details with high accuracy and flexibility, enabling automation for any intelligent document processing work, from lease management to business documents and more. 

Watch this demo in full below: 

The Future of Intelligent Automation

So, given this scenario, how do we think bigger about generative AI and automation functioning in tandem?

First, to prepare for generative AI we need to look at how you can securely and effectively introduce this duo into your business processes. After looking at the example of document extraction, you can continue to build use cases for gen AI and automation that apply to your business needs, calculating the potential return on investment (ROI). Check that you have the right infrastructure in place. Next, look at your AI compliance requirements and establish best practices with AI governance. Finally, get your people on board with your plans and brainstorm fresh new ideas for how automation and gen AI can support your people and productivity.

Once you’re prepared for digital transformation, find the AI tools that suit your goals, such as the gen AI/intelligent automation collaboration between AWS and SS&C Blue Prism.

IDP solutions

SS&C | Blue Prism® Decipher IDP gives you automated document processing at scale. Decipher is our intelligent document processing software that combines OCR, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for extracting key information you need from various document structures at speed. With Decipher, you get:

• Custom models/form templates.
• Digital workers accurately process documents to reduce errors and save time.
• Human-in-the-loop (HITL) validation to ensure levels are maintained.
• Easy-to-use UI with no complex coding or setup required.

Summary

Digital workers allow you to automate data collection in almost all types of documents to save people time and ensure no critical information gets missed. The goal of automation is to remove the need for tedious, repetitive tasks such as data entry, and get people focused on what matters.

Want to learn more about automated AI document processing?