According to recent data, the intelligent document processing (IDP) market size is projected to increase from $0.8 B in 2021 to over $3.7B by 2026. These projections indicate the surge in demand for IDP solutions, which offer valuable information management tools for businesses across various industries.

Software developers have made considerable strides in intelligent document processing in just the last decade. Most recently, the team at Ephesoft has developed the Semantik AI Engine, which enables universal document automation. 

By leveraging this powerful tool, organizations can forever change how they process documents and analyze data.

What is Universal Document Automation?

Universal document automation is an innovative approach to document extraction in Ephesoft Transact for unknown document types. Powered by AI, this technology can classify and extract data from document types that are not already configured or used in the system with the fields previously identified. 

Universal document automation is now possible because it uses Ephesoft’s proprietary Semantik AI Engine’s cutting-edge AI, computer vision and deep learning neural network technology to detect data of interest. This remarkable AI accomplishes these tasks even if the document type is unknown.  

Not only does universal document automation not require set-up, it can automatically extract all the data fields that might be needed. Universal document automation also powers instant key-value extraction of semi-structured and structured documents.

Benefits of Universal Document Automation

In this race to capture the hearts and minds of consumers, data reigns supreme. Therefore, companies must find ways to capture and extract information from various document types to uncover trapped data.

Universal document automation allows you to extract data without creating rules or templates. When using standard IDP solutions, businesses typically must create custom rules or templates before they can begin extracting data. While this process can be valuable if you have lots of the same type of known documents, it can be difficult and costly to do this if there are unknown documents. 

Universal document automation alleviates this pain point by offering a “plug and play” solution that can be deployed rapidly and put to work almost instantly, especially for unknown documents. The functionality allows businesses to experience a faster return on investment while also eliminating the need to create custom rules for every document type. Furthermore, it is far less rigid than traditional options as it offers a new way to process documents.

Among several others, universal document automation provides the following benefits. It can: 

  • Process unknown documents 
  • Automatically detect and extract critical document fields 
  • Data-mine, opportunistically explore and extract any data without configuration, which is key to handling unknown trailing documents
  • Automate entity extraction for large document variant projects that would otherwise be too costly or time-prohibitive
  • Be deployed in the cloud and/or on-premises 
  • Works with English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Polish, Swedish and Dutch languages

Optimal Use Cases for Universal Document Automation

Below are a few application examples for universal document automation: 

Data Discovery

The prime application of this new intelligent document processing feature is for “discovery.” For example, a corporate mailroom constantly receives disparate types of documents, making it difficult for staff to know what data is coming in, much less turn this information into actionable intelligence.

Universal document automation turns this pain point into a strength by allowing businesses to ingest these documents efficiently. The technology can also extract the documents’ information and then route it to the appropriate workflow for analysis or action.

Facilitating Data Mining

Thanks to its versatility, universal document automation is ideal for data mining. Data mining involves analyzing large data sets to discover patterns or correlations within the information. This tactic can reveal essential business insights that can be used to improve profitability, mitigate risks and improve the customer experience.

Automating Critical Document Field Detection

Manual data extraction processes are slow, inefficient and error-laden. Conversely, team leaders can use universal document automation capabilities to perform lightning-fast data extraction. 

Specifically, these tools allow decision-makers to automate the detection and extraction of critical document fields. This strategy will reduce the burden on staff members while fueling efficiency and improving data accuracy.

Expanding Document Processing Capabilities

The most considerable value provided by universal document automation is that it allows businesses to process a large number of documents regardless of type. Companies can transition from one document type to another without reconfiguring their extraction software or creating new rules. Ultimately, this technology will allow companies to process documents they haven’t been able to in the past.

Providing Higher Quality Customer Service

Greater operational efficiency almost always translates into better customer service. Intelligent automation technologies reduce the workload on employees, which means that they will have more time to spend on critical, customer-facing activities. In addition, improved data extraction and document processing capabilities will provide stakeholders with the information they need to detect consumer trends. This insight will allow them to be more responsive to evolving client needs.

Ready to Learn More?

Ephesoft’s IDP solution is now powered by Semantik AI Engine. For more information, contact us to get a free trial today.