Document Scanning and Beyond: How is Artificial Intelligence Revolutionizing This Landscape?
AI or Artificial Intelligence has taken the front seat in multiple domains and contributed immensely in leveraging productivity, accuracy, and outcome. The recent addition to the list is document scanning and management. The introduction of AI in document scanning has curbed tons of issues such as image blurring, missing out on certain information, and effective data handling.
Needless to say, an e-signing facility that AI endowed businesses is a real game-changer as it took no time to make business-critical documents legally and professionally sound. If you haven’t explored the power of AI in document scanning and management then do it now while this blog guides you all through the journey.
Document Scanning – A Necessity for Today’s Time
Document scanning is the process of extracting paper-based information as it is in digital documents using digital scanners. The scanner is a machine functioning using OCR technology. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, which is useful in understanding recognizing the text, and converting it into digital data.
Considering the huge data that today’s businesses have to deal with document scanning is the best bet to make while you seek reduced operational cost, enhanced productivity, and convalesced information access. Here are some of the reasons why businesses of all sorts and all industries must start scanning the documents.
#Save huge operational cost
When it comes to management and information retrieval, paper documents are a tough nut to crack. They are also highly demanding at the storage and consistency-maintenance front. They need huge space to be stored for future use. Cabinets, floor space, and a team of looking after them are the areas where one has to invest greatly in managing the paper documents.
Once you scan the documents and turn them into digital form, all these hassles will be miles away. There is ample cloud storage offered at a very genuine price. You can covert the documents into multiple formats like images, presentations, and word files. They can be sorted and managed as per the categories and departments. All in all, scanned documents are easier to handle and manage.
#Safety at its best
Even if you manage to spend all the necessitated capital for managing paper-based documents, they are highly prone to get physically damaged and stealing. And if that happens, a business might lose assets worth a million.
Scanned documents grant amazing mental peace at this front as well as digital documents can be password protected and access can be fully controlled.
#Quick and easy information sharing
Paper documents need to be couriered or posted to each at a different destination. This is a highly cost and time-consuming affair and the fear of misplacement of documents is always there. Scanned documents can be shared over a single click and will be received by the other party in the blink of an eye without compromising on security.
#Environment friendly
Lastly and more importantly, scanned documents don’t harm the environment.
Document Scanning and AI – The ‘Made For Each Other’ Digital Duo
Document scanning is already a game-changer, reaches the heights of perfection, and utilizes it while it combines with AI. While OCR technology reads the text on paper documents, AI interprets it intelligently.
The information interpretation involves information prioritization, display of crucial data such as names mentioned in the document, dates, amounts, contact numbers, and emails, and sorting out information. AI is involved extensively in extracting data and sorting it as per the pre-defined criteria.
The use of AI in document scanning has enabled multiple jobs such as:
- Digitally signing the scanned PDFs or other documents using data-driven devices is possible.
- Creating multiple formats of the same documents over a single click.
- Automate the workflow from start to finish.
- Doing all the post-scanning character recognition with zero human intervention.
- Automatic data extraction and document clustering.
- Reading the content, analyzing it, and sorting it accordingly.
- Performing data analysis and predictive analysis is now a one-click job as scanned documents are compatible with data analysis software.
Key Application of AI in Document Scanning
An AI-empowered document scanning is going to do wonders at various fronts. Here are some of the most famed application areas of AI in document scanning jobs.
Invoices and PFD Documents
Enterprises and retail industries are benefitted extremely from AI and document scanning as they can manage a huge pile of invoices and documents over a single click. Manual work related to extracting information, sorting our customer information from invoices, and sorting the documents automatically is cut down significantly.
#Bank Statements
Banks are using AI in full swing as this technology allows them to scan the bank statements with utmost accuracy and share them with the customers over a single click. As these PDFs can be password protected, there is no question of compromised security. AI implementation allows banks to export the data/information to Excel or CSV files automatically.
#HR forms and Payrolls
AI-driven document scanning allows accurate information extraction for multiple HR forms and payroll purposes.
#Sales & Purchase Order
Extract information relevant for sales or purchase orders and export it directly to whichever system and device you want.
#Price List
The in-built AI and parser technology lets end-users extract product lists, tables, and other details from any paper-based document.
Real-Time Examples of AI in Document Scanning
Many tech giants such as Adobe and Google realized the power of AI and took no time to utilize it in document scanning. Here are some of the real-world examples of AI handling document scanning.
Stack
Stack comes from the trusted house of Google. Currently functional in US only, Slack is Google experimental Android app bringing AI and document scanning together. Using the app, end-users can scan documents and receipts as PDF and organize them automatically.
The technology at work in this revolutionary app is Document AI. It combines AI and NLP for creating high-end and technology-infused models for documents. The technology has already helped process billions of pages for insurance, banking, loan, medical, lending, and other purposes.
Adobe Scan
We all are familiar with Adobe’s contribution in making human life effortless with its revolutionary technology and products. Adobe Scan is one more marvel created by this tech giant. It is an AI-empowered Text-recognition Software delivered with the Adobe Sensei suite.
The tool uses AI to clean the target image before the scanning so that the final scan comes out as neat as possible. The use of AI in this sense makes text translation quick and accurate.
The AI used is so powerful that if you’re scanning folded documents then it will try to keep the impact of the fold as much as possible and capture a precise scanned image.
AI also integrates the PDFs with Adobe Document Cloud and simplifies the entire storage hassle. The scanned documents will be automatically uploaded on the cloud saving a huge deal of time and effort.
Future of AI in Document Scanning
Seeing the commendable difference AI is making in document scanning, it’s easier to conclude that its penetration will become only stronger with time.
The future of AI in document scanning comes with endless possibilities out of which the key ones are scanners with face recognition, online chat support while scanning, AI scanning the dialogues, and a dedicated PA to read the scanned text. This is one of much forward-thinking technology that humans can utilize to strengthen the document management job. If you haven’t given it a try, try it today as it’s worth a try.
