What is Intelligent Document Processing? How IDP Eliminates Manual Data Entry and Powers Automation

If the technology trends of the past couple of years are any indication, most organizations are well on their way in their intelligent automation journeys and are looking for ways to use AI to streamline processes and achieve significant cost savings. One powerful tool on this journey is Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), which uses AI to boost efficiency with high accuracy. In other words, IDP takes traditional automation to the next level.

Let’s dive into what IDP really is and how it can support your intelligent automation journey.

What is Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)?

1. It Turns Unstructured Data into Usable Data That Drives Action: Intelligent document processing (IDP) uses AI to let businesses digitize and automate unstructured data, no matter its documentation source, and turn it into structured, usable information. Once converted, this data can finally inform smarter decisions and powerful insights that improve your processes.
2. It’s a User-Friendly Low-Code/No-Code Platform: It doesn’t have to be overly complex either, as IDP solutions like ABBYY Vantage offer a low-code/no-code platform allowing citizen developers to easily interact with it.
3. You Can Customize Your Purpose-Built Solution with “Skills”: IDP isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, ABBYY Vantage IDP can be tailored to your unique needs using a wide selection of intelligent document services or “skills.” These skills use AI to understand your documents quickly and comprehensively.
4. It Offers a Wide Variety of Use Cases: Organizations across industries have found success with IDP, from financial services and insurance to transportation and logistics, healthcare, supply chain, and many more, with a wide variety of use cases for each.

Is Intelligent Document Processing the Same Thing as OCR?

Now that we know what IDP is, let’s take a look at what it isn’t.

If you’re familiar with OCR, or optical character recognition, you might be wondering this. The answer: They’re similar but different – you can think of IDP as the “next generation” of OCR in a way. OCR (optical character recognition) converts printed or handwritten text into machine-readable characters. Intelligent document processing goes further by adding AI, machine learning, and NLP on top of OCR to understand context, classify document types, extract specific fields, and make decisions. 

Why Organizations Use Intelligent Document Processing

Let’s take a look at a few of the key ways IDP can add value to your organization.

• Cost Savings: Implementing IDP can significantly reduce operational costs. By automating document processing, you can reduce labor costs and errors, leading to more efficient workflows and faster processing times.
• Improved Accuracy: IDP is designed to be as accurate, if not more so, than human data entry. It reduces the risk of human error, ensuring that data is correctly classified and extracted, which is crucial for downstream processes.
• Enhanced Efficiency: With IDP, documents are processed quickly and efficiently, allowing for faster turnaround times. This means that critical information is available sooner, enabling quicker decision-making and improved customer service.
• Scalability: IDP solutions are highly scalable, making them suitable for organizations of all sizes. Whether you’re processing a few hundred documents or millions, IDP can handle the load with ease.

Intelligent Document Processing Use Cases by Industry

As we alluded to earlier, IDP is used across industries with plenty of use cases for each. Here’s a look at 3 of the most popular ways IDP is used:

1. Invoice Processing: For commercial companies, IDP can reduce invoice processing time by 40-60%. This not only speeds up the payment cycle but also allows businesses to take advantage of early payment discounts.
2. Healthcare: In the healthcare sector, IDP can cut the time required to process insurance claims by 50-70%. This leads to faster reimbursements and improved patient satisfaction.
3. Financial Services: Financial institutions can benefit from IDP by increasing loan processing speed by 60-80%. This efficiency boost can lead to better customer experiences and higher throughput.

See Intelligent Document Processing in Action

Find out how IDP can automate your document-heavy processes and eliminate manual data entry.

Request an IDP Demo.

Getting Started with IDP

Starting your IDP journey doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are a few steps to help you get started:

• Identify Key Processes: Begin by identifying the document-intensive processes that could benefit most from automation. This could be anything from invoice processing to customer onboarding.
• Choose the Right Solution: There are various IDP solutions available, each with its strengths. Look for a solution that offers the features you need, such as OCR, ML, and AI capabilities, and that can integrate seamlessly with your existing systems.
• Pilot and Scale: Start with a pilot project to test the solution in a controlled environment. Once you’re satisfied with the results, you can scale the solution across your organization.

See What IDP Can Do for Your Organization Today

Intelligent Document Processing is a game-changer for organizations looking to enhance their automation journey. It can truly transform how you handle documents, leading to significant cost savings, improved accuracy, and enhanced efficiency. Got a question about IDP? Drop it in the chat below, we’d love to hear from you.

If you want to see how IDP fits into your automation strategy, talk to a Naviant specialist or explore our Intelligent Document Processing solutions page to learn more.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Intelligent Document Processing

What is intelligent document processing used for?

Intelligent document processing is used to automate the capture, classification, and extraction of data from unstructured documents like invoices, contracts, claims, and forms. Organizations use IDP to eliminate manual data entry, reduce errors, accelerate processing times, and feed structured data into downstream systems for smarter decision-making.

What is the difference between IDP and RPA?

RPA (robotic process automation) automates repetitive, rule-based tasks by mimicking human interactions with software. IDP specifically handles the understanding and extraction of data from documents. The two are complementary: IDP extracts and structures the data, and RPA moves it into the right systems and triggers downstream workflows. Together, they form a powerful intelligent automation pairing. 

What types of documents can IDP process?

IDP can process a wide range of document types, including invoices, purchase orders, insurance claims, medical records, loan applications, government forms, contracts, and more. Solutions like ABBYY Vantage use customizable ‘skills’ to handle specific document types with high accuracy across structured, semi-structured, and fully unstructured formats.

How does intelligent document processing work?

IDP works in four main steps: capture (ingesting documents from any source), classify (identifying document type), extract (pulling relevant fields and data using AI and NLP), and validate (verifying accuracy before routing data to downstream systems). The result is structured, actionable data delivered without manual intervention.