Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) has traditionally relied on OCR, templates, and rules to extract data from documents like invoices, contracts, and forms. While effective at scale, these approaches struggled with document variability and required heavy maintenance.
Generative AI is redefining IDP. Instead of focusing solely on extraction, modern systems can now understand documents – interpreting context, intent, and meaning across formats. This shift turns IDP into a source of decision-ready intelligence, not just structured data.
From Extraction to Understanding
Powered by large language models, IDP platforms can reason semantically across documents and adapt to layout and language changes without rigid templates. Users can ask natural-language questions, generate summaries, and surface risks or inconsistencies automatically.
This evolution allows organizations to automate more complex, judgment-driven workflows.
Human-in-the-Loop, by Design
Generative AI strengthens human-in-the-loop workflows by automating high-confidence cases and routing exceptions to reviewers. Feedback loops help systems improve over time, balancing speed with accuracy and control – an essential requirement in regulated industries.
Multimodal and More Flexible
Modern IDP is increasingly multimodal, capable of interpreting text, tables, images, and handwriting together. Combined with zero-shot learning, this enables faster onboarding of new document types and greater resilience in real-world conditions.
Built for the Enterprise
As adoption grows, enterprises are prioritizing explainability, privacy, and governance. Leading IDP platforms pair advanced AI with auditability and secure deployment options, ensuring trust at scale.
Why It’s a Long-Term Bet
Generative AI scales across functions and improves over time, making it a compounding investment rather than a one-time upgrade. When paired with strong governance and human oversight, it becomes a durable foundation for future growth.
What’s Next
With generative AI, IDP is evolving from back-office automation into a core intelligence layer embedded across enterprise workflows – turning documents into actionable insights that drive faster, smarter decisions.
