Glossary
Intelligent document processing (IDP): what it is
Intelligent document processing (IDP) is the use of AI to read business documents such as invoices, forms, statements and contracts, pull out the data they contain, check it and pass it into the systems that need it. Unlike template-based OCR, it handles layouts it has never seen. Modern IDP pairs OCR with language models and sends uncertain fields to a person.
Featuring insights fromShaun Devan · Founder & CEOUpdated · 3 min read
IDP vs OCR
| Template OCR | Intelligent document processing | |
|---|---|---|
| Output | Text from the page | Named fields, checked and structured |
| New layouts | Need a new template | Read without one |
| Tables and line items | Often broken | Kept as rows |
| Validation | None | Cross-checks against systems and other readings |
What a production pipeline does
- Collects documents from an inbox, portal or upload.
- Reads each one, often with two independent methods, and compares results.
- Validates fields against the ERP or ledger: PO numbers, totals, currencies.
- Posts clean documents and routes the rest to a person with the discrepancy shown.
In practice
Native helped Iyuno build an extraction engine that reads 400+ invoices a month in any layout at 99.9% field-level accuracy, using dual-OCR cross-validation and escalation to finance staff, and gave the team back over 250 hours.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between IDP and OCR?
OCR turns an image of text into text. IDP understands the document: it finds the fields that matter, checks them and sends structured data into business systems.
What documents can intelligent document processing handle?
Invoices, purchase orders, bank and fund statements, insurance forms, loss runs, applications, contracts and IDs, including scans and mixed layouts.
How accurate is intelligent document processing?
Well-built systems reach very high field-level accuracy by cross-checking readings and validating against source systems, with a person reviewing anything uncertain.
