How to apply artificial intelligence in electronic document management

Table of Contents

As much as the application of artificial intelligence in document management Although it is a recent topic, it is not new that we live in an era of significant digital transformations in the most varied layers of our society. 

However, it was from 2021 onwards that this process intensified significantly, absorbing people’s lives at the most diverse levels – largely due to the new demands brought to society by the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

Even now, two years after this phenomenon, what appears on the horizon is that this trend continues to grow exponentially, influencing even the simplest aspects of human experience and radically transforming our culture, our communication and our life in general. 

And of course this couldn't be different with regard to our way of working.

This is exactly what happens, for example, in the field of document management. Before, we were going through a period of transition between the era in which physical documents were predominant and a new period, taken over by electronic platforms and digital documents.

Now, more than ever, we see this process reach a new level of modernity, with the arrival of artificial intelligence occurring in a robust way in management processes – and those who do not follow this trend will certainly be left behind.

As you read this article, you will understand everything you need to know about electronic document management and artificial intelligence – and how both are closely related today. Let's go?

What is electronic document management?

Electronic document management, or GED, is a modern document management technique that, through a series of technological tools, enables the storage and the administration of files that bring data and information referring to a certain company.

That way, when the manager or a member of his team needs to access a document, he just needs to log in to an online platform and perform a search to find its digital version in a few seconds – which proves to be much more practical than opening a document. cupboard and manually searching among many other papers.

Electronic document management works under two modules, called capture and document management.

Capture

The capture module accelerates processes through the use of forms and documents. This is what is used, for example, when it is necessary to register a specific person, natural or legal, in the company's system, using a form to register the respective information in a secure way.

Document Management

This module is used to efficiently manage the actual documents. Making use of the functionalities of a specialized platform, it is possible to create and maintain stored the documents and most important files of the company.

These platforms have several features, among which we highlight: workflow, COLD, forms processing and RIM.

Workflow

This is the functionality responsible for the workflow, that is, it ensures that all tasks are done by the people to whom they were delegated, and within the stipulated deadlines. This occurs through reminders and other tools.

cold

Also called ERM, this is the technology responsible for document storage and data recovery. It is precisely this functionality that makes management safer and more efficient than the traditional way, in which tons of papers are kept in the closet, subject to wear and tear and the action of time.

forms processing

As the name already suggests, this functionality corresponds to the processing of forms from all the people involved in the company's activities. Ideal for registering suppliers, customers and employees in the system – ensuring detailing and safe storage of all relevant information.

RIM

RIM is the acronym for Records and Information Management. In other words, it is about managing the life cycle of a document – ​​a tool through which it is possible to access all the company documentation and organize them by category.

And what is artificial intelligence?

We can define Artificial Intelligence, also called AI or AI, as a field of science that serves the purpose of studying and developing machines in order to carry out human activities with efficiency and autonomy.

This scientific area is directly linked to the concepts of robotics, machine learning and image and sound recognition, among many other technologies.

That said, we can say that an AI solution embraces a whole set of technologies, such as algorithms, learning systems, artificial neural networks and many others capable of emulating human faculties related to what we consider intelligence. 

These points enable the machine to have independence to obtain diverse perceptions that enable it to carry out rational analyzes and make appropriate decisions.

Likewise, the data analysis system of an artificial intelligence must also make it capable of learning by itself, in order to expand its range of knowledge.

How can electronic document management and artificial intelligence be applied together?

It is an undeniable fact that artificial intelligence solutions represent an unprecedented potential for improvement in the electronic document management sector. 

By integrating both tools, data analysis is much more agile, complete and secure than with a document analyst.

In fact, it is only a matter of time before this picture is completed, because, although the integration of robots in GED processes has not yet been completely established, the technological bases that point to this near future are already evident. 

As processes become more and more robotic, planning, growth and competitiveness strategies are gaining more and more promising conditions.

Intelligent reading systems, automated document management (through OCR technology, or Optical Character Recognition) and predictive algorithms are just some of the tools used.

Thus, the new computational systems are capable not only of recognizing, analyzing, interpreting and extracting the most relevant data from the documents, but also of providing instructions to the user in order to make quick and accurate decisions.

This is how artificial intelligence technology, applied to the management of electronic documents, promises to greatly facilitate our processes of sending, receiving and storing documents, which are so common in our daily lives.

⚠️ Also check out these related articles 👇

➡️ 13 tips on how to manage digital documents well
➡️ What is current, intermediate and permanent archive in the document life cycle?
➡️ Learn about the consequences of poor document management

What are the benefits of artificial intelligence in document management for companies?

By now, you've realized that deploying artificial intelligence in electronic document management can bring countless benefits to companies. But what, in fact, are they? Below we list the main ones:

Information security

As AI technology is based on analyzing data, learning knowledge and executing standardized actions, naturally, this type of solution proves to be exemplary for predicting trends and optimizing cybersecurity.

Considering that most data security breaches are caused by human error, machine training makes it possible to reduce the incidence of fatal errors for information security, through the analysis of the most diverse information, detection of threats and sure actions to respond to this type of incident.

Process automation and acceleration

The automation of processes and cognitive knowledge makes it possible for companies to operate in an extremely optimized way, which favors efficiency and results. 

While artificial intelligence does most of the management work, the team gains time to engage in other activities, especially at a strategic level.

Data structuring and document organization

Data structuring is one of the fundamental pillars of artificial intelligence technology.

As this branch of computing is responsible for studying the most varied mechanisms of data organization, the use of an intelligent solution such as AI favors accurate ordering, access and processing methods for all the company's documental information, facilitating the manager's life and your team.

Insight generation and decision making

Because it is based on innovative concepts such as Machine Learning and Deep Learning, artificial intelligence has a formidable capacity for processing and interpreting data, since information is filtered and worked on in a way that is impossible to be replicated by humans.

This is undoubtedly a determining factor for the generation of important knowledge and insights that make it possible to take advantage of unique opportunities that, under other circumstances, could go unnoticed. 

The potential of artificial intelligence as a facilitator in decision-making lies precisely in the fact that it can generate this huge amount of qualified knowledge, in order to provide the necessary basis for people to decide on correct actions at a strategic level.

As you can see, artificial intelligence is a technological tool that is here to stay in the corporate scenario, and ignoring its relevance is no longer an option. And, since we are talking about technological tools, we end this article by inviting you to discover ZapSign's electronic signature solution. To check it out, just click here!

Leave a comment

Start your free trial today!

Try our digital signature tool for free.
The first 5 documents
are free!

Share this article

Do you want to stay informed?

Subscribe to our blog

Related articles