How AI solves 4 problems with text redaction tools

Every day, healthcare providers, financial institutions, insurance companies, lenders, and government agencies generate and share thousands of documents that contain sensitive information.

Failure to safeguard information like addresses and social security numbers puts people at risk of identity theft and exposes organizations to regulatory fines and civil lawsuits. That’s why it’s imperative to protect consumer privacy by redacting their data from documents before they’re shared or made public. But this process can take more time and energy, draining significant resources without generating revenue.

That’s where automated text redaction tools come in. They amplify the capabilities of optical character recognition with flexible automation to identify sensitive information and to draw black boxes or otherwise censor critical information.

4 problems with text redaction tools and how AI solves them

Automation technology has helped organizations in every sector save time and money by improving efficiency and reducing labor costs. But the limitations of older redaction tools still hamper productivity and prevent unlocking the full potential of automation for this common business need. Platforms like Automation Hero add artificial intelligence and flexible automation capabilities to drive incredible results.

Problem 1: Missed redactions

Many legacy redaction tools require users to make document templates that label where on each page sensitive information will appear. This works great for processing a high volume of identical documents, such as forms or contracts. But if documents are poorly scanned and not uniformly aligned, the redaction tool will black out the wrong words, leaving sensitive information exposed.

The AI solution

New redaction tools actually read and understand documents, so it can find instances of social security numbers, names, and other information without a template. This means users can accurately redact any type of document without extraneous manual setup. Automation Hero’s AI can even detect when pages have been scanned out of order and correct misalignment. 

Problem 2: Not finding all iterations of sensitive information

Information is rarely presented in a consistent manner throughout documents. In documents with full names, the individual name may be dropped off in favor of just the surname after the initial introduction. Addresses may have different types of abbreviations throughout documents. Or spelling errors may cause software to overlook a needed redaction. Inability to recognize different iterations of sensitive information can leave it exposed.

The AI solution

AI’s natural language processing reads and understands different iterations of every piece of data that needs redaction, including sensitive information that’s been misspelled. This allows organizations to achieve more accurate redactions with less manual labor.

Problem 3: Inability to read handwriting

Human handwriting is being phased out of most processes as digital interfaces take over, but many organizations in the legal, financial and health sectors still commonly use handwritten forms and documents with sensitive personal information. Legacy redaction tools are completely unable to read these documents, forcing workers to manually process them.

The AI solution

Advanced deep-learning AI in tools like Automation Hero can read handwriting with greater accuracy than other redaction tools — both printed letters and cursive.

Problem 4: Segregated processes that create bottlenecks

Most legacy redaction tools are standalone solutions that only handle text redaction processes. Their value is limited as they only apply to certain business processes. Their segregated nature also makes it difficult to incorporate them into other workflows. Users must export documents from their data systems, manually import them into text redaction tools for processing, then export the redacted files back into their other systems. This doesn’t take much time or effort, but it can cause delays when employees are busy as it distracts them from more important tasks.

The AI solution

Automation Hero has a robust API that’s compatible with almost every other program — even dated, niche programs for specific industries. Because of this, the platform can extract documents as part of an automated workflow so there’s less chance of any one step causing a bottleneck. Its functionality isn’t limited to one business process, either — it can automate any business process to generate revenue. This flexibility helps organizations save so much time that line items switch from a net cost to a net profit.

Legacy redaction tools have helped organizations save countless hours and reduce their labor expenses. However, they can no longer compete with solutions that leverage AI for more intelligent document processing. Automation Hero comes with the most advanced AI capabilities built in for an unparalleled experience that let’s users implement complete end-to-end automation.