Automated Document Classification
Integrate Accurate Data Faster with AI-Accelerated Document Classification
Automated Classification for Any Structure of Document
Many data capture projects suffer because of challenging data sources. But Grooper’s AI acceleration organizes the chaos of semi-structured and unstructured documents by using machine learning algorithms and rules-based logic.
And it’s very simple. See how to use document classification models that you train and control.
Document Classification Techniques
Grooper auto separation classifies and separates documents based on a page’s content.
Document training occurs in a visual editor so you see how documents will be processed. You can easily see how machine learning models function and how supervised classification works.
Here are three tools you can use in Grooper to classify documents and content.

Lexical Classification
This method looks at the whole document to understand context. It does this by using TF-IDF (term frequency – inverse document frequency).
This is a technique where document examples are used to classify new documents. Many document types may be combined into one document group.

Rules-Based Classification
This method finds unique key words or features that identify a document, like a title, section heading, or a specific data element.
Grooper uses positive and negative extractors to identify document type. Positive extractors positively identify documents, and negative extractors stop a document from being identified as a particular type.

Visual Classification
This method uses computer vision to look at the visual structure of a document without using OCR.
Image data is used for automatic classification instead of text. Visual classification can be run during scanning. This saves time by rapidly sorting out structured forms from other document types.

Get our Free AI Document Classification Case Study!
Discover how a leading financial firm streamlined operations and improved services with intelligent document classification.
This is a great example of how you can leverage intelligent document processing with AI to save big time and costs. You will learn:
- The many different document types are being auto-classified
- How many thousands of hours of painstaking work they’re saving
- How little work their staff has to perform

Classification for Complicated Documents

Grooper’s ESP auto separation is the solution for complicated document classification. It combines classification logic with extracted page data to classify and separate documents at the same time.
So the worst document nightmares are no problem for Grooper. Whether the documents are structured, unstructured, disorganized, or mis-labeled, Grooper can help you get around these problems.
- “Train-by-example” interface
- Real-time confidence scores
- Mis-filed pages are intelligently reorganized

Sit Back and Watch the Automatic Classification
Simply give Grooper document examples and watch it learn the right document type based on a machine learning algorithm. When batch testing many documents, any with low confidence scores are flagged and sent to an operator to provide more training.
Image Classification
Classify photos through Grooper’s integration with AI cloud services. Use the Azure Computer Vision API to return words (or tags) that describe the content of a picture.
Quickly find and read text within images. Extract and tag documents by using information from text found within pictures. The extracted data is used to classify images on documents or to add metadata.
Pair this with a workflow to reduce risk and ensure compliance.
Those automated workflows can move documents or images with particular or sensitive content to a secure place.

Text Classification vs. Image Classification
Text classification and image classification are two fundamental aspects of document classification systems that involve categorizing data based on its content.
However, these two techniques approach classification in different ways. Here is how they are similar, and different:
Text Classification
Text classification assigns pre-defined categories or labels to text documents. This process involves understanding text-based content, extracting any relevant features, and applying machine learning algorithms to categorize the text.
Feature extraction converts text into numerical representations. Examples include: Bag-of-Words, TF- IDF, or word embeddings like Word2Vec, GloVe, and BERT. Machine learning algorithms like Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines, or deep learning models like RNNs and Transformers are used to classify the text.
Text classification is used in:
- Document categorization
- Sentiment analysis
- Spam detection
- Email filtering
- News categorization
- Customer support automation
- Content recommendation
- Legal document classification
- Social media content moderation
Image Classification
Image classification involves assigning pre-defined categories or labels to images based on their visual content.
This process uses computer vision techniques to extract visual features and apply machine learning algorithms to categorize the images.
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are deep learning models that are designed to process visual data. Transfer learning, which involves reusing pre-trained models on large datasets like ImageNet, is often used to improve performance on smaller datasets.
Image classification is used in:
- Medical image analysis for disease detection
- Autonomous vehicles
- Satellite imagery analysis
- Object detection in surveillance systems
- Face recognition
- Product categorization
- Quality control in manufacturing, and environmental monitoring.
3 Types of Automatic Document Classification
Machine learning uses several different ways in automatic document classification, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The three most common approaches are supervised, unsupervised, and semi-supervised learning.
Supervised Document Classification
Supervised learning requires a labeled training dataset, where documents are paired with their correct category. By analyzing these labeled examples, the model learns to identify patterns and classify new, unseen documents.
Positives of Supervised Document Classification:
- Potentially higher accuracy than unsupervised methods.
- Easier to evaluate performance
Negatives of Supervised Document Classification:
- Requires a significant amount of labeled training data, which can be time-consuming and expensive to acquire.
Unsupervised Document Classification
Unsupervised methods, on the other hand, does not rely on labeled data. Instead, it groups similar documents together based on inherent patterns and similarities within the text. Techniques like clustering and topic modeling are commonly used for this purpose.

Positives of Unsupervised Document Classification:
- Does not require a labeled training dataset.
- Can be faster and more cost-effective than supervised methods
Negatives of Unsupervised Document Classification:
- More challenging to evaluate performance.
- May not always produce meaningful or accurate classifications.
Semi-Supervised Document Classification
Semi-supervised learning combines elements of both supervised and unsupervised learning. It leverages a small amount of labeled data along with a larger amount of unlabeled data to improve classification accuracy.
This approach can be particularly useful when labeled data is scarce or expensive to obtain.
Positives of Semi-Supervised Document Classification:
- Can improve the accuracy of both supervised and unsupervised methods.
- Requires less labeled training data than fully supervised methods.
Disadvantages of Semi-Supervised Document Classification:
- More complex to implement than purely supervised or unsupervised methods.
- May not always outperform fully supervised methods.
Document Classification FAQs
What Is Document Classification?
Document classification is the process of assigning documents to one or more categories or classes, which improves document management and analysis.
This technology looks at the text in a document to give it a category or class labels. This helps to organize / manage documents, which helps users find data or documents in enterprise businesses, information science, computer science and library science.
An everyday example of document classification are search engines, which enable users to easily find the information they’re looking for.
Algorithms power today’s automated document classification, which replaces manual classification tasks that humans had to perform. Specifically, natural language processing, AI and machine learning work to analyze words and phrases. Document classification is based on that intelligent analysis.
What are Examples of Document Classification?
One real-world example of document classification is classifying invoices whether they have line-item tables or simple totals.
One example includes categorizing Explanation of Benefit (EOB) documents based on insurance company / payer. Or analyzing emails based on spam phrases to classify them as spam or not spam.
In the energy industry, an example of document classification is grouping oil and gas leases by risk level based on title defect information in the documents. Low-risk leases will then be purchased.
How Does Document Classification Work?
Document classification organizes documents into different categories, either manually or through automation. When classification is automated, it uses machine learning (ML) algorithms and natural language processing (NLP).
The types of documents that can be classified include text documents, scanned image documents, electronic files, etc. Here is each step of how document classification software works to organize your documents:
1. Dataset Preparation:
Data Collection: Gather a diverse and representative dataset of documents relevant to your classification A dataset generally needs to be large enough to lead to good model performance.
Data Preprocessing: Clean and prepare the document image by removing noise or tokenize Then convert it into a suitable format for machine learning algorithms.
2. Feature Extraction:
Identify Key Features: Document classification software then extracts relevant features from the documents, like words, phrases, or other linguistic elements that characterize the content.
Vectorization: Convert the extracted features into numerical representations (vectors) that can be understood by machine learning algorithms.

3. Model Training:
Choose a Model: Select a suitable machine learning algorithm based on the nature of the data and classification Options include: Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines, or Random Forest.
Train the Model: Train the chosen model (whether it’s supervised, unsupervised, or semi-supervised) using the prepared The model learns to associate specific features with corresponding document categories.
4. Classification:
Input New Document: Feed a new, unseen document into the trained model of the document classification solution.
Predict Category: The model analyzes the document’s features and assigns the most likely category or label based on the learned patterns.
5. Evaluation and Fine Tuning:
Assess Performance: You can then evaluate the model’s accuracy in your classification software using metrics like precision, recall, F1-score, and confusion matrices.
Iterative Improvement Through Fine Tuning: With software like Grooper, you can continuously improve the model by adjusting its parameters, retraining with more data, or exploring different algorithms to optimize performance.
By following these steps, you can effectively classify documents and automate tasks like sorting emails, categorizing news articles, or organizing research papers.
What are the Benefits of Document Classification?
Time and Cost Savings
Document classification software automates the process of manually organizing and analyzing vast quantities of documents. This powerful AI-driven solution significantly reduces the time and effort typically spent on manual sorting and searching. By automatically categorizing documents, businesses can:
- Save valuable time: Free up employees to focus on more strategic
- Improve efficiency: Streamline workflows and boost overall
With automated document classification, your business can unlock the full potential of your data and achieve greater efficiency.

Elevate Customer Satisfaction with Automated Document Classification
Document classification solutions empower businesses to significantly enhance customer satisfaction by streamlining customer service operations and expediting issue resolution.
By automatically categorizing customer inquiries, businesses can:
- Quicken response times: Swiftly route issues to the correct department or agent.
- Reduce wait times: Minimize customer wait times and frustration.
- Improve accuracy: Ensure that customer feedback is addressed with precision.
- Personalize experiences: Tailor responses to specific customer needs.
Ultimately, automated document classification leads to happier customers and stronger customer relationships.
