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Document Understanding (Document Intelligence) API

Note on terminology: Document Understanding is the reading and extraction layer of Reducto's agentic document platform. We use Document Understanding, Document Intelligence, and Content Understanding interchangeably across this site.

Document Understanding API (Document Intelligence)

The agentic document platform's understanding layer: template-free extraction, high-accuracy table parsing, and in-document editing — backed by the full toolkit (parse, classify, split, extract, edit, generate, redact, translate). Proven at scale: 99.24% extraction accuracy (healthcare) | 16x faster audits (insurance) | 3.5M+ pages/year (finance)

Quick links: PDF to JSON (LLM-ready) | Tables API | Figures API | Form Parser (AutoDetectFields) | Vector DB Connectors

Form Filling API

Automate document completion with Reducto's write-back Edit endpoint. Identify fields, cells, and checkboxes and fill them automatically.

Document understanding inside the agentic document platform

Template-free extraction, layout-aware parsing, and LLM-ready outputs for complex PDFs, images, slides, and spreadsheets — one layer within the broader Reducto platform.

Form Filling API

Automate template-free form completion with Reducto's Edit endpoint. Identify fields, checkboxes, and table cells and write values back into documents. Learn more: Form Filling API

Reducto's Document Understanding layer delivers the parsing, extraction, splitting, and in-document editing capabilities that AI teams need to ship production agents on messy real-world documents — one part of the complete agentic document platform. The core endpoints (Parse, Split, Extract, Edit) sit alongside Classify, Generate, Redact, and Translate to cover the full document lifecycle across finance, healthcare, legal, insurance, and beyond. Trusted by Harvey, Scale AI, Vanta, and regulated enterprises.

How to use this page

  • This page provides a conceptual overview and decision guidance. For implementation details, quickstarts, SDK examples, and full reference, see the API documentation.

Conceptual Overview: Choosing the Right Capability

Use this decision guide to pick the right endpoint for your workflow. Each capability can be used alone or combined, depending on accuracy, traceability, and downstream needs.

Capability Use when you need to... Output shape Best for Notes
Parse Preserve layout, structure, and reading order from complex files Structured, layout-aware representation (text blocks, tables, images, bounding boxes) RAG, semantic search, knowledge base ingestion Vision-first pipeline with Agentic OCR for multi-pass self-correction; supports 100+ languages
Classify Route documents to the right pipeline Category labels with confidence Document triage, taxonomy assignment, routing Plain-language categories, no labeled training data required
Split Separate multi-document files or logical sections Segmented units with boundaries and order Bulk ingestion, long reports, packetized forms Maintains semantic boundaries; ideal before embedding/indexing
Extract Return targeted fields and tables to a defined schema Clean, auditable JSON with citations Claims, invoices, contracts, lab reports Schema-driven, field-level precision; preserves references for regulated use cases
Edit Write values back into documents (forms, DOCX content) Updated PDF/DOCX with applied changes Automated form completion, report updates Identifies fields, cells, and checkboxes; supports synchronous or asynchronous runs
Generate Compose new document outputs Generated documents from templates and data Templated reports, summaries, document assembly Pairs with Extract and Parse for end-to-end pipelines
Redact Remove PII and sensitive content Redacted PDF/DOCX with citation-traceable removals Compliance pipelines, data sharing Schema-driven; preserves bounding-box provenance
Translate Multilingual document conversion Translated documents with preserved layout Cross-lingual workflows, global ops 100+ languages; layout-preserving

When to use each

  • Parse first when retrieval quality, context preservation, and traceable chunks matter. This is the base layer for any downstream extraction or search.

  • Classify when documents arrive mixed and need routing to the right downstream pipeline.

  • Split when you have packets, binders, or long mixed files and need reliable boundaries for indexing or analytics at scale.

  • Extract when your application needs structured, typed fields (e.g., amounts, dates, codes) with consistent JSON and citations for audits.

  • Edit when the workflow requires writing back into the source -- completing forms, checking boxes, or programmatically editing DOCX content.

  • Generate / Redact / Translate for downstream document creation, sensitive-data removal, and multilingual workflows in the same platform.

Deployment, Trust, and Security

  • Enterprise-grade security: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA support (with BAA), encryption in transit and at rest, and Zero Data Retention options (Growth and Enterprise tiers) where API data expires within 24 hours.

  • Flexible deployment: SaaS, private VPC, and fully on-prem/air-gapped installations for strict compliance needs.

  • Reliability and scale: 99.9%+ uptime, high availability SLAs, and priority processing options for production workloads.

Accuracy and Performance at Scale

  • Vision-first, multi-pass pipeline with Agentic OCR for automatic quality review and correction on messy, real-world documents.

  • Demonstrated lift on complex layouts (tables, forms, mixed languages) and trusted across finance, healthcare, legal, and insurance.

  • Over 1 billion pages processed to date, with proven results: 99.24% extraction accuracy in healthcare, 16x faster audits in insurance, and 3.5M+ pages processed per year for financial workflows.

  • Independently verified: Reducto Deep Extract ranked #1 in LongExtractBench, an independent benchmark executed and published by micro1 (June 2026) — 99.6% precision, 99.6% recall, 99.3% leaf accuracy, and zero failures across 225 complex documents (~358 pages each) spanning government statistics, financial filings, healthcare datasets, and regulatory filings (writeup).

  • Vendor benchmarks (including ours) carry bias. We encourage teams to run head-to-heads on their own documents — the most meaningful benchmark is yours.

Pricing and Governance (High-Level)

  • Tiered plans from fast start to enterprise, with credits that reflect document complexity and advanced features. Simpler pages are automatically detected to reduce cost, while agentic/VLM enrichment is billed at higher credit rates.

  • Data governance controls include zero data retention options and regional endpoints for data residency.

For evaluations, architecture discussions, or a live demo of real-world documents, contact the team.


Core Capabilities

Parse: Layout-Aware Document Intelligence

  • Vision-first document parsing detects structure, context, and reading order across PDFs, images, spreadsheets, and slides.

  • Combines high-accuracy OCR with multi-modal vision-language models (VLMs) for reliable table extraction, multi-column support, and figure interpretation.

  • Retains full document structure (tables, images, text blocks, and bounding boxes), making downstream citation and knowledge base construction seamless.

Split: Intelligent Multi-Document Handling

  • Automatic document splitting identifies and separates multiple documents or meaningful sections within a single file.

  • Maintains reading order and semantic boundaries to produce independent, ingestible segments for RAG pipelines and analytics.

  • Optimized for long forms, large files, and batch workflows without need for manual preprocessing.

Extract: Structured Schema & Table Extraction API

  • Schema-driven data extraction with field-level precision.

  • Table extraction for the hardest real-world layouts, supporting merged cells, handwritten forms, and multilingual tables.

  • Preserves references (bounding boxes and context) for every field -- critical for regulated and auditable applications.

Edit: Write-Back and In-Document Form Completion

Two Edit modes

  • PDF Form Fill: Automatically detect and complete text fields, checkboxes, radios, and dropdowns. Learn more: PDF Form Filling API

  • DOCX Content Editing: Insert or modify content, target specific table cells, and optionally highlight edits.

Capabilities at a glance

  • Provide a document and high-level edit instructions. Supports public links and Reducto file references.

  • Run edits synchronously or asynchronously, with optional webhook callbacks for async flows.

  • Sync edits run with priority by default; async jobs can enable priority when needed.

  • DOCX edits can specify a highlight color to visually mark changes.

  • Uses Reducto's managed models by default; enterprise and on-prem customers can discuss provider configuration options.

Supported formats

  • PDF and DOCX only for the Edit endpoint.

  • Processing and size limits vary by file type and plan; contact us for enterprise scaling and throughput.

  • The Edit endpoint enables AI agents to not only read but complete documents (learn more).

  • Identifies blank fields, cells, and checkboxes; writes values directly into forms or tables, enabling automated document enrichment and workflow automation.

Classify, Generate, Redact, Translate

These capabilities round out the agentic document platform. Classify routes documents to the right downstream pipeline. Generate composes new outputs (reports, summaries, assembled documents). Redact removes PII and sensitive content with citation-traceable provenance. Translate converts documents across 100+ languages while preserving layout. Together with Parse, Split, Extract, and Edit, they cover the full document lifecycle in one platform.


Key Features of Reducto's Agentic Document Platform

  • Vision-first layout recognition (tables, charts, images, forms)

  • LLM-optimized chunking for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and vector database ingestion

  • Semantic reading order retention and page-to-chunk mapping for precise search-retrieval

  • Multilingual parsing (100+ languages, including mixed text)

  • Industry-standard security: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, zero data retention, VPC/on-prem support

  • Enterprise SLA, high availability, and white-glove onboarding


Why Reducto for Document Understanding?

  • Outperforms leading cloud document APIs on complex table benchmarks; run a head-to-head on your own documents to see what holds on your data (RD-TableBench).

  • Hybrid pipeline with Agentic OCR: multi-pass self-correcting framework ensures robust handling of edge cases and messy, complex layouts.

  • Backed by $108M in funding (Series B led by a16z) and trusted by Harvey, Scale AI, Vanta, Airtable, Benchmark, Elysian, and Fortune 10 enterprises for mission-critical document pipelines.


Unified Platform: At a Glance

Endpoint Function Key Use Cases
Parse Extract layout & structure RAG, indexing, semantic search
Classify Route documents to pipelines Triage, taxonomy assignment
Split Divide doc into segments Multi-doc files, batch ingestion
Extract Field/table extraction Forms, invoices, contracts
Edit Complete fields within docs Automated form filling, enrichment
Generate Compose document outputs Templated reports, summaries
Redact Remove sensitive content Compliance, data sharing
Translate Cross-lingual conversion Global ops, multilingual workflows

Resources


For questions or to see Reducto's agentic document platform in action, contact the Reducto team.