Which term should I start with?

DMS (system of record), OCR (reading), extraction (structuring), human-in-the-loop (approving).

Retrieval-Augmented Generation: answering a question based on passages retrieved from your documents, rather than on the model’s memory alone.

Where can I learn more?

Our AI for business documents page covers the practical uses, the limits and how to roll it out.

The useful terms for talking about AI applied to business documents — without unnecessary jargon.

By DocPilot teamJune 16, 20262 min read

This glossary complements the AI for business documents guide and the FAQ. Where useful, each entry points to a practical use.

**Automation (document)** — chaining receipt, extraction, routing and notifications without manual re-keying (the DocPilot process).
**Classification** — proposing a document type (contract, quote…) (article).
**Citation / source** — the passage of the document used to justify an AI answer (questions).

**DocpilotAI** — DocPilot’s assistance layer: document typing, extraction, questions on selected documents.
**Extraction** — automatically filling in structured fields (dates, amounts, parties) (article).
**DMS (document management system)** — known in French as GED; a single system of record with access rights and search (enterprise DMS).
**Governance (AI)** — rules that keep humans accountable for decisions (AI proposes / human approves).

**Human-in-the-loop** — AI proposes, a human confirms before any binding action.
**Metadata** — record fields that make the document filterable (type, party, status…).
**OCR** — optical character recognition: turning a scan or photo into text (how it works).

**RAG** — retrieval-augmented generation, drawing on passages retrieved from your document collection.
**Semantic search** — finding by closeness of meaning, not just by exact word (article).
**Summary (AI)** — an overview to prioritise reading; ≠ a legal decision (limits).
**Score (confidence)** — an indicator for targeting review (article).

**Workflow / approval process** — the sequence of human approvals after the AI proposal (approval).

Which term should I start with?: DMS (system of record), OCR (reading), extraction (structuring), human-in-the-loop (approving).
What is RAG?: Retrieval-Augmented Generation: answering a question based on passages retrieved from your documents, rather than on the model’s memory alone.
Where can I learn more?: Our AI for business documents page covers the practical uses, the limits and how to roll it out.

From words to practice with DocPilot

OCR, DocpilotAI extraction, questions and workflows — on your first document flow.

Free resource

Download the checklist: 25 points to set up effective contract management.

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