Extraction Templates
Customize what data Doculent pulls from your documents by creating and editing extraction templates.
Extraction Templates
Extraction templates tell Doculent what information to look for in your documents. Think of a template as a checklist — "from this type of document, I need these specific fields."
Default Templates
When you create a channel and choose an industry, Doculent provides default templates that cover the most commonly needed fields for that industry:
- Insurance — insured name, policy number, effective date, premium, coverage limits, etc.
- Healthcare — patient name, date of birth, provider, diagnosis codes, etc.
- Real Estate — property address, purchase price, closing date, parties, etc.
For many teams, the defaults are all you need. But if your workflow requires specific fields that aren't in the default, you can create custom templates.
Creating a Custom Template
- Go to Templates in the left sidebar (or Channels > your channel > Settings > Extraction)
- Click Create Template
- Give it a name (e.g., "Auto Policy Application Fields")
- Add the fields you want extracted:
For each field, you'll specify:
| Property | What it means |
|---|---|
| Field name | What this data point is called (e.g., "Vehicle VIN") |
| Field type | Text, number, date, currency, boolean, etc. |
| Required | Whether this field must be present for a valid extraction |
| Description | A hint to help the AI understand what to look for |
- Click Save
Writing Good Field Descriptions
The description field is more important than you might think. It helps the AI know exactly what to look for. Compare:
| Field | Poor description | Good description |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | "The premium" | "The annual policy premium amount in USD, typically found near the top of the declarations page" |
| Effective Date | "Date" | "The date the policy coverage begins, usually labeled 'Effective Date' or 'Policy Period From'" |
A specific description = better extraction accuracy.
Think about how you would tell a new employee where to find each piece of information on the form. That's the level of detail that helps the AI the most.
Using Templates in Channels
Each channel uses one extraction template. To change which template a channel uses:
- Go to Channels > select your channel > Settings > Extraction
- Select a different template from the dropdown
- Click Save
New submissions will use the updated template. Submissions already in progress will finish with the template that was active when they started.
Editing a Template
- Go to Templates
- Click on the template you want to edit
- Add, remove, or modify fields
- Click Save
Changes to a template affect all channels that use it. If you want to experiment without affecting your live pipeline, create a copy of the template first.
Tips
- Start with defaults and customize from there — it's easier than building from scratch
- Group related fields logically — it makes the extracted results easier to read
- Keep descriptions specific — the more context you give the AI, the better the results
- Test with real documents after making changes — upload a sample and verify the extraction looks right before routing live traffic through the updated template