Duple

AI agents explained

What a document intake agent does

Delivery notes, supplier invoices, intake forms: today someone on your team reads each one and types it into another system. A document intake agent does the reading and the typing, checks each document against your own records, and sets aside the ones a person needs to look at.

Step through an example

Each example business is fictional. Step through what arrives, what the agent does and where a person takes over.

Example: Haulage and delivery firm · Birmingham

  1. Photo of a signed delivery noteExample
    • Northfield Haulage Ltd · Delivery note DN-20417
    • Date: 02/06/2026
    • Deliver to: Brookes Building Supplies, Unit 4, Tyseley Industrial Estate, B11 2AA
    • Goods: 24 pallets, plasterboard 12.5mm
    • Received in good condition: 22 · "2 pallets damaged, refused"
    • Signed: R. Brookes

    Step 1 of 5

    The driver photographs the signed note at the drop and sends it in. The agent reads it, handwriting included, and picks out the note number, the customer, the pallet count and the comment about damage.

    Agent does this

  2. Your job recordExample
    • Job J-88213 · Brookes Building Supplies
    • Booked: 24 pallets · delivery 02/06/2026
    • Rate: £38.00 per pallet
    • Status: out for delivery

    Step 2 of 5

    Matches the note to the job in your system. The booking says 24 pallets but only 22 were signed for. That's a mismatch, so it doesn't mark the job as complete.

    Agent does this

  3. Flagged for reviewExample
    • DN-20417 · Job J-88213
    • Booked 24 · accepted 22 · 2 refused as damaged
    • Driver: Kev Doyle · Vehicle: KX24 HBT
    • Photo of signed note attached

    Step 3 of 5

    Sends the job to your transport office with the photo and the difference highlighted, and asks how to record it: a part delivery, a damage claim or a return to the depot.

    Asks a person

  4. The rest of the day's notesExample
    • Delivery notes received today: 41
    • Matched and closed: 38
    • Need a person: 3 (1 damage, 1 unreadable signature, 1 wrong job number)

    Step 4 of 5

    Handles every other note the same way. The ones that match are closed and ready to invoice, and the few that don't wait in one place instead of in a driver's cab.

    Agent does this

  5. Draft invoice, waiting for approvalExample
    • Invoice INV-30562 · Brookes Building Supplies
    • Date: 03/06/2026
    • 22 pallets delivered @ £38.00: £836.00
    • VAT (20%): £167.20
    • Total due: £1,003.20
    • Note: 2 pallets refused as damaged, see claim CL-0419

    Step 5 of 5

    Once your office logs the damaged pallets as a claim, the agent drafts the invoice for what was actually accepted. A person checks it and sends it. Nothing goes to the customer without that approval.

    A person decides

Example: Physiotherapy clinic · Melbourne

  1. New patient intake formExample
    • Patient: Sophie Marchetti · DOB 14/02/1991
    • Mobile: 0491 570 006
    • Medicare number: 2953 ••••• 1 · Private health: extras cover
    • Reason for visit: lower back pain after lifting, two weeks
    • Medications: ibuprofen as needed
    • Consent to treatment: signed 21/07/2026

    Step 1 of 5

    Reads the form the patient filled in online before her first visit, and pulls out her details, her reason for coming in and her answers to your health questions.

    Agent does this

  2. Your practice systemExample
    • Search: Sophie Marchetti, 14/02/1991 · no existing record
    • Booked: Thu 23/07/2026, 3:15 pm · Initial consultation
    • Physio: Hannah K.

    Step 2 of 5

    Checks she isn't already on file, then creates her patient record in your practice system and attaches the form to her first appointment.

    Agent does this

  3. Answer that needs a clinicianExample
    • Question: Any numbness, pins and needles, or changes to bladder or bowel control?
    • Answer: "Some tingling down the left leg since Monday"

    Step 3 of 5

    This answer is on the list your clinic says a physio must see before the appointment. The agent doesn't judge what it means. It flags it to the treating physio straight away.

    Asks a person

  4. Email from the patientExample
    • From: Sophie Marchetti
    • Received: 21/07/2026, 8:02 pm
    • Forgot to mention, I had an MRI last year. Report attached. GP is Dr Alan Pryce in Fitzroy.
    • Attached: MRI_lumbar_spine_2025.pdf

    Step 4 of 5

    Files the MRI report in her record against the right appointment and adds her GP's details, so the physio has everything in one place.

    Agent does this

  5. Ready for the physioExample
    • Sophie Marchetti · Initial consultation · Thu 23/07/2026, 3:15 pm
    • Reason: lower back pain after lifting
    • Flagged: tingling in left leg since Monday
    • Attached: intake form, MRI report (2025)
    • Reviewed by physio: not yet

    Step 5 of 5

    The physio reviews the flag and the report, and decides what happens next: go ahead as booked, call Sophie first, or suggest she sees her GP. Clinical decisions stay with your clinicians.

    A person decides

Example: General contractor · Denver

  1. Supplier invoice (PDF by email)Example
    • Front Range Lumber Co. · Invoice 58841
    • Date: 08/14/2026 · Terms: Net 30 · PO 2214-017
    • Ship to: Job 2214, 1187 S Logan St, Denver, CO 80210
    • 2x6x16 SPF #2, 120 pcs @ $14.85: $1,782.00
    • 3/4" T&G OSB subfloor, 60 sheets @ $42.50: $2,550.00
    • Delivery: $95.00 · Sales tax (8.81%): $381.65 · Total: $4,808.65

    Step 1 of 5

    Opens the attachment and reads the invoice: the supplier, the job, the purchase order number and every line item.

    Agent does this

  2. Your purchase orderExample
    • PO 2214-017 · Front Range Lumber Co. · Job 2214, Logan St remodel
    • 2x6x16 SPF #2, 120 pcs @ $14.85
    • 3/4" T&G OSB subfloor, 60 sheets @ $39.75
    • Delivery: included

    Step 2 of 5

    Checks each line against the purchase order. The lumber matches. The subfloor is billed at a higher price per sheet than you agreed, and there's a delivery charge the order says is included.

    Agent does this

  3. Delivery ticket from the siteExample
    • Front Range Lumber Co. · Ticket 58841-D
    • Delivered 08/13/2026 to 1187 S Logan St
    • OSB subfloor: 56 sheets (4 back-ordered)
    • Received by: J. Ortiz

    Step 3 of 5

    Compares the invoice with what your crew signed for on site. Four sheets of subfloor haven't arrived yet, but they're on the bill.

    Agent does this

  4. Flagged for reviewExample
    • Invoice 58841 · Front Range Lumber Co. · Job 2214
    • Subfloor price: invoiced $42.50, PO $39.75 per sheet
    • Subfloor quantity: invoiced 60, delivered 56
    • Delivery: $95.00 billed, PO says included

    Step 4 of 5

    Holds the invoice instead of entering it for payment, and asks your project manager how to handle the three differences: dispute them, accept them, or wait for a credit memo.

    Asks a person

  5. Ready to approveExample
    • Invoice 58841 · Job 2214 · Cost code 06 10 00 Rough carpentry
    • Approved to pay: $4,008.00 + sales tax $353.10 = $4,361.10
    • Basis: PO price, 56 sheets delivered, no delivery charge
    • Dispute email to supplier: drafted
    • Approve · Edit · Reject

    Step 5 of 5

    Your project manager chose to pay the agreed price for what was delivered. The agent has prepared the bill for your accounting software and a dispute email to the supplier, and both wait for the manager's approval.

    A person decides

What it connects to

The kinds of tool it works in. Which ones depends on what your business already uses.
  • Shared email inboxes
  • Scanners and phone photos
  • Shared drives and document folders
  • Accounting software
  • Job, transport or practice management systems
  • Spreadsheets

Where a person stays in charge

Options you choose when the agent is built, not fixed rules.
  • You can choose to have a person check every entry at first, then only the ones it's unsure about once you trust it.
  • You can set what counts as a match, such as how close a price or quantity has to be before it's flagged.
  • You can keep certain documents, such as anything clinical or legal, always going to a person.
  • You can see a log of every document it read, what it pulled out and where it put it.

What we'd need from you to build one

  • A batch of real documents, messy ones included: handwriting, poor scans, and the supplier who does everything differently.
  • Which details matter, and where each one goes in your systems.
  • The records it should check against, such as purchase orders, job lists or appointment books.
  • Who reviews the flagged documents, and what counts as a mismatch for you.

Other jobs an agent can do

See how we build it and what it costs · All AI agents explained

Common questions

Can it read handwriting and phone photos?

Usually, as long as a person could read them. You can have it mark anything it can't read with confidence as unsure and send it to a person instead of guessing.

What happens if it gets something wrong?

You can have it check documents against your records and send anything that doesn't match to a person. You can also have someone review every entry until you're comfortable with how it performs.

Is it safe to use with sensitive documents?

That depends on how it's built, so we treat it as a design question from day one: where documents are stored, who can see them, and the privacy rules that apply in your industry and country.

Do we need to change the systems we use?

Normally not. The agent works with the tools you already have and enters information the way your team does today.

Could a document intake agent help your business?

Walk us through how this work is handled today and we'll tell you honestly whether an agent is worth building for it.