Here are the AI Builder improvements that shipped in April 2021:

Improved table extraction in form processing

We can now train a form processing model to recognize tables that were not supported until today, available in public preview. Tables can range from simple ones with clear delimitations between rows and columns, to more complex ones without borders, that have merged cells, or even nested items. Just tag the tables you want to extract on the document the same way you tag fields. This way, you’ll teach the AI model how to extract the tables.

Once your form processing model has been trained and published, you can use your model in your automation flows in Microsoft Power Automate or apps in Microsoft Power Apps. You can also leverage it in the recently released end-to-end document automation solution.

Learn more about improved table extraction in AI Builder form processing.

Support of table data in document automation

Document automation enables you to build a rich and robust solution to process and extract data from documents allowing users to manually review and approve the result of the processing.

In March 2021, we have added support of table data extraction. This is used for instance in accounts payable automation to retrieve invoice line items.

Thanks to the improved extraction capability of form processing, you can create a model extracting data for tables and use it in the document automation pipeline. Once the processing is complete, you can review the data extracted in a new tab of the side-by-side viewer:

We have also published a whitepaper explaining how to implement document automation in your business with Microsoft Power Platform.

Identity document reader public preview release

We announced the availability of the new identity document reader model in public preview on March 26, 2021.

 This model allows you to extract information (such as first name, last name, or date of birth) from passports from all over the world and state-issued driver’s licenses.

AI Builder makes it easy to read and export this data in your business processes if you use either passports or driver’s licenses as proof of residency or for hotel check-in purposes, for instance.

Leveraging the latest in Microsoft AI Form Recognizer, this new model doesn’t require training nor prior configuration. It’s able to perform high quality data extraction even with imperfect photos or scans (glossy or tilted images, for instance).

Learn more about the identity document reader.

AI Builder in Teams

It’s now possible to use AI Builder through the dedicated Power Automate application.

You will be able, for example, to analyze the sentiment of emails received with AI Builder and send results to Teams; or add channel messages into Microsoft Excel after extracting categories and key phrases using AI Builder.

After installation of the Power Automate application in Teams, you can go to the create tab and select one of the AI Builder templates:

Just click on a template and follow the simplified experience to create, in few seconds, a flow that will leverage the power of AI Builder models.

Several templates are already available, and more will be added in the coming months. You will also have the possibility to edit templates in advanced mode to tweak them at your convenience.

Availability in India, France, Germany, and UAE

AI Builder is now available in environments created in India, France, Germany, and United Arab Emirates in March and April 2021. Customers in these regions can now leverage AI Builder on their current environment without the need to take any action and be assured that their data will be processed and will remain in these boundaries.

The list of available scenarios on these new regions can be reviewed in the feature availability by region matrix.

We are always working to improve AI Builder to meet your needs. Feel free to share your feedback with us in the AI Builder forum or email us directly at aihelpen@microsoft.com.