An AI-Powered Document Upload Service
Have you ever stared at a folder full of uploaded documents and wished they could just magically sort themselves into “invoice”, “contract”, or “report” without you manually tagging each one? In this article you’ll discover how to build a simple upload endpoint—using Python and FastAPI—that automatically accepts a PDF, DOCX or TXT file, extracts the text, sends it to an AI model, and returns a structured JSON response with the document type and a quick description. Whether you’re tired of manual document sorting or building a smarter filing system, this step-by-step guide walks you through installation, the code, testing and ideas to extend it further.
In many modern applications — from HR portals to accounting systems — users upload documents like invoices, contracts, and reports every day. Manually tagging and describing each document is slow and error-prone. Wouldn’t it be great if an AI system could automatically classify each upload and describe what it contains? That’s what we’ll build in this post: An AI-powered document upload endpoint using Python, FastAPI, and OpenAI’s GPT models.
Why Automate Document Classification?
- Saves time: No more manual tagging or data entry.
- Improves consistency: AI applies standardized categories.
- Boosts usability: Systems can auto-organize and search documents by type.
Think of it as a small step toward building an intelligent document management system.
System Overview
Our endpoint will:
- Accept a document upload (
.pdf,.docx, or.txt) - Optionally accept a list of possible document types
- Extract text from the document
- Use an AI model to classify it and generate a brief description
- Return structured JSON output