Smart SharePoint Column Updates Using Document AI

introduction in this test drive, you'll see how cloudfiles document management & sharing docid 3gglz90lgx5zfwkrgm7ra integrates with document ai docid 9sebvqewr6cmi0b ljbsc to intelligently process external files uploaded via the cloudfiles widget into sharepoint — and automatically update their corresponding sharepoint columns the system detects uploads (e g , driving licenses or passports), classifies the document type using ai, extracts key details like holder name, id number, and expiry date, and populates the associated sharepoint metadata columns — all within seconds in order to access this test drive, head over to our salesforce appexchange listing & click on the 'try it' button enter your information to open the test drive org once the test drive is open, navigate to this article within the instructions tab of the test drive instructions to experience this automation in action 1 go to the 'kyc uploads' tab and create a new record no additional input is required — just save the record 2 go to the ‘ external files ’ tab on the record and upload kyc documents ( driving license or passport ) via the cloudfiles widget this will upload the file directly into the connected sharepoint folder 3 observe ai powered updates once uploaded, the documents will be processed using cloudfiles document ai the ai system will classify the file type and update kyc type column extract fields like holder’s name , document number and expiry date and auto update sharepoint columns kyc type , kyc number , kyc holder , kyc expiry refer to the image below for visual understanding of the above steps implementation this demo is powered by salesforce flows salesforce flows + events docid\ rknln6uow5ow7m1aji6xq + flow actions docid\ jklr1skejfyjuev13cko here's how it works behind the scenes file upload into sharepoint via the cloudfiles widget triggers a file uploaded docid\ p yy1ryebu5ecnctf0jhd event this event initiates the process document using ai docid 31ujx1ligtkwfkjuanbzt flow action once processing is complete, a document processed docid\ xrr pnbpocwwcmyg6qgk9 event is published the flow then uses query document docid\ dm3eh gzaocyoqd5y0r8d to extract specific data from the file finally, using set resource property docid 0zoopbzobe0czqmm6spsf , the extracted values are written into the corresponding sharepoint columns cloudfiles handles both the ai based document's data extraction and the document management layer , including file uploads to external storage and metadata updates the below image shows snippets of the flows implemented for this test drive for more information, please refer to document ai tutorials docid\ k89awfijxxjssysaajwcr beyond this test drive this test drive highlights how cloudfiles ai can automatically update sharepoint columns with structured metadata extracted from uploaded files but the true potential comes when these column updates are treated as live business data that drive visibility, compliance, and automation — directly from sharepoint here are some practical applications across industries banking & financial services – kyc & compliance columns like kyc type , document number , and expiry date are auto updated compliance teams simply filter the “expiry date” column to track expiring ids and schedule reminders healthcare – patient & insurance processing insurance card uploads populate columns such as policy number and coverage expiry staff sort by “coverage expiry” to ensure policies remain valid before patient billing education – enrollment document validation uploaded student forms auto fill dob , student name , and enrollment number admissions staff use columns to quickly check completeness human resources – employee certifications training or certification documents auto update certification expiry and employee id columns hr uses these fields for proactive compliance legal & contract management – renewal tracking contracts update columns like client name , signed date , and renewal date legal teams rely on these columns for renewal pipelines procurement & retail – vendor document verification invoices and pos populate vendor name , po reference , and invoice amount teams can validate consistency directly from columns column updates as triggers beyond visibility, column updates themselves can act as triggers for downstream ai actions expiry date → renewal flows updating the “expiry date” column automatically triggers renewal workflows or customer reminders invoice amount → discrepancy checks a populated “invoice amount” column kicks off a validation flow against salesforce order records contract renewal date → task creation “renewal date” column updates auto generate follow up tasks for account managers with cloudfiles document ai + sharepoint integration, every uploaded file becomes more than static storage it becomes structured, actionable data — driving compliance, automation, and intelligent workflows across salesforce and sharepoint