# 11. Read Documents, Forms and Screenshots

> Recover exact text, reading order and structure without hiding uncertainty.

[Confident with AI course contents](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/)

Part Three: Understand Images and Visual Information

Recover exact text, reading order and structure without hiding uncertainty.

**Estimated time:** 10 minutes. **Last reviewed:** 11 August 2026.

## What you need to know

This page stands alone. No previous AI knowledge is required. You need access to an AI assistant only for the activity.

**Learning outcome:** By the end, you will request transcription, structure and uncertainty as separate outputs.

**Before you begin:** Use an authoritative source or human verification for consequential figures and official documents.

## The lesson

Ask for verbatim text before a summary.

Request headings, labels, fields, checked states and reading order.

Exact characters matter: prices, dates, doses, reference numbers and telephone numbers deserve special checking.

### Use three passes

- Transcription: read every visible character exactly as it appears.
- Structure: identify headings, sections, columns, fields, selected states and reading order.
- Uncertainty: list every character, word or field that is unclear, cropped, handwritten or partly obscured.

### Do not silently repair the document

A plausible correction can conceal an error. Ask the system to mark uncertainty explicitly rather than guessing. Compare conversational output with a dedicated recognition mode when exact text matters.

## Try it

Use a non-sensitive document image. Ask for exact text, then a structural outline, then a list of uncertain characters or fields.

## Checkpoint

You can reconstruct the document without silently treating uncertain text as exact.

- Previous: [10. Judge and Verify an Image Description](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/modules/10-check-an-image-description/)
- [Course contents](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/)
- Next: [12. Understand Tables, Charts and Slides](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/modules/12-understand-tables-charts-and-slides/)

## About this course

*Confident with AI* was created by Charli-Jo Tyrer in association with the Technology Association of Visually Impaired People (TAVIP).

Licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).