AI-Powered Redaction vs. Manual Redaction: What’s Safer?

With time, new tools with AI-powered algorithms have transformed the redaction making it faster and more accurate. But the question that pops up now is: which approach is more efficient, safer, and more sustainable?

AI-powered redaction may seem much more effective than manual redaction at first glance, but to truly understand this, we need to compare both methods and look closely at their pros and cons.

Our article will help you see how manual and AI-powered redaction differ from each other based on various parameters such as accuracy, cost, speed, and compliance.

Before we start the comparison, let’s clarify the terms we’re talking about.

Manual redaction is the process where a human reviews a file: it can be a document, an image, an audio, and so on. A person identifies sensitive data such as names, addresses, signatures, phone numbers, Social Security Numbers, and other personal details. After that, the sensitive parts are redacted manually, usually by placing black boxes, white text, or other visual masking methods. As a result, the sensitive content is hidden, and the document appears secure.

AI-powered redaction, on the other hand, involves using software that relies on machine learning, deep learning, optical character recognition (OCR), and other algorithms.

These tools automatically detect sensitive data within files, redact it, and can even generate audit logs to track and verify redaction actions.

Now let’s compare two approaches to redaction in detail to define which method is safer:

Manual redaction has one of the main strengths, which is human judgment. If a reviewer has enough skills and experience, they can recognize the context and identify the exact information that must be redacted. For example, handwritten notes or mixed data. However, there’s a risk of human error, which is a very widespread issue, because humans may miss items due to tiredness or misclassify some type of data. Manual marking of data, for example, printing a document and then blacking out text, scanning it back, and so on, can also minimize document quality. Small volumes and standard formats are possibly acceptable for the manual redaction approach.

When it comes to AI-powered redaction using an AI redaction tool, the advantage is in consistency. AI models like PDFized identify and redact more accurately and consistently than manual methods. AI tools can scan large volumes, detect patterns, identify sensitive data across different formats involving text, image, and audio. At the same time, AI can mess up the context or be unacceptable for unusual formats like handwritten notes. As a result, AI can achieve high accuracy, but there may be a need to combine it with human control and audit.

When it comes to manual redaction, it may take a lot of time because there is a need to review and redact different types of content, identify sensitive details, and be very attentive. Manual methods can handle small volumes, but when it comes to larger volumes, it becomes tricky. When an organization has thousands of documents to manage, the manual approach to redaction can take hours, which leads to a waste of resources.

AI tools can process large volumes of documents very fast. Manual processing might take hours, while AI will do it several times faster. So, when it comes to the volume of data, manual redaction is no longer an option.

Manual redaction requires significant human resources. People performing redaction need to be skilled in policy, record keeping, and the specific rules of a certain organization. This approach is both slow and expensive. For example, processing a single contract can take hours, which maximizes operational costs. Additional checks and quality control possibly increase the expense.

AI-powered redaction, on the other hand, significantly reduces the need for human involvement. Fewer people are required for the process, freeing human resources to focus on other tasks. While AI solutions come with upfront costs including software licenses, training, and setup: these investments tend to pay off over time.

From a safety perspective, cost and resource efficiency are crucial for sensitive data protection. Companies must manage budgets effectively. If manual redaction fails to meet the required efficiency or volume, AI can provide an affordable solution. It allows large volumes of documents to be redacted quickly, reliably, and with minimized risk.

Manual redaction comes with challenges in auditing and logging. Since everything is done by hand, even a single missed entry in a log can cause issues and compromise the integrity of records. Manual workflows are also potentially less secure: many PDFs may be saved on personal desktops, and physical papers can get misplaced or mishandled.

Human redactors might unintentionally leave information unredacted or skip important steps in the process, creating compliance risks.

In contrast, AI-powered redaction platforms offer built-in auditing features. It becomes easy to track who reviewed documents, who redacted which items, how many versions were created, and more. This allows the creation of a secure, compliant system for document storage and handling. While AI tools can carry some risks, especially if they rely on third-party servers or unsecured cloud storage – they represent a very promising technology for security and reliability.

Humans can identify contextually sensitive items in documents: details that may not be immediately clear or covered by standard rules. For example, in large documents or poorly structured materials, such as handwritten notes, a human can understand the context, correctly interpret meaning, and detect hidden identifiers. Manual redaction is highly flexible and adaptable. If a sensitive item appears like a watermark or a logo containing personal information a human can spot it quickly.

However, the manual approach also has drawbacks. It’s slow, especially when working with large volumes of documents, and there is a risk of inconsistency. Human judgment can vary between individuals, which may lead to errors.

AI-powered redaction performs well with known patterns of sensitive data and well-formatted documents. It may struggle with handwritten notes, complicated contexts, trade secrets, or other nuanced information. While AI can be trained for specific domains, this requires additional effort and resources. Another potential risk is over-redaction: AI might remove more information than necessary.

Following GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and others is critical. Even a single missed identifier can result in fines and reputational damage. Manual redaction can meet these standards, but human error always remains a risk. Organizations relying solely on manual methods may struggle to avoid cyber threats, demonstrate consistency or maintain accurate logs.

AI-powered solutions, however, can ensure compliance with over 99% accuracy, reducing costly mistakes. Many AI platforms also incorporate features like geolocation tracking and encryption, further helping organizations meet regulatory requirements.

AI-powered redaction seems safer in general because it fits perfectly for high-volume, multi-format, high-risk tasks. It offers consistency, speed, auditability, and scalability. All of these reduce the risk of compliance failures.

Manual redaction, in turn, remains safe for low-volume, simple-format, low-risk tasks, or when human judgment is the most important in the process.

The safest approach for most cases is to combine these two methods. AI can handle large volumes of documents, while humans are reading context nuances, and provide supervision. This hybrid approach to redaction combines the strengths of both methods and minimizes weaknesses.

Safety isn’t just about choosing the right technology or method. It also depends on policies, training, secure workflows, and due diligence. Even the best AI tool, if implemented poorly, will not be safer than a well-run and perfectly systematized manual workflow.

Organizations should invest in a good AI-powered redaction platform and combine it with human supervision.

Here are several tips for using:

1. Identify sensitive data: guest personal data, client and vendor personal data, phone numbers, salary information, etc.
2. Audit workflows defining when documents are shared externally, when photos or videos are published online, and so on.
3. Adopt proper redaction policies to define what needs redacting in documents. Decide, which employees can view originals and who can see redacted versions
4. Choose the right tool: AI tools for large volumes or manual process for occasional files.
5. Test your system. Run a pilot with sample files and identify what may be missed and update the workflow
6. Provide human review. Assign responsible people to review items and reduce risks.
7. Keep audit logs. Record what was redacted, when, and by whom to minimize potential issues.
8. Train your team to ensure staff understand what data are sensitive. Teach proper use of redaction tools to prevent accidental data exposure.

Proper approach to redaction of documents with sensitive data is fundamental for organizations, freelancers, and individuals. For businesses, the risks may vary depending on the area of operations. For example, in healthcare, law, and government organizations, the risks may be higher. Data leaks, published information online without client consent, or shared contracts may lead to reputational, legal, and other consequences.

Following existing regulations in your jurisdiction, such as GDPR and HIPAA, is crucial if you want to stay on top of your game. The redaction workflow and the choice of the safest method depend on individual dimensions of your business and processes. But whether you choose AI-powered, manual, or hybrid methods, you need to test the system and ensure that everything works smoothly.

Hence, AI-powered redaction with human supervision seems to be one of the best approaches to date. Remember that the key to success is consistent auditing and review.