AI & Agents
OpenAI Developer Community · 2023-12-11
Is there an API you can throw any file format at, that returns plain text?
有没有一个 API：丢进任何格式的文件，直接吐回纯文本？
At a glance · 30-second read
- WhoOpenAI Developer Community · 2023-12-11 · 16 replies
- The askIs there an API you can throw any file format at, that returns plain text?
- The openingA parsing API that returns structured Markdown/JSON, billed per page, with table and scan fidelity as the hook.
What was actually said
“We need to extract a text string from documents… 20 different formats and sometimes needs OCR. Is there an API that does this for you?”
— OpenAI Developer Community · 2023-12-11 · community.openai.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-an-api-yo…
Background and pain
The pain
The first wall in RAG isn't the model, it's parsing: scans, merged-cell tables and multi-column PDFs all break.
A buildable angle
The opening
A parsing API that returns structured Markdown/JSON, billed per page, with table and scan fidelity as the hook.
How to validate it
- Read the whole thread and note the recurring scenarios — repetition is the density of the need.
- Search existing tools around "document parsing / OCR" and check which single step they actually cover.
- Put up a one-line landing page, share it back to OpenAI Developer Community, and see whether anyone asks about pricing.
Existing options
Unstructured.io, LlamaParse, Reducto, Mathpix
FAQ
Where does this request come from?
From a public thread on OpenAI Developer Community, posted on 2023-12-11 with 16 replies, filed under AI & Agents. Read the full context here: https://community.openai.com/t/does-anyone-know-of-an-api-you-can-throw-any-file-format-to-and-it-returns-a-string-with-the-text/553370
What exactly are users complaining about?
We need to extract a text string from documents… 20 different formats and sometimes needs OCR. Is there an API that does this for you? The first wall in RAG isn't the model, it's parsing: scans, merged-cell tables and multi-column PDFs all break.
What could this become as a product?
A parsing API that returns structured Markdown/JSON, billed per page, with table and scan fidelity as the hook.
What alternatives exist today?
Known options: Unstructured.io, LlamaParse, Reducto, Mathpix. These usually cover only one step of the workflow, leaving the rest manual.
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