Azure Cognitive Services (ML, AI, RPA, Bots, OCR & NLP)
Azure Cognitive Services is an older name for what is now known as Azure AI services, a comprehensive suite of cloud-based APIs that allows developers to integrate artificial intelligence into their applications without needing deep machine learning expertise. These services enable applications to see, hear, speak, understand, and make decisions.
Below is an overview of how Azure AI services relate to machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), bots, optical character recognition (OCR), and natural language processing (NLP).
🧠 AI and ML
- Ready-to-use AI: Azure AI services provide pre-trained, customizable models through accessible APIs and SDKs, democratizing AI development for a wider audience.
- For the expert: For data scientists and ML engineers who need to build custom models from scratch, Azure offers a more specialized platform called Azure Machine Learning.
- The distinction: Azure AI services offer a lower barrier to entry, while Azure Machine Learning is a full-featured platform for complex ML solutions.
- Custom ML: For advanced scenarios, use Azure Machine Learning to build, train, and deploy custom models.
- Low barrier to entry: Developers can add intelligence without building models from scratch.
🤖 RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
- Intelligent document processing: RPA bots can leverage Azure's Document Intelligence and OCR to extract information from unstructured documents like invoices and contracts.
- Cognitive RPA: Combining Azure AI with RPA enables advanced automation for complex tasks beyond rule-based processes.
- Integration with Power Automate: Microsoft's Power Automate integrates with Azure services to create sophisticated automations.
💬 Bots
- Azure AI Bot Service: Provides an integrated development environment for creating and deploying bots across channels like websites and Microsoft Teams.
- Enhanced bot capabilities: Bots can use Azure AI services like Language (NLP) and Speech for advanced features.
- No-code option: Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents) allows creating bots with a low-code interface.
- Copilot Studio Integration: Create bots using a graphical interface—no coding required.
📄 OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
- Azure AI Vision: Uses machine learning-based OCR to recognize printed and handwritten text from images.
- Document Intelligence: Optimized for text-heavy scanned documents like invoices and forms.
- High accuracy: Provides robust OCR capabilities even with distorted text in images and PDFs.
🗣️ NLP (Natural Language Processing)
- Azure AI Language: Provides models for many NLP tasks.
-
Language-related tasks:
- Sentiment analysis
- Key phrase extraction
- Named entity recognition
- Intent classification
- Text translation
- Easier development: Pre-trained NLP models make it simple to add language capabilities to apps without deep ML knowledge.
- Customizable models: Tailor NLP to your domain using pre-trained or fine-tuned models.
🧩 Summary Table
| Capability |
Azure Service |
Description |
| ML & AI |
Azure AI Services / Azure ML |
Pre-built and custom models for intelligent apps |
| RPA |
Power Automate + Azure AI |
Automate workflows with cognitive enhancements |
| Bots |
Azure AI Bot Service |
Build conversational agents with integrated AI |
| OCR |
Azure AI Vision / Document Intelligence |
Extract text from images and documents |
| NLP |
Azure AI Language |
Understand and process human language |
