Google Cloud Document AI

# Fix list: Google Cloud Document AI

From Anchor Terminal's listing at https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-document-ai, the October 2026 research run, assessed 9 October 2026. Grade BB, 73.9 out of 100.

This is everything the published grade says the listing lacks, the biggest possible gain to the total first. It comes from the reason given for each score, the checklist each category was scored against (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist), the provenance checks, the deductions, what we couldn't check and what the review panel asked for. A fix counts at the next check, once it's public.

For a coding agent working on Google Cloud Document AI: work through the items below in the product, its docs and its public pages. Each category gives the reason for its score, with the points each checklist item earned, and the checklist itself, so the gap is the items that earned less than their points. Change the product, not the wording, and keep a note of what you changed and where it's published.

## 1. Payments & pricing, 20 out of 100, up to 10 more on the total

Why it scored 20: No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-page prices for every processor published without a login (20). The first 1,000 OCR pages show at $0.00 and new customers get $300 of credit, but the Free Trial page says sign-up needs a credit card or other payment method (0). A person creates the project and billing account in a browser (0).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-payments):

The published rubric, also on the [x402 page](https://www.anchorterminal.com/x402/).

- 40, a machine payment protocol (x402, MPP or L402) on the tool's own endpoints. 10 to 30 when it covers only some endpoints or only goes through a third party, and the note says which.
- 20, per-call or per-unit pricing published without a login. 10 for public plan-only pricing, 0 for "contact sales" or prices behind a login.
- 20, a free tier or trial that doesn't need a card.
- 20, autonomous onboarding, meaning an agent can get access without a person signing up in a browser (keyless use, x402, a programmatic key API).

Payment platforms and agent wallets rarely charge for their own API over a machine protocol, so the first line has steps for them, and the highest one that applies counts. 40 when x402, MPP or L402 runs on all their own endpoints, 30 when it runs on part of their own API, 25 when their merchants can accept one, 20 for running a facilitator, 15 for paying as a buyer, and 0 when the only protocol is their own. Merchant acceptance sits above a facilitator because the platform's own customers can charge agents through it, while a facilitator settles for sellers who wire up the protocol themselves. The counter-argument (a facilitator does more for the protocol as a whole) has a point. Each note says which step applied.

Open-source software you run yourself is scored on its hosted or paid option if it has one. A free, self-hosted package with nothing to buy gets 20, 20 and 20 for the last three lines, and 0 to 40 for the first only if it ships a payment protocol.

## 2. Agent ergonomics, 70 out of 100, up to 4.9 more on the total

Why it scored 70: API reading. `fieldMask` picks top-level and page fields of the response, `imagelessMode` removes page images, and page selectors limit what is read. Without a mask the Document carries every token with geometry (20 of 25). List calls page with `pageSize` and `pageToken`, operations take a filter, and Layout Parser takes a chunk size. An online request stops at 15 pages, or 30 with `imagelessMode`, and longer files go through a batch job and Cloud Storage (15 of 20). Errors follow Google's status and message model, with no Document AI error page found (12 of 20). No idempotency key. Failed requests are not billed and processing changes no state, while a repeated successful call bills again. Batch operations can be polled (12 of 20). A processor has to be created before the first call and the host depends on its location. Client libraries in eight languages (11 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-ergonomics):

- 0 to 25, context cost. For MCP, the number and size of the tool definitions (25 for ten or fewer compact tools, 15 for 11 to 30, 5 for more than 30, plus up to 10 back for toolsets, dynamic loading or read-only subsets). For APIs, whether responses can be sized (field selection, limits, summaries).
- 20, pagination, filtering and output-size controls.
- 20, actionable, documented error responses, codes and messages an agent can recover from.
- 20, idempotency or safe retries, and for MCP the `readOnlyHint` and `destructiveHint` annotations.
- 15, sensible defaults, few required parameters, and official SDKs in at least two languages.

Models are read for tool use, structured output, prompt caching, context length, batch and SDKs. Frameworks for how much code and how many defaults a tool-calling agent with MCP needs.

## 3. Security & auth, 80 out of 100, up to 3.5 more on the total

Why it scored 80: OAuth 2.0 bearer tokens from service accounts with IAM. The docs and samples send the token only in the `Authorization` header (30). `roles/documentai.apiUser` allows processing only, roles can be granted on one processor, and deny policies and VPC Service Controls are supported. Nothing asks for confirmation before a processor is deleted (17 of 20). The service returns text from untrusted documents and no guidance on injected instructions was found in the pages read (0 of 15). The audit logging page lists each method by permission type. `ProcessDocument` writes Data Access logs, which Google Cloud leaves off until the owner enables them (13 of 15). google.com security.txt valid to 1 April 2030 with the reward programme. The Document AI security page states ISO 27001, SOC 2 and SOC 3 audits, FedRAMP High and HIPAA (20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-security):

- 0 to 30, the credential model. 30 for OAuth 2.1 with scopes, or scoped and revocable keys with rotation. 20 for plain revocable API keys. 10 for one all-powerful key. 10 off when a secret can travel in a URL query string as a documented option.
- 0 to 20, read-only or least-privilege modes, and confirmation or approval for destructive actions.
- 0 to 15, prompt-injection posture where the tool returns untrusted content (documented mitigations or guidance). A tool that returns no untrusted content gets 10.
- 0 to 15, audit logs or per-call visibility for the operator.
- 0 to 20, a security programme. security.txt or a disclosure policy, a bug bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001, advisories handled in public.

Models are read for retention, whether API data trains models (and whether that's off by default), zero-retention options and certifications. Frameworks for telemetry defaults, approval hooks, guardrails and sandboxing.

## 4. Schema & documentation, 81 out of 100, up to 3.1 more on the total

Why it scored 81: A public Discovery document for v1, revision 20260929, with 42 methods and 326 schemas, and a second for v1beta3 (25). docs.cloud.google.com/llms.txt answers 404 and `Accept: text/markdown` returns HTML. A page address with `.md.txt` added answers as Markdown, which no page we read links, so half (5 of 10). Method descriptions are one line each. The overview has a table of which processor fits which job (15 of 20). 952 of 966 properties carry a description and 58 are enums. Required fields are marked only in prose, the three document sources are a union stated in a comment, and `advancedOcrOptions` is a free list of strings (11 of 15). The request page has samples in curl, PowerShell, C#, Go, Java, Node.js, Python and Ruby. No Document AI page listing error codes was found (10 of 15). v1 and v1beta3, and dated release notes with a feed (15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-schema):

APIs and MCP servers.

- 25, a machine-readable contract (a public OpenAPI file or similar; for MCP, typed JSON Schema inputs on every tool).
- 10, llms.txt or Markdown docs served for agents.
- 0 to 20, descriptions that say what a tool is for, when to use it and when not to, read from the tool definitions in the source or the API reference.
- 0 to 15, typed inputs with enums, constraints and required fields, and no free-form JSON blobs.
- 0 to 15, examples and documented error responses.
- 15, versioning and a public changelog.

Models are read from the API reference, the OpenAPI file, llms.txt, the structured-output and tool-use docs and the model cards. Frameworks from docs a model can follow, typed interfaces, examples and the API reference.

## 5. Reliability, 90 out of 100, up to 2 more on the total

Why it scored 90: Hosted reading. Google Cloud status page with a JSON incident feed (20). The feed lists five incidents since 11 July 2026 and none names Document AI, among them the 20 August outage that lists 27 products. The page shows only broad incidents (30). Quotas published with numbers, 1,800 requests a minute per user, 120 online process requests a minute per processor type in `us` and `eu` and 5 concurrent batch requests (15). No retry or backoff guidance was found on the quotas, limits or request pages. Processing changes no state and failed requests are not billed, so a retry is safe (5 of 15). 99.9 per cent monthly SLA for online and batch prediction on a multi-region endpoint, with none for the best effort tier (10). v1 is GA (10).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-reliability):

Hosted APIs, MCP servers, models and platforms.

- 20, a public status page with component history (Statuspage, Instatus, BetterStack or the vendor's own).
- 0 to 30, the incident record for the last 90 days on that page. 30 for a clean record or trivial incidents only, 20 for minor incidents only, 10 for one major outage (an hour or more of a core API down, or errors across the board), 0 for several. 5 when there's no history we could read, and the note says so.
- 15, rate limits documented with numbers.
- 15, documented 429 or overload handling (Retry-After, backoff guidance), and idempotency keys or safe-retry guidance where writes are involved.
- 10, an SLA published for any paid tier.
- 10, the surface agents use is generally available, not beta or preview.

Local packages, SDKs, frameworks and stdio MCP servers.

- 20, installs from an official package with supported runtimes stated.
- 25, a public CI and test suite, passing on the default branch.
- 0 to 25, open crash or regression issues relative to activity (25 for few and handled, 0 for many, old and unanswered).
- 15, semver discipline and breaking changes called out in a changelog.
- 15, version 1.0 or later, or declared stable.

Protocols are read from their reference implementations, the public facilitators or servers, spec stability and test vectors.

## 6. Maintenance & community, 80 out of 100, up to 1.8 more on the total

Why it scored 80: Read as a closed service with official SDKs. The newest release note is 21 September 2026 and the Node.js client 10.2.0 shipped on 8 October 2026 (30). Release notes on 17 July and 21 September, Node.js releases on 4 August, 8 September, 28 September and 8 October, and Python 3.16.0 on 1 October, all in the last 90 days (20). Release notes with a feed, Google Cloud support and public issue trackers for each client library. We did not read the trackers (10 of 15). Official client libraries in eight languages, with Python and Node.js current (15). Python declares 3.10 to 3.15 and Node.js 22 or later. CI results were not checked (5 of 10).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-maintenance):

- 0 to 30, time since the last release, or the last published model or API change for a closed service. 30 within 30 days, 20 within 90, 10 within 180, 0 older.
- 20, at least three releases or dated changelog entries in the last 90 days.
- 0 to 25, responsiveness. Issues and pull requests answered on GitHub (the open issues and how recent the replies are). For closed services, a public changelog and a support or community channel that answers, 0 to 15.
- 15, presence in the official MCP registry under a verified namespace (MCP servers), or current official SDKs (APIs and models).
- 10, package health, current dependencies and CI.

Models are read for deprecation notice periods and model churn rather than release counts.

## 7. Transparency & trust, 90 out of 100, up to 0.9 more on the total

Made of editorial 80, provenance 99.

Why it scored 90: Closed service under the Google Cloud terms, with Apache-2.0 client libraries (15 of 30). The security page says online requests are processed in memory, batch documents are deleted after processing with a failsafe of one day, and content is never used to train Document AI models. The service terms' training restriction and the Data Processing Addendum agree. Layout Parser versions on Gemini 3.0 route globally, which the docs state (27 of 30). The lifecycle page promises six months' notice for stable versions and lists a deprecation date per version, and the Cloud terms promise 12 months before a backwards-incompatible API change. The legacy processor notice of 17 February 2026 gave until 30 June 2026, about four and a half months (18 of 20). `us` and `eu` multi-regions, seven single regions and a public sub-processor list (20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-transparency):

- 0 to 30, source availability and licence clarity. 30 for open source under an OSI licence, 15 for closed with clear terms, 0 for unclear terms.
- 0 to 30, data handling and retention statements that agree with each other (privacy policy, DPA, retention periods, subprocessors).
- 0 to 20, a deprecation policy or notices with dates.
- 0 to 20, telemetry disclosed with an opt-out (local software), or subprocessors and data locations disclosed (hosted).

The other half of Transparency and trust is the provenance score, computed from checked facts (below). The category score is the mean of the two.

Provenance checks not met in full (half of this category, computed from checked facts):

- Privacy policy: read, states 7 of the 8 things a reader expects (9.3 of 10)

## What we couldn't check

What we couldn't read counted as absent. Publishing it on a page a plain HTTP fetch can read (not only in a browser) lets the next check count it.

- unchecked: the status feed held seven incidents back to February 2026. Whether smaller Document AI incidents are shown anywhere else was not established.
- unchecked: the pricing page shows the first 1,000 Enterprise Document OCR pages at $0.00 and does not say on the page whether that allowance is monthly.
- unchecked: how quota errors are returned (HTTP status and body) and whether the client libraries retry them. No Document AI page read says.
- unchecked: the GitHub issue trackers and CI results for the client libraries were not read.
- unchecked: Google Cloud security bulletins were not searched for Document AI.
- The Markdown twin address (`.md.txt` added to a docs page address) was tried from knowledge of Google's docs platform and is not linked from the pages read. One page was fetched that way. Schema counts it as half.
- The Discovery document lists `access_token` and `key` as query parameters common to Google APIs. No deduction was taken, following the Speech-to-Text and Model Armor dossiers. The Gmail and Sheets dossiers took 10 on the same evidence.
- `provenance.privacy` points at the Google Cloud Privacy Notice, not policies.google.com/privacy as the older Google Cloud listings do.
- `lastRelease` is the Node.js client 10.2.0 of 8 October 2026. The service's newest release note is 21 September 2026.
- The lead's facts held. Its `interface` did not mention gRPC, which the docs also give.

## Weaknesses

- An online request reads at most 15 pages (30 with `imagelessMode`). Longer files need a batch job through Cloud Storage
- A processor must be created in a project and location before any document can be sent, and the endpoint host changes with the location
- No guidance on retrying quota errors was found on the quotas, limits or request pages, and there is no idempotency key
- The $300 trial credit and the free first 1,000 OCR pages both sit on a billing account that needs a card or other payment method
- Legacy processor versions were discontinued on 30 June 2026 on a notice dated 17 February 2026, under the six months the version lifecycle page states
- No guidance on instructions hidden in document text was found in the pages read
- Layout Parser versions built on Gemini 3.0 use a global endpoint and, per the docs, do not meet data residency

## What costs an agent a turn today

The notes we give agents before they call it. Each one is a workaround an agent shouldn't need.

- Create a processor first (`processors.create` or the console), then POST to `https://LOCATION-documentai.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/processors/PROCESSOR_ID:process`
- Use the host that matches the processor's location, `us-documentai.googleapis.com` or `eu-documentai.googleapis.com`
- Set `fieldMask` (for example `text,entities`) and `imagelessMode` to keep page images and token geometry out of the response
- Send more than 15 pages through `:batchProcess` with Cloud Storage input and output, then poll the operation. Jobs unfinished after 24 hours are cancelled
- Grant the service account `roles/documentai.apiUser` only. Failed requests (4xx or 5xx) are not billed, so a retry costs nothing extra
- Treat extracted text as untrusted input

## When it's done

Send what changed and where it's published as a dispute (https://www.anchorterminal.com/builders/#disputes, or `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/contact` with `"kind": "dispute"`). Disputes are answered in public, and the listing is checked again by the same checklist. Paying for an audit or a listing claim changes nothing here.