Data Annotation in Machine Learning: Process, Types & Guide

How Does Outsourced Data Labeling Work?

Outsourced data labeling is an operational process where a managed team of human experts labels raw data to create structured training sets for machine learning.

Can BUNCH Annotate Video Data?

Yes, we annotate video data for AI and machine learning projects, supporting the labeling work behind computer vision systems.

Can BUNCH Annotate Audio Data?

Yes, at BUNCH, we annotate audio data for AI and machine learning (ML) projects, supporting workflows that require structured labels for training, testing and improving models.

How Does Image Annotation Work?

Image annotation is the process of marking objects, regions and features within an image so machine learning models can interpret and understand visual data. This work can be done by internal data science teams, but as machine learning (ML) projects require growing volumes of labeled data, it's commonly outsourced to specialized providers.

How Does Text Annotation Work?

Text annotation works by adding labels or structural metadata to written language so a model can learn from it. The process typically starts with guidelines that define how each type of text should be labeled, then annotators review the text and apply labels accordingly.

When Should a Company Outsource Data Annotation?

A company should outsource data annotation when data labelling volume becomes too large, too continuous or too quality-sensitive to manage comfortably with an in-house team. This usually happens when dataset volumes increase, model timelines tighten, or internal product and machine learning (ML) teams start spending too much time coordinating labellers instead of building the model itself.

Can BUNCH Support AI Companies Training ML Models?

Yes, since 2017 we've supported AI companies training machine learning (ML) models by building and managing the annotation workforce those models depend on. We provide training data across text, image, audio and video, and run that work through in-house teams specialized in maintaining quality at scale.

What Types of Data Can BUNCH Annotate?

At BUNCH, our expert teams specialize in annotating text, images, video and audio, the core data types used to train language models, computer vision systems, speech models and multimodal AI.

What Is Data Annotation in Machine Learning?

Data annotation in machine learning is the process of labeling raw data so that an AI model can learn from examples. It adds structure to text, images, audio and video by marking what each item means according to a predefined set of rules.

What Is Data Labeling Outsourcing?

Data labeling is the process of adding descriptive tags to raw data (like images, text, audio or video) so machine learning models can understand and learn from it.

‍

How Do You Handle Sensitive or High-Risk Content in Prediction Markets?

We handle sensitive or high-risk content in prediction markets through a tiered, human-in-the-loop review process that prioritizes accuracy and regulatory compliance. Because these platforms are built on deep, highly engaged community foundations, discussions can directly influence user behavior, sentiment, and trading activity. As these communities grow, so does the risk of harmful content, ranging from misinformation and misleading market descriptions to outright scam attempts. To stay ahead of this, we deploy specialized moderators who monitor user-generated content 24/7, catching and removing policy violations and harmful content.

Can Moderation Teams Support Real-Time Prediction Platforms?

Moderation teams support real-time prediction platforms with 24/7 oversight of live markets and community interactions to ensure regulatory compliance. Because prediction markets are highly sensitive to major events, elections and economic shifts, moderators need to be able to act immediately to remove bad actors, scams, misinformation and compliance breaches.

How Does Content Moderation Work for Prediction Markets?

Content moderation for prediction markets involves monitoring user-generated markets and community threads in real time to prevent harassment, misinformation, scams and brand damage.

Is Outsourced Moderation Suitable for High-Volume UGC Platforms?

Yes, outsourced moderation is the standard operating model for high-volume user-generated content (UGC) platforms, keeping users safe and maintaining platform integrity without the need to grow internal teams. For platforms handling high volumes of text, image and video content daily, outsourced moderation provides the human judgment necessary to the catch nuances and cultural context that AI filters miss.

How Can Content Moderation Protect Brand Reputation?

Content moderation protects brand reputation by ensuring that user-generated content remains strictly aligned with community guidelines, brand values and legal compliance. When platforms allow unmoderated text, images, or videos to stay online, they risk being associated with toxic, illegal, or brand-unsuitable material that damages user trust and drives advertisers away.

When Do Social Platforms Need Outsourced Moderation?

Social platforms need outsourced moderation when the volume of user-generated content can no longer be managed internally, or when 24/7 global oversight becomes a regulatory requirement. Maintaining community safety is a full-time operation that often requires specialized management and shift rotations that are difficult to build and sustain in-house as companies scale.

How Are Moderators Trained on Platform Policies?

Content moderators are trained using structured onboarding assessments that combine the client's community guidelines with simulated exercises based on real case studies. In most cases, the policy decision is already known, allowing new moderators to practice evaluating content safely before moderating active queues.

How Do You Handle Sensitive or Harmful Content?

We handle sensitive and harmful content through a combination of strict escalation protocols, Quality Assurance (QA) scorecards and moderator wellness programs. When our teams come across material that violates safety standards, they immediately categorize it based on severity, ranging from brand-unsuitable to severe tier-one legal violations.

‍

How Do You Ensure Moderation Accuracy?

We ensure moderation accuracy with a structured human-in-the-loop verification process where Quality Assurance (QA) analysts and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) audit individual moderation decisions against official community guidelines.

‍

How Do You Enforce Community Guidelines Consistently?

To enforce community guidelines consistently, we implement a centralized training framework and structured hierarchy within our managed services model. Moderators undergo intensive training built around clear positive and negative examples, alongside specific protocols for handling complex edge cases.

Can Content Moderation Teams Work Across All Time Zones?

Yes, by using a managed services model, content moderation teams can operate across all time zones with continuous shift rotations. This ensures uninterrupted moderation coverage, allowing platforms to enforce community guidelines globally in real time, without gaps in protection.

How Do You Prevent Moderation Backlogs?

We prevent moderation backlogs with a 24/7 managed services model that combines continuous shift rotations with a pool of pre-trained buffer agents ready to absorb sudden volume spikes. This approach is built specifically for the unpredictable nature of user-generated content, ensuring social media apps and content platforms are monitored in real time during surges.

How Do You Handle Moderation During Traffic Spikes?

With our managed moderation services model, we are able to handle sudden traffic spikes by integrating pre-trained buffer agents into active workflows as soon as user-generated content surges. Because digital spaces and social apps can experience viral moments or traffic spikes at any time, backup teams are kept ready to deploy instantly, reviewing high volumes of content without disrupting other business operations.

Do You Provide 24/7 Content Moderation?

Yes, BUNCH provides 24/7 content moderation services to ensure platforms remain safe and compliant across all time zones, every day of the year.

As a managed services provider, we handle the entire content moderation workflow process, including recruitment, training and shift rotations to deliver uninterrupted platform protection.

‍

Can BUNCH Moderate Content Across Multiple Platforms?

BUNCH content moderation teams can manage content across most social media platforms simultaneously, including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, as well as proprietary and in-app digital communities.

‍

How Does Live Streaming Moderation Work?

Live streaming moderation involves a team of human specialists that evaluate live broadcasts in real time to flag and remove violent, harmful or inappropriate content and prevent it from going viral. Because live content is unpredictable and can result in sudden harm, human intervention requires the rapid assessment of behavioral shifts and cultural context that automated filters often miss.

How Does Video Moderation Work?

Video moderation works by combining automated AI screening with real-time human review to flag and remove user-generated video and live broadcasts that go against Trust and Safety guidelines.

Video moderation is used by social media apps, video-sharing platforms and in-app communities.

How Does Comments Moderation Work?

Comment moderation works by integrating a dedicated team of human experts into a platform's content management system to review user-generated comments against the client's specific community guidelines.

Comments are reviewed after being flagged by users or passing automated filters. Human moderators then work to block or remove harmful comments across apps, news outlets, in-app or in-page communities or branded social media pages.

‍

Is Multimodal Annotation More Expensive Than Single-Format Labeling?

Multimodal annotation typically costs more per item than single-format labeling, since maintaining consistency across image, video, text, and audio in one pipeline requires broader annotator expertise and more QA touchpoints. This type of annotation makes sense for models that rely on more than one data type, since inconsistent labeling in even one format can weaken the model's overall performance.

What Is Double-Pass Annotation?

Double-pass annotation is a quality assurance (QA) method where two annotators label the same data independently, and any discrepancies are reviewed by a third, more experienced annotator, significantly reducing labeling errors compared to single-pass review.

How Do You Maintain Data Labeling Quality at Scale?

Maintaining data quality at scale requires a few consistent checks: a second annotator reviewing the same data to catch discrepancies, clear guidelines for handling edge cases consistently across the team, annotators matched to the specific domain of the data, and a defined process for resolving ambiguous cases.

What’s the Difference Between In-House and Outsourced Data Labeling?

The main difference between in-house and outsourced data labeling is who owns recruiting, training, and managing annotators. In-house teams give you more control, but that ownership takes time and slows growth. Outsourced data labelling services handle recruitment, training, and quality assurance for a fixed monthly fee, giving you access to specialized annotators and established processes without building that expertise internally.

How Does Social Media Moderation Work?

Social media platforms use a combination of automated AI filters and outsourced human moderation teams to protect online users from harmful content and meet strict regulatory requirements.

Content is first screened by automated filters and user reports, then reviewed by moderators when additional context or a policy decision is required. Trained specialists work with existing software tools and moderation queues to process user reports, evaluate flagged content against established policy guidelines, and remove harmful material.

‍

What Is Trust and Safety Outsourcing?

Trust and Safety outsourcing involves hiring a specialized external team to manage the safety and integrity of an online platform, working alongside in-house teams to shield organizations from liability, fraud, and abuse.

While standard content moderation focuses specifically on evaluating user posts and comments within these workflows, broader Trust and Safety operations handle the platform architecture, including security threats and legal compliance.

What Industries Require Content Moderation?

Any platform that facilitates public media sharing should prioritize user Trust and Safety, however, social media, e-commerce, and online gaming are the main industries outsourcing content moderation operations at present.

When Do Content Platforms Need Content Moderation?

All online platforms require content moderation to filter out harmful material, protect users against spam and abuse, and ensure ongoing legal compliance. Typically, content platform owners start with in-house moderation, but move to an outsourced partner once content volume and arrival patterns start to exceed the capacity of the founding team.The right time to scale up depends on traffic volume and the potential brand risk of unmoderated content, as even a single bad post can cause lasting brand damage.

How Does Outsourced Content Moderation Work?

Outsourced content moderation works by integrating a dedicated team of external specialists directly into a client's existing moderation workflows to handle 24/7 review. While the client maintains full control over the community policies and guidelines, the outsourcing partner handles the sourcing, training, and daily supervision of all moderators.

What Types of Content Can Be Moderated?

Outsourced content moderation covers all media shared on a platform, including text, comments, images, voice notes, live streams, videos and social media content.

‍

What Is Content Moderation Outsourcing?

Content moderation outsourcing is the practice of hiring an external moderation team to review and enforce moderation policies across social media platforms, online communities, and user-generated content environments.These teams monitor user-generated content including text, images, videos, and comments against strict community guidelines to remove harmful material and ensure regulatory compliance.

When Does Outsourcing Make Sense for Startups?

Outsourcing makes sense for startups when at least 1 or 2 people are forced to dedicate their time to a non-core function. Shifting content moderation or data labeling tasks to a partner gives scaling companies immediate access to specialist best practices and expert teams without the internal costs and management overheads.‍

What Is the Best Outsourcing Model for Companies in Scale Phase?

A managed services model works best for scaling companies because it removes the heavy management overhead that comes with models like staff augmentation. With a managed model, businesses are able to quickly incorporate expert processes and large teams at fixed prices.

When Should a Company Outsource Operations?

A company should outsource operations when repetitive, high-volume tasks prevent internal staff from focusing on product development and strategy, or when a business requires 24/7 global coverage and local recruitment cannot keep up.

Which Industries Require Continuous AI Validation?

Industries that require ongoing AI validation include those that use AI to make high-stakes decisions and calculations that affect human health and safety, financial security, and legal compliance. As real-world data is constantly changing, continuous evaluation is required to monitor algorithms for model drift, hallucinations, accuracy, and bias.

How Do Enterprises Test AI Models?

Organizations test AI models through a combination of LLM-as-a-judge, RAG Validation (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and human verified “golden datasets”. Testing aims to evaluate accuracy and safety, as well as check for hallucinations, bias and data leakage.

Why Do AI Systems Fail in Production?

AI systems frequently fail in production due to the massive gaps between how they are tested and how they are expected to perform in real-world environments. During testing, AI systems are evaluated using structured, static data sets, whereas in production, data is dynamic and unpredictable.

‍

What Is Human-in-the-Loop AI Validation?

Human-in-the-loop AI (HITL) AI validation is an evaluation framework that involves human judgement, auditing and editing of automated decisions to ensure accuracy. This hybrid AI-human approach reduces errors and hallucinations and maintains regulatory compliance.

To do this, companies set up a safety net around the AI. When the model gets confused or handles a high-risk task, the system automatically escalates that query to a human for review. Randomized audits are also run on successful tasks to catch hidden mistakes and keep operations working safely while helping the model learn over time.

‍

What Metrics Matter Most in AI Model Evaluation?

The metrics that matter most in production include escalation rate, operational consistency, failure severity and recovery, and business impact metrics. Today, successful AI model evaluation focuses on the metrics organizations use in production.

How Do Companies Evaluate LLMs in Production?

Companies evaluate Large Language Models (LLMs) in production environments using a combination of human in the loop metrics, automated evaluations and LLM-as-a-judge frameworks. AI evaluations are used to measure accuracy and safety, as well as the prevalence of hallucinations and bias in outputs.

‍

Why Are Benchmark Scores Insufficient?

AI benchmark scores are insufficient in evaluating AI models as they tend to be based on clean, static data rather than the unstructured, dynamic data used in real-world environments. This means that AI models are not trained to handle the edge cases, unpredictable user behaviour and context ambiguity that often arise outside of controlled test environments.

What is AI evaluation?

AI evaluation is the process of measuring how reliably, safely and accurately an AI model can perform the tasks it is designed to carry out. Because AI model outputs are probabilistic, evaluation needs to be rigorous to flag hallucinations, bias, inaccuracies and user safety issues.

How Are Teams Structured and Managed?

Outsourced teams are structured into units including specialists, a team lead, and quality assurance analysts.

These teams are overseen by a Service Delivery Manager (SDM) who handles daily operations and acts as the primary point of contact in the client's time zone. To support global operations, teams work across offices in the US, Europe, and Asia.

How Long Does It Take to Launch a Team?

Launching an outsourced team with BUNCH typically takes between 24 hours and four weeks from the date the contract is signed.

The exact timeline will depend on the scope of work, the level of specialization required, and the availability of client guidelines and training materials.

What Does the Onboarding Process Look Like?

The onboarding process includes defining workflows, setting performance targets, preparing training materials, and configuring the team before operations go live.

How Does BUNCH Build and Manage Outsourced Teams?

BUNCH builds outsourced teams by recruiting specialists, assigning dedicated management layers, and creating workflows around each client’s specific operation.

We manage everything from hiring and training to quality assurance, reporting, and day-to-day team performance across functions like data labeling, content moderation, customer support, and community management.

‍

How Does Outsourcing Work in Practice?

Outsourcing works by delegating a specific business process to an external partner who supplies the people, management, and infrastructure to run it.

What Problems Does Outsourcing Solve?

Outsourcing partners help growing companies solve three core problems: access to specialized processes and expertise, maintaining quality, and scaling teams.

‍

What Types of Tasks Can Be Outsourced?

Companies benefit most from outsourcing tasks that are repetitive, require human judgment and rely on high-quality data.

While outsourcing partners used to focus on speed and cost-cutting, modern companies prioritize data quality and accuracy to ensure the best results.

‍

What Is the Difference Between Managed Services and Staff Augmentation in Outsourcing?

In a managed services model, an outsourcing partner takes complete ownership and accountability for a core business function, whereas in staff augmentation, a business uses experts employed and managed administratively by the partner, but integrated into the client’s internal team.

‍

What Is the Managed Services Model?

A managed services model is a partnership where a business hands over complete ownership and accountability of a core function to an outsourcing house.

The partner takes care of everything from daily operations and staff management to compliance and client escalations on behalf of the business.

‍

Why Do Companies Choose to Outsource Operations?

Companies outsource operations to access specialized talent and established processes, reduce overall costs, and scale faster without building large internal teams.

How Fast Can We Start?

After a short scoping call, we can propose a workflow and staffing plan quickly.

‍

Can You Validate AI Outputs in Regulated Industries?

Yes, this is where structured rubrics, escalation paths, and documented processing practices matter most. BUNCH documents GDPR-aligned processing practices.

‍

What’s the Difference Between Data Verification and Validation?

Validation checks rules/requirements; verification confirms correctness vs trusted sources. We can implement both depending on your use case.

‍

Do You Provide Data Validation Tools?

We are a managed services provider: we run trained human validation teams and integrate into your existing stack. If you already use tools (testing, monitoring, labeling platforms), we complement them with human judgment and consistent QA.

‍

What Are the Hidden Costs of Outsourcing?

Most outsourcing companies have good entry prices, but include hidden costs like onboarding fees, management overhead, software licensing, and ongoing staff turnover costs.

With a managed services model like BUNCH, however, you pay a fixed monthly price that's all-inclusive, with no unexpected costs or set up fees.

Can I pay using Crypto?

Yes, we offer payment options in stablecoins for our clients. Please be aware that there may be regulatory requirements prior to engaging in crypto payments depending on the client's jurisdiction.

What If I’m Not Satisfied With Your Service?

Clients can always cancel the contract during the one-month probation period if they are not satisfied with our services. However, as of 2024, it's worth noting that no client has yet exercised this option.

What’s the Minimum Contract Duration?

The minimum contract duration is one year for recurrent campaigns. However, most of our services include a one-month probation period during which either party can cancel the contract at any time without further liabilities if they are not satisfied with the service.

What Is a Managed Services Model?

At BUNCH, we provide a "Managed Services" model, focusing on operational excellence and efficiency without requiring client oversight. Unlike the common industry practice of staff augmentation, which involves client involvement in hiring and management, we handle all aspects of service delivery. This includes talent selection, training, productivity management, and data security.By assuming full responsibility for these functions, we allow our clients to concentrate on their core business activities, offering them peace of mind regarding operations.

Our approach not only ensures high-quality service and compliance but also maintains strict data privacy and security standards, contributing to better overall business outcomes.

What Is the Story Behind the Name “BUNCH”?

When we founded BUNCH, we studied in detail the BPO market in major developing countries like the Philippines, Indonesia. We were living in South-East Asia for years and were very aware of the unmatched talent and human quality of Filipinos and Indonesians. Truly unique in this world.

‍

We were actually shocked to find out how most BPOs marketed their services. It was common to find pictures of "agents" in cubicles wearing low-end headsets and portrayed as affordable overseas labor. The entire sales pitch was to show how much companies could save by outsourcing talent to the Philippines, detailing salaries, potential savings, and even how frequently a Filipino gets sick, or when to trust them.

‍

Employee engagement was often about fast-food birthday parties and company mascots. Somehow, most considered their own talent as a bunch of kids.

‍

We found that approach deeply condescending.

‍

BUNCH was born as a hub to connect the new generation of skilled tech talent with tech jobs in global tech hubs. We opened colorful offices without cubicles. Our talent is addressed as Tech Specialists and everyone is treated as the professionals working in AI, SaaS, Fintech, and Social Media that they actually are.

‍

We are very particular about the glorification of our talent. BUNCH was then born as "A bunch of tech specialists doing crazy things with high tech."

I Want to Invest in BUNCH. How Do I Do It?

Currently, BUNCH is a self-funded, independent private company and we are not actively seeking investments. However, we are open to discussions with institutional investors. If you are interested, please reach out to us via email at founders@meetbunch.com.

When Was BUNCH Founded?

BUNCH was founded in 2017 by Carlos Puig and Rodrigo Cardenete.

Are You an AI Company?

We specialize in labeling training data at scale, which is crucial for the machine learning programs behind all AI models today. In fact, some of the models we train are likely used in products you use every day. We also utilize AI to optimize our processes, oversee quality assurance tasks, and assist our agents with various tasks. These AI-enabled processes are integral to our operations. Whether this qualifies us as an AI company may depend on your perspective.

Is Your Team In-House or Crowdsourced?

All our labelers, moderators, and agents are either full-time employees or full-time independent contractors. We do not use crowdsourced talent because maintaining high levels of accuracy, commitment to volume, and meeting tight deadlines are crucial for our clients. Additionally, employing full-time talent ensures ethical working conditions, a standard we uphold for everyone at BUNCH and proudly extend to our clients.

Are You a Call Center?

While calls constitute a small portion of our operations, much of our customer service is conducted via chat or ticket systems. In the Philippines, BPO companies are often referred to as "call centers", a term familiar to older generations. Our primary focus is on data labeling and trust & safety—complex areas that are sometimes simplified in casual conversations as "call center work."

Do You Work Remotely?

Our workforce setup is diverse, with some specialists working remotely and others on-premises. We have team members in Indonesia and Vietnam, though the majority are based in the Philippines.

Do You Have an Office?

Yes. Currently, we have a headquarters office in BGC, Manila, and a production center in Bacoor, Cavite, the Philippines. Some teams work remotely, while other members work on premises, depending on the scope of work, data security, and type of activity.

Where Is Your Team Based?

Most of our team members are based in the Philippines, including our top management and founders.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is Data Annotation in Machine Learning?

‍

Types of Data Annotation

Related Content

A Brutal Disruption in Image Annotation Services in 2025

Scalable Data Labeling Solutions: Growing Teams Without Compromising Quality

How We Are Obsessed About Data Quality and Why

Know more about us

Get a proposal in less than 24 hours

ABOUT BUNCH

TALK TO US

RESOURCES

INDUSTRIES

FEATURED SERVICES

GOVERNANCE

LEADERSHIP