What is optical character recognition used for?#
OCR automates the extraction of this text, essentially "reading" the document for a computer. This transforms static documents into dynamic, searchable data that can be instantly indexed, analysed, or integrated with other business systems like accounting or customer relationship management (CRM) software.
How does optical character recognition work?#
The OCR process begins when the software analyses an image, such as a scanned invoice. It first identifies the page layout, separating text blocks from images, and then isolates individual characters within the text.
Once a character is isolated, the software uses pattern recognition algorithms to compare its shape against a vast database of known letters, numbers, and symbols. It selects the most likely match for each character and assembles them into words and sentences, outputting a fully digital, editable text file. More advanced OCR systems use AI to improve accuracy by understanding the context of words in a sentence.
How is OCR different from a scanned image?#
Taking a photo or scan of a document creates a digital picture of the text. OCR, on the other hand, interprets that picture to extract the actual text data, turning a simple image into intelligent information that can be edited, searched, and used by other applications.