OCR

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the foundational technology that converts typed, printed, or handwritten text from images (scans, JPEGs, PDFs) into machine-readable, searchable data.

OCR is a critical data extraction tool: it transforms non-editable text in digital images into structured, actionable information. The process involves image analysis, character recognition (using pattern matching or feature extraction), and post-processing for accuracy. Modern systems, leveraging AI/ML (Intelligent Character Recognition or ICR), achieve high-accuracy rates, often exceeding 99% on clean documents. Key applications include automating data entry for high-volume documents (invoices, receipts, bank statements), digitizing historical archives for searchability (e.g., Google Books), and real-time functions like license plate recognition (LPR) in traffic systems. This technology cuts manual data entry time and enables powerful text-based analytics.

https://cloud.google.com/vision/docs/ocr