Home / AI glossary / What is optical character recognition (OCR)?

What is optical character recognition (OCR)?

In short

Optical character recognition is technology that converts images of text, such as scanned documents or photos, into machine-readable text you can search and edit. It detects letters and words in the picture and outputs them as characters. OCR is widely used to digitize paperwork, read invoices and receipts automatically, and make printed archives searchable, forming the first step in many document-automation workflows.

Go deeper with Crux Digits

Want this applied in your business? See how we take it to production:

← All AI terms

From concept to working tool?

We build this AI in production — at fixed prices, with one named expert. Start with a free consultation.

Book a free consultation →