AI Glossary · Definition
What is OCR (optical character recognition)?
OCR (optical character recognition): OCR is technology that converts text in images or scanned documents into machine-readable text.
By DAIDU EditorialUpdated
OCR (optical character recognition), explained
OCR lets software read invoices, receipts, IDs, forms and printed documents. Modern document AI combines OCR with language models to understand layout and extract specific fields, such as totals, dates and supplier names, even when formats vary. Accuracy depends on image quality, handwriting and language, so workflows usually include a review step for low-confidence fields. Clean scans and consistent document templates improve results noticeably.
Example
A logistics company uses OCR to read bills of lading and populate shipment records automatically.