# Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

> Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is technology that turns text in images and scans — a photographed invoice, a PDF, a form — into digital text a computer can read, search, and process.

_Source: https://plenaura.com/glossary/optical-character-recognition · Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Plenaura_

## Key points

- Converts documents that are just pictures of text into data your systems can actually use.
- It's the first step in most document automation: read the characters, then extract and route the meaning.
- Accuracy depends on scan quality; modern AI-based OCR handles handwriting, photos, and messy layouts far better than older tools.
- On its own OCR only reads characters — pairing it with AI is what turns raw text into structured fields like "total" or "due date".

## FAQ

### Is OCR the same as intelligent document processing?

No. OCR just converts an image into text. Intelligent document processing goes further — it understands the document, pulls out the specific fields you need, verifies them, and routes them, using OCR as one of its building blocks.

### Can OCR handle handwriting and poor-quality scans?

AI-based OCR handles both far better than older engines, though very poor scans or unusual handwriting still lower accuracy. That's why reliable systems attach confidence scores and send uncertain reads to a human to check.