# What's OCR data extraction?

Source: https://zilliz.com/ai-faq/whats-ocr-data-extraction
Author: zilliz

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) data extraction involves converting text from scanned images, documents, or PDFs into machine-readable formats. The process begins by detecting text regions within an image and recognizing characters using OCR algorithms. Modern OCR systems, often powered by deep learning, can handle diverse fonts, languages, and even handwritten text. Extracted text is typically organized into structured formats, such as tables or JSON files, for further processing. Applications include digitizing invoices, automating form data entry, and enabling searchable document archives. OCR data extraction improves efficiency and accuracy in text processing workflows.