OCR & text extraction
Extract printed/handwritten text from images/PDFs (multilingual) for invoices, expenses and archives.
Computer Vision
OCR, Image Analysis, Object Detection and Content Moderation with Azure Cognitive services.
Technology Cluster · Back to Cognitive Services · Image analytics use cases
Core capabilities
Image Analysis
Labels, captions, categories, sensitive content detection, color/size metadata.
Object Detection
Detect objects with bounding boxes: inventory, safety and quality control.
Content Moderation
Detect inappropriate content to protect communities and brand.
How it integrates
API calls
Use REST/SDK with regional endpoints and keys. Example:
POST /vision/v3.2/ocr?language=auto
Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: <key>
Content-Type: application/jsonConsider throttling, retries and idempotency.
Data pipelines
Orchestrate batch/stream with Logic Apps, Functions and Storage. For custom models, move to Azure ML.
Typical use cases
Document Intelligence
Digitize documents and automate data extraction (invoices, receipts, IDs).
Retail & inventory
Shelf recognition, stock‑out detection and visual merchandising.
Manufacturing
Visual inspection for defects and safety.
Best practices
Data quality
Lighting, resolution and angles: standardize capture for stable results.
Continuous evaluation
Ground truth, CER/WER and mAP; test real samples and monitor drift.
Costs & performance
Batching, caching, image downscaling; monitor SLOs and budget.
FAQ
Do I need client‑side GPUs?
No, models run in Azure. Optimize upload and encoding to cut latency.
Privacy & sensitive data?
Use compliant regions, mask PII, restrict retention and enforce roles & audit trails.