AWS Textract Guide: Features, Limitations and Use Cases

AWS Textract is a machine learning service offered by Amazon that automates the extraction of text, handwriting, tables, and other data from scanned documents, surpassing traditional OCR by understanding and extracting specific data points. It streamlines document processing across various industries, handling invoices, contracts, medical records, and more, with high accuracy for structured documents and medium accuracy for complex ones. Although it offers robust capabilities and integration with AWS services, Textract has limitations, such as difficulty extracting custom fields, lack of vertical text extraction, and limited language support. While it currently operates in a "lights-on" mode with no imminent updates, Textract remains a valuable tool for businesses seeking to automate and enhance document workflows, despite some users exploring alternatives for ongoing improvements in OCR technology.