What's the easiest way to convert text from picture screenshots?

Hey Vivianie,

I totally get the frustration—manually typing out text from screenshots is a total time sink! The good news is there are several super simple ways to extract text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tools, and many of them are free and built right into your device or available online. Since you're looking for the easiest options, I'll focus on straightforward, no-fuss methods that work well for screenshots from articles and documents. I'll prioritize AI-powered ones because they've gotten incredibly accurate in 2025, especially for handling varied fonts, layouts, and even blurry images.

1. Use Built-in Features on Windows or Mac (Simplest Native Option)

• On Windows (via Microsoft PowerToys): If you're on Windows 11, download the free Microsoft PowerToys from the Microsoft Store (it's official and lightweight). Enable the "PowerToys Run" or "Image Resizer" tool, but the real gem is the built-in OCR in the Snipping Tool or Photos app. Just take a screenshot with Snipping Tool (Win + Shift + S), annotate if needed, then right-click the image in File Explorer > "Open with Photos" > right-click the image > "Copy text from picture." It's instant and accurate for printed text. For more power, use Azure AI Vision's free tier through the Microsoft Learn portal—upload your screenshot and get extracted text in seconds.
• On Mac: macOS has a native Live Text feature (available since Monterey). Take a screenshot (Cmd + Shift + 4), open it in Preview, hover over the text, and select/copy it directly—it's like magic for screenshots. No extra software needed! For batch processing, use the built-in Shortcuts app to automate OCR on multiple images.

These are dead simple if you want zero downloads, and they handle English and many other languages well.

2. AI Chat Tools for Quick, No-Setup Extraction (My Top Recommendation for Ease)

If you want something even faster and more versatile (especially for batches of screenshots), just throw them into an AI chat interface—these multimodal models now excel at OCR without any specialized setup. Upload the image, ask "Extract all the text from this screenshot," and boom, you get editable text. It's often more accurate than traditional OCR for complex layouts like articles, and you can refine it (e.g., "Summarize this extracted text"). Here's what works best based on 2025 benchmarks:

• ChatGPT (with GPT-4o or o1 models): Free tier available on chat.openai.com. Upload your screenshot directly in the chat—it's incredibly accurate for screenshots, even handwritten notes or mixed layouts. Paid Plus version ($20/month) handles larger files and more uploads. Users rave about its speed for document extraction.
• Google Gemini (gemini.google.com): Completely free with a Google account. Upload images and prompt it for text extraction—it's powered by advanced models like Gemini 2.5 Pro, which shine for scene text in screenshots. Great for multilingual support and integrates seamlessly if you're already in the Google ecosystem (e.g., via Google Drive).
• Microsoft Copilot (copilot.microsoft.com): Free with a Microsoft account. Since this is a Microsoft community, this is a natural fit—upload screenshots and ask it to extract text. It uses Azure AI Vision under the hood for top-tier accuracy on printed/handwritten text, and it's optimized for Windows users.

Pro tip: For batches, zip your screenshots and upload to ChatGPT or Gemini—they can process multiple at once. This method is by far the quickest if you're already chatting with AI daily, and it's gotten so good that manual corrections are rare.

3. Free Online OCR Websites (For One-Off or Batch Uploads)

If you prefer dedicated tools without chatting:

• OCR.space (ocr.space): Totally free, no login required. Upload screenshots (supports JPG, PNG, PDF up to 5MB), select language, and download extracted text as TXT or Word. It's fast and handles screenshots from articles well—great for quick jobs.
• ImgOCR.com: AI-powered and free (no login). Drag-and-drop your screenshot, and it extracts text in seconds. Supports bulk uploads and works on blurry images—perfect for documents.
• OnlineOCR.net: Free for basic use, converts images/PDFs to editable text. Simple interface, multilingual, and accurate for printed text in screenshots.

4. Reliable Mobile Apps (If You're on the Go)

• Google Lens (Free on Android/iOS): Built into the Google app or camera—snap or upload a screenshot, tap "Text," and copy it instantly. Super accurate for real-time extraction and works offline for basics.
• Microsoft Lens (Free): Great for Windows Phone or cross-platform. Scan screenshots or documents, extract text, and export to Word/OneNote. Integrates with OneDrive for easy batching.
• Adobe Scan (Free tier): AI-enhanced OCR for screenshots; turns them into editable PDFs with searchable text.

For accuracy across the board, AI tools like the ones above outperform older OCR in 2025, especially for non-perfect screenshots (e.g., angled shots or low-res). Start with the built-in options or an AI chat for the absolute easiest path—I've used ChatGPT for this exact workflow, and it saves hours!

If none of these click or you run into issues (like with handwriting), let us know more details about your setup, and I can refine the suggestions. What's your OS or device?

Cheers!