“Optical Character Recognition (OCR) extracts text from handwritten documents.”

According to the Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) official study guide and Microsoft Learn module “Identify features of computer vision workloads,” Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a computer vision capability that enables AI systems to detect and extract printed or handwritten text from images, scanned documents, and photographs.

Microsoft Learn explains that OCR uses machine learning algorithms to analyze visual data, locate regions containing text, and then convert that text into machine-readable digital format. This capability is essential for automating processes such as document digitization, form processing, and data extraction.

OCR technology is provided through services such as the Azure Cognitive Services Computer Vision API and Azure Form Recognizer. The Computer Vision API’s OCR feature can extract text from both typed and handwritten sources, including receipts, invoices, letters, and forms. Once extracted, this text can be processed, searched, or stored electronically, enabling automation and efficiency in document management systems.

Let’s review the incorrect options:

Object detection identifies and locates objects in an image by drawing bounding boxes (e.g., detecting vehicles or people).

Facial recognition identifies or verifies individuals by comparing facial features.

Image classification assigns an image to one or more predefined categories (e.g., “dog,” “car,” “tree”).

None of these perform the task of extracting textual content from images — that is uniquely handled by Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Therefore, based on the AI-900 official study content, the verified and correct answer is Optical Character Recognition (OCR), as it specifically extracts text (printed or handwritten) from image-based documents.