Gboard introduces the new “Scan Text” OCR tool for Android users, offering a convenient way to extract text from images.

Gboard's New 'Scan Text' Tool: Effortlessly Extract Text from Images on Android

Accessible within the Gboard menu, “Scan Text” can be easily added to the toolbar for quick access. Once camera permissions are granted, users are presented with a viewfinder covering over half the screen. Simply tap the button to capture a photo of the text to be scanned.

Upon capturing the image, Gboard identifies and highlights all text visible on the page. Users can then select text by tapping and dragging, previewing it before insertion with a tap of the “Insert” button. The tool remains active after insertion, allowing for further selections. Users can capture additional images by tapping the back arrow or return to the keyboard with the close button.

For many users, this feature offers a faster and more convenient alternative to using Google Lens, with comparable OCR accuracy. Although still in beta, the “Scan Text” tool is gradually rolling out to Gboard beta users (version 13.9), with wider availability expected soon.