Windows 11’s AI Text Tool: Instantly Copy Words From Screenshots, Photos, and PDFs

There’s a new Windows 11 AI text tool built into the screenshot shortcut. Now, every time you bring up the capture bar, the text extractor can detect and copy the text on your screen. Sounds convenient, right?

Let’s look into what makes this feature unique and how to use it with ease.

What Is the New AI Text Extractor?

The Windows 11 text extractor is an AI OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool that detects on-screen text from photos, screenshots, and documents. Basically, it lets you copy characters from any source on your screen.

Previously, you could only do this with PowerToys and the updated Snipping Tool.

PowerToys is an extra set of Windows utilities for productivity. You can get them from the Microsoft Store for free. With the PowerToys text extractor, you can capture characters from both photos and videos. However, it’s not the most accurate tool, since the code is a bit older and based on Joe Finney’s Text Grab.

Meanwhile, the default Snipping Tool couldn’t detect text from screenshots until the recent Windows update. Now, you can take a screenshot and select Text actions to do so.

Once you click it, there will be a short rainbow animation on the edges of your screenshot. After that, the Snipping tool will isolate the characters, so you can copy and paste them.

How to Use the AI Text Tool in Windows 11

It’s quite simple: press the Windows key + Shift + S, and you’ll see the text extractor option in the capture bar. The feature is still rolling out, so don’t be confused if you don’t notice it immediately. It should eventually be available to both Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2 users.

Select the area you want and wait for the AI to work its magic. You’ll then see the extracted text, which you can copy and paste elsewhere. In our case, it perfectly detected the text from one of our articles. Even tricky letters like upper-case “I” and lower-case “l” didn’t confuse it.

Still, it might make mistakes if the letters are blurry or unreadable. Maybe future AI updates will include an option to fill in the gaps.

Conclusion

So, now you know all about the new Windows AI text tool. It will save you a lot of effort if you have to copy data from multiple photos and screenshots. Best of all, it’s easy to use. Just press the screenshot shortcut: Windows + Shift + S.

selma citakovic

Selma is a tech fan and writer at Help Desk Geek with a focus on cybersecurity, gaming, and all things Windows. She’s certified by IBM in hardware and operating systems, and cybersecurity essentials. She also has keen troubleshooting instincts – if you have a problem, she’ll help you solve it. Read selma’s Full Bio