How to Copy Text From an Image: 5 Methods That Actually Work

You have a picture with text in it and you need that text in a format you can actually use. Maybe it is a screenshot, a photo of a document, a scanned page, or an image someone sent you. The text is right there, but you cannot select it, copy it, or paste it anywhere.

This guide covers five ways to copy text from an image, from quick built-in tools to AI-powered extraction for structured documents.

How to copy text from an image using your phone

Both iPhone and Android have built-in features that let you copy text from pictures without installing anything.

iPhone (Live Text)

Open the image in your Photos app or point your camera at the text. Tap and hold on the text you want to copy. Drag the selection handles to highlight the exact words you need, then tap Copy.

Live Text works on iOS 15 and later. It recognizes printed text in photos, screenshots, and the camera viewfinder. It does not work well on handwriting or complex table layouts.

Android (Google Lens)

Open the image in Google Photos and tap the Lens icon at the bottom. Select the Text option. Tap and drag to highlight the text you want, then tap Copy.

Google Lens is also available directly from the camera app on most Android phones. It handles printed text well and supports multiple languages. Like Live Text, it struggles with handwriting and tables.

How to copy text from a picture using Google Docs

Google Docs has a built-in OCR feature that most people do not know about. It works on any computer with a browser.

1. Upload the image to Google Drive

Drag your image file into Google Drive or use the Upload button. JPG, PNG, and PDF formats all work.

2. Open with Google Docs

Right-click the image in Google Drive. Select Open with, then choose Google Docs. Google will process the image and create a new document.

3. Copy the extracted text

The document will show the original image at the top and the extracted text below it. Select the text you need and copy it.

This method is free and works for basic text extraction. It handles printed text reasonably well but loses table structure and does not label any fields. You get raw text, not organized data.

How to copy words from an image using online OCR tools

Free online OCR tools let you upload an image and get the text back in seconds. No account or software required.

Tools like OnlineOCR.net, ImgOCR, and Imagetotext.info all work the same way. Upload your image, wait a few seconds, and copy the extracted text. Most support JPG, PNG, TIFF, and PDF formats.

These tools work well for grabbing a paragraph or a few lines of text from a screenshot or photo. They fall short when you need structured data from a document. If you are trying to copy text from an invoice, receipt, or form, the output is a block of raw text with no labels or columns.

How to capture text from an image on Windows or Mac

Both operating systems have built-in ways to copy text from images on your screen.

Windows (Snipping Tool)

Open the Snipping Tool and take a screenshot of the image containing the text. Click the Text Actions button in the toolbar. Windows will highlight all the text it finds. Click Copy all text or select specific text to copy.

This feature is available in Windows 11. It works on any image displayed on your screen, including web pages, PDFs, and photos.

Mac (Live Text in Preview)

Open the image in Preview. Hover over any text in the image and your cursor will change to a text selection cursor. Click and drag to select the text, then press Command+C to copy it.

This works in macOS Monterey and later. It also works in Safari, Quick Look, and other apps that display images.

How to copy text from an image into a spreadsheet with AI

The methods above all give you raw text. That works when you want to copy a paragraph or a few words. It does not work when you need structured data from a document like an invoice, receipt, bank statement, or form.

When you copy text from an invoice using OCR, you get something like "Acme Corp INV-2024-091 January 15 2026 Widget A 10 $25.00 $250.00" all in one block. You still have to manually sort out which value is the vendor name, which is the invoice number, and which are line items.

Lido solves this by using AI to understand document structure. Instead of copying raw text, it extracts labeled fields directly into spreadsheet columns. The vendor name goes in one column, the date in another, and each line item gets its own row with description, quantity, unit price, and total.

1. Upload your image

Upload the photo, screenshot, or scan to Lido. It accepts JPG, PNG, PDF, TIFF, and other common formats.

2. Define what you need

Tell Lido which fields to extract in plain language. For example: "Extract vendor name, date, line items with description and amount, tax, and total."

3. Get structured output

Lido returns clean, labeled data in your spreadsheet. Each field is in its own column. No reformatting, no sorting through raw text, no manual data entry.

This approach is best for teams that need to copy text from images regularly, especially from business documents like invoices, receipts, and forms. It handles handwriting, poor image quality, and complex table layouts that basic OCR tools cannot parse.

Which method should you use?

The right method depends on what you are trying to do.

For quick, one-off text copying, the built-in tools on your phone or computer are the fastest option. For business documents where you need the data organized into fields and columns, AI extraction saves hours of manual reformatting. Try Lido free with 50 pages to test on your own images.