Extract Text from Images & PDFs Using AI: Seamless Automation Breakdown 🖥️📄

Table of Contents

Why Automate Text Extraction? 🚀

Every year, businesses and professionals handle countless receipts, invoices, and documents across various formats. Manually entering these into spreadsheets is time-consuming, error-prone, and tedious. Using AI-powered tools offers:

Accuracy: Extract information reliably and avoid human entry errors.
Efficiency: Save hours by retrieving structured data in seconds.
Integration-Friendly: Move extracted data seamlessly into tools like Google Sheets or QuickBooks.

🧠 Main Workflow Breakdown

This automation involves three primary workflows:

Main AI Agent Workflow:

Captures files submitted via Telegram or other inputs.
Routes the data to relevant sub-workflows based on file type (PDFs or image files).
Sends structured output to destinations like Google Sheets.

PDF Processing Workflow: Turns structured data in PDFs into spreadsheet-ready outputs.
Image Processing Workflow: Extracts text from image-based files (like scanned receipts).

1. The AI Agent 🛠️: Core of Operation

Role: This workflow identifies whether the input file is an image or a PDF and triggers the corresponding processing workflow. It’s built in n8n using Telegram as the communication channel.

Key Setups:

Use Telegram as the trigger: A new message (e.g., a PDF invoice or image receipt) starts the workflow.
Integrate AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for intelligent decision-making:
Distinguish between files (image vs. PDF).
Route files to the correct workflows based on content type.

Example Trigger:

Message via Telegram:
“Process this PDF document.”
“Process this image of a receipt.”

Practical Tip: Pair Telegram with an access token from its documentation. The process involves connecting the “BotFather,” choosing bot names, and generating unique IDs to handle chat requests.

2. Processing PDFs 📝: Structured Data from Documents

Purpose: Extract structured data from PDFs like invoices or purchase summaries, using optical character recognition (OCR).

🚦 Steps in the PDF Flow:

Download the PDF file:

Receive the file ID from Telegram.
Utilize n8n’s Get File module to fetch the raw PDF.

Extract Text from the PDF:

Use n8n’s “Extract From File” module to convert raw files into text format.
Example Output:
plaintext Invoice: #452 Date: 03/10/2023 Amount: $199.99 Items: [Product A, Product B]

Clean Up Data & Structure It via OpenAI:

Transform the unstructured blob of extracted text into structured JSON using OpenAI.
Example JSON Formatting:
json { "invoice_number": "452", "date": "03/10/2023", "total": 199.99, "line_items": [ {"name": "Product A", "price": "99.00"}, {"name": "Product B", "price": "100.99"} ] }
The model configuration includes system prompts like: “Process invoice text and convert into structured JSON outputs.”

Insert into Google Sheets:

Append each line item or summary into individual rows using n8n’s Google Sheets node.

📌 Pro Tip: You can customize what fields (like name, price, or invoice total) to extract depending on your operational needs.

3. Processing Images 🎨: Extract Your Receipts!

Purpose: Extract text from image-based receipts, leveraging image analysis tools like OpenAI’s analyze image functionality.

Steps Specific to Image Processing:

Handle Telegram Image Uploads:

Same as PDFs, capture the image ID/file in n8n.
While downloading, ensure the MIME type is accurate (e.g., .jpg or .png) by employing an “Edit Image” pre-step to optimize formats.

OCR Text Extraction via OpenAI:

Convert the image into readable text using AI tools:
- Example: Marshall’s receipt, with items and prices clearly decoded.
Clean the extracted text and match it to relevant structured outputs.

JSON Transformation:

Like with PDFs, AI processes extracted data into a usable JSON schema:
- Items, Quantities, Dates, and Totals are pulled line-by-line.

Populate Google Sheets Dynamically:

Each extracted line item is inserted as its own row in a Google spreadsheet.

🧰 Resource Toolbox

Get started with these powerful tools and resources:

Skool Community: A hub for collaboration and workflow blueprints related to n8n and automation.
Blueprints for Workflow Setup:

Download free n8n blueprints here.

Make.com Course: Comprehensive guide to integration platforms.
Telegram Documentation: Learn how to configure bot triggers.
OpenAI API Documentation: Dive deeper into model setups or create custom configurations.
Google Sheets: A great tool to organize extracted data dynamically.
Apify for Web Data: Advanced tools for optimizing data workflows beyond OCR.

Practical Applications: Turning Concepts into Real Life 🌟

Here’s how businesses can benefit immediately from automated file processing:

Accounting Simplification:
Process invoices from vendors and move data into QuickBooks or Wave for reconciliations.
E-commerce Efficiency:
Extract order details from PDFs/images to update sales records.
Expense Reporting:
Organize receipts into neatly filed reports for reimbursements.
Legal Document Management:
Extract critical clauses and references from complex legal PDFs.
Data Cleaning Projects:
Use structured outputs to standardize messy datasets.

💡 Key Tips to Keep in Mind

Interactive Workflows: Begin small. Test each step (e.g., text extraction, JSON parsing) to ensure correct outputs.
Custom Prompts for OpenAI: Tailor system and assistant prompts to your exact data needs.
Scalability: Output data to various destinations—databases, email tools, or even Slack notifications.
Error Handling: Use pinned data for testing to save time if errors occur.

Closing Thoughts 💭

Imagine managing hundreds or thousands of files with one seamless system. Automations like these:

Save hours,
Reduce stress,
Prevent repetitive tasks,
And most importantly, let you focus on higher-level work.

With tools like n8n, OpenAI, and Telegram, you’d never again feel bogged down by invoices and receipts. Thank you for diving deep—start automating today and redefine your operations!