Start by creating a new base in Airtable, or just use one you already have. Make sure this base has a table where you'll keep the OCR data. You'll need fields like "Document Image" (Attachment type), "Extracted Text" (Long Text type), and any other fields you think are necessary.

To handle images, connect Airtable with a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox. This makes uploading and accessing document images a breeze.

1. Head over to Airtable’s "Apps" section.
2. Add an integration for Google Drive or Dropbox.
3. Authenticate the storage service you picked and link it to your base.

Sign up for a cloud OCR service. Google Cloud Vision API is a solid choice. Once you set it up, grab the API key.

1. Go to Google Cloud Console.
2. Create a New Project.
3. Enable the "Vision API".
4. Go to "Credentials" and create an API key.
5. Jot down the API key for later use.

Use a scripting environment or an automation tool in Airtable to run the OCR process. You can use Google Apps Script, Python, or Node.js to handle API requests.

For example, using Google Apps Script:

1. Open Google Apps Script Editor.
2. Write a script to upload the document image from Airtable to Google Cloud Storage.
3. Use the Vision API to process the image and extract the text.
4. Save the extracted text back to Airtable.

Example Code in Google Apps Script:

function extractTextFromImage(imageUrl) {
  var apiKey = 'YOUR_GOOGLE_CLOUD_VISION_API_KEY';
  var visionUrl = 'https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate?key=' + apiKey;

  var image = UrlFetchApp.fetch(imageUrl).getBlob().getBytes();
  var imageBase64 = Utilities.base64Encode(image);

  var requestPayload = JSON.stringify({
    "requests": [{
      "image": {
        "content": imageBase64
      },
      "features": [{
        "type": "TEXT_DETECTION"
      }]
    }]
  });

  var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(visionUrl, {
    'method': 'post',
    'contentType': 'application/json',
    'payload': requestPayload
  });

  var jsonResponse = JSON.parse(response.getContentText());
  var extractedText = jsonResponse.responses[0].fullTextAnnotation.text;
  return extractedText; 
}

Set up an automation trigger in Airtable to run the OCR script whenever a new document is added.

1. Go to the "Automations" tab.
2. Create a new automation with the trigger “When a record matches conditions”.
3. Specify the condition to trigger OCR (e.g., "Document Image" field is not empty).
4. Add an action to run the OCR script you set up in Step 4.
5. Map the extracted text back to the "Extracted Text" field in Airtable.

Upload a document image to Airtable and make sure the automation triggers the OCR process. Check that the extracted text shows up in the right field.

1. Drag and drop a document into the "Document Image" field.
2. Wait for the automation to run.
3. Check if the "Extracted Text" field is filled with the correct text.

• Adjust any script or settings if necessary.

This setup ensures documents are scanned, and text is extracted and stored in Airtable seamlessly using OCR technology.