With the shift toward digitalized environments, more businesses are shifting towards storing documents as images or PDFs. Thanks to advancements in AI technology, even handwritten text and dynamic formats that were once difficult with OCR to process can now be recognized easily.
By integrating AI-OCR with Gmail using Yoom, you can automatically extract content from documents, getting rid of the need to switch between multiple tools. The extracted content can then be sent directly through Gmail, enabling more efficient management of your document data.
In this article, we’ll introduce the key benefits of automating document management with OCR technology and how you can set up this automation to improve your workflow.
Meet Yoom: No-Code Automation
Yoom is a next-generation no-code automation that lets you connect and automate tasks between your favorite apps. Connecting different apps can be challenging for non-engineers, but Yoom makes automation accessible to everyone.
🌐 Connect with apps like Gmail and more.
📖 Use automation templates - no technical setup required
📈 Boost productivity and reduce human errors
You don't need to go through a complex setup and IT jargon, you can build your automation workflows with just a few clicks :) It's designed for those who want to streamline their daily work and save hours of time and stress from repetitive work.
In this guide, you'll learn the step-by-step process of how to use Yoom to automatically extract text from documents using AI-OCR and send the content through gmail.
✨ Recommended for
Those looking to improve work efficiency by utilizing AI-OCR
Anyone who wants to speed up data organization tasks by integrating AI-OCR with Gmail
Teams that want to eliminate the manual tasks of data entry
✔️ For Those Who Want to Try It Now
Yoom offers ready-made templates for easy setup. Click the "Try it" button to get started now!
We'll also walk you through the step-by-step process of creating this automation flow in the following section of this article.
Extract text from materials in JPG or PDF format using AI and send the content via email.
🚀 Let’s Create a Flow to Automate Image & PDF Extraction with AI-OCR and Gmail
Let's walk through how to set up a flow that automatically extracts text from images of PDF files using AI-OCR and sends the result via Gmail.
⏱️ Setup time: 10 minutes
🔧 What You’ll Need
A free Yoom account
Access to Gmail
If you don’t have a Yoom account yet, register now from thisregistration form!
⚠️ Note: OCR (reading text) used in this Flowbot is only available in Yoom's certain plans. If you're using the Free plan, the Flowbot may face errors due to limited access. But don't worry - all plans have a 2-week free trial! You can try all features without restrictions. For more details on Yoom and its plans, visit our Yoom Help Center.
Step 1: Add Gmail to Yoom
After logging into Yoom, go to "My Apps" from the left side menu and click "+ Add".
Search for "Gmail" from the app list and select it.
Click "Sign in with Google."
Select the Google account to link with Yoom.
Now your Gmail is connected :)
Step 2: Copy the Template
Click the "Try It" button to copy the pre-built template into your project.
Extract text from materials in JPG or PDF format using AI and send the content via email.
Click "OK" and assign a name to the Flowbot for recognition.
The template will be copied to your "My Project".
Step 3: Set Up Email Trigger Action
Click on the email trigger action.
Start by setting up a dedicated email address for Yoom to receive triggered emails. Choose an email address that is easy to remember and clearly indicates its purpose.
Once the email address is created, configure the necessary trigger conditions. For this example, in this case, we set up the condition that if the subject contains the word “photograph.”
Once this is set, move on to the next step to continue setting up the flow.
Send an email to the Yoom address you just configured. Make sure to attach the invoice and include the word "photograph" in the subject.
After sending the email, click the "Test" button. If you see "Test Successful", you're all set! Don't forget to click "Save" to complete the setup.
Step 4: Set Up OCR Action
Next, we will set up to extract texts from images/PDFs. Click on the OCR action item.
Select the action based on the file type relevant to your need.
Select the file type for testing. Choose between "Use Retrieved Values" or "Upload File." Since we want to use the file retrieved from the email," we will choose the "Use Retrieved Values" option.
📚 Reference: For more details on retrieved values and how to set them up, see theguide here.
Next, specify which data you want to extract from the receipt file. You can add or remove items as needed.
Just like before, click the "Test" button, and if you see "TestSuccessful", everything is set up correctly!
Be sure to click "Save" to finalize the process.
Step 5: Send Gmail
Click on the Gmail action item.
On the next screen, give an action a title (optional). Confirm the settings, and click “Next”.
Let’s set up the email content.
In the "To" field, enter the recipient's email address. You can also configure Cc and Bcc as needed.
Enter the subject of the email and set the body by using the retrieved value in step 4.
Once everything is filled in, click Next to proceed.
Click Test to check if the email is sent successfully. If the test is successful, click Save to finalize the settings.
Step 6: Activate the Flowbot
Toggle the "Trigger On" button to activate your flow!
That’s it! 🎉 The Flowbot is now complete!
Extract text from materials in JPG or PDF format using AI and send the content via email.
By using Gmail and AI-OCR, you can unlock a wide range of automation possibilities that simplify your workflows. Here are some examples you can explore for your next automation!
Automate Document Management with OCR and Gmail
This Flowbot reads document data received via Gmail, updates the file name, and stores it in a cloud storage service. It reduces the time spent manually reviewing and organizing files.
Read Gmail attachments using OCR and add them to Microsoft Excel.
■Overview The 'Read attachments from Gmail using OCR and add them to Microsoft Excel' workflow contributes to reducing the burden of transcription tasks. Automation reduces the manual work, potentially decreasing human errors such as input mistakes.
■Recommended for - Those who receive many attachments daily and find it cumbersome to manually check the contents - Those who want to efficiently manage the information in attachments and reflect the data in Microsoft Excel as needed - Companies looking to streamline data management - Those who use Microsoft Excel regularly for data aggregation and analysis - Those who find manual data entry time-consuming and wish to achieve a more automated workflow
■Notes - Please integrate both Gmail and Microsoft Excel with Yoom. - Triggers can be set to trigger at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. - Please note that the shortest trigger interval may vary depending on the plan. - Microsoft365 (formerly Office365) has consumer and general business plans (Microsoft365 Business), and if you are not subscribed to a general business plan, authentication may fail. - OCR is a feature only available with the Team Plan or Success Plan. In the case of the Free Plan or Mini Plan, the operation of the FlowBot set will result in an error, so please be careful. - Paid plans, such as the Team Plan or Success Plan, offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps or AI functions (operations). - Please note that OCR data may not be read if it exceeds 6,500 characters or if the characters are too small.
■Overview This is a flow to automatically save Gmail attachments to Box using OCR. In Yoom, you can easily achieve this flow without programming as it allows for integration between apps.
■Recommended for: - People who categorize and manage Gmail attachments in Box - Those who want to streamline the process of checking attachments and saving files to Box - People who want to prevent missing the task of saving attachments to Box
■Notes - Please link Gmail and Box with Yoom, respectively. - OCR and voice-to-text transcription AI operations are features available only with the Team Plan and Success Plan. If you have a Free Plan or Mini Plan, the operations of the Flowbot set up will result in errors, so please be careful. - Paid plans such as the Team Plan or Success Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and AI features (operations). - "Switch destination" is a feature (operation) available with plans higher than the Mini Plan. If you have a Free Plan, the operations of the Flowbot set up will result in errors, so please be careful. - Paid plans like the Mini Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations).
■Overview This is a flow to read receipts received in Gmail with OCR and register them in a Notion database. With Yoom, you can easily achieve this flow without programming, as it allows integration between apps. ■Recommended for ・Those who need to process a large number of expense reports every month and are spending time entering receipt data received in Gmail ・Those who have transactions with multiple projects or clients and need to classify and manage expenses ・Those who are digitizing receipts but find it cumbersome to organize and search the data ・Teams or companies using Notion as an expense management tool ・Those aiming for centralized management of receipt information
■Notes ・Please link Yoom with both Notion and Gmail. ・Branches are available from the Mini Plan and above, and the OCR AI operation is only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. For other plans, the operation of the flow bot set will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Mini Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations). ・Triggers can be set to activate at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. ・Please note that the shortest activation interval varies depending on the plan. ・OCR data may not be readable if it exceeds 6,500 characters or if the text is small, so please be careful.
This Flowbot reads business card images received in Gmail using OCR, extracts the contact information, and adds it to your information management tool. It then sends a thank-you email, speeding up your follow-up process.
Read business card images received in Gmail using OCR, add the data to kintone, and send a thank-you email with Outlook.
This is a flow to read business card images received in Gmail with OCR, add data to kintone, and send a thank-you email via Outlook.
■Notes ・Please link Gmail, kintone, and Outlook with Yoom. ・Microsoft365 (formerly Office365) has a home plan and a general corporate plan (Microsoft365 Business), and if you are not subscribed to the general corporate plan, authentication may fail. ・Branches are available in the Mini Plan or higher, and AI operations are only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. In other plans, the operation of the set flow bot will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Mini Plan can be tried for free for two weeks. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations). ・Triggers can be set to activate at intervals of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes. ・Please note that the shortest activation interval varies depending on the plan. ・Please note that OCR data may not be readable if it exceeds 6,500 characters or if the characters are small.
This is a flow to read business card images received in Gmail using OCR, register as a Salesforce contact, and send a thank you email via Gmail.
■Notes ・Please link Yoom with both Gmail and Salesforce. ・Branches are available in the Mini Plan or higher, and Salesforce and AI operations are only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. Operations of flow bots set in other plans will result in errors, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Mini Plan can be tried for free for two weeks. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations). ・Triggers can be set to activate at intervals of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes. ・Please note that the shortest activation interval varies depending on the plan. ・OCR data may not be readable if it exceeds 6,500 characters or if the text is small, so please be careful.
This is a flow to read business card images received in Gmail using OCR, register as a Salesforce contact, and send a thank-you email via Outlook.
■Notes ・Please link Gmail, Salesforce, and Outlook with Yoom. ・Branches are available in the Mini Plan or higher, and Salesforce and AI operations are only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. Operations of flow bots set in other plans will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Mini Plan can be tried for free for two weeks. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations). ・Microsoft365 (formerly Office365) has a home plan and a general business plan (Microsoft365 Business), and if you are not subscribed to the general business plan, authentication may fail. ・Triggers can be set to activate at intervals of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes. ・Please note that the shortest activation interval varies depending on the plan. ・OCR data may not be readable if it exceeds 6,500 characters or if the characters are small, so please be careful.
Automatically read contracts received in Gmail using OCR, add the data to Kintone, and receive notifications via a chat tool. This ensures the receipt and registration of contracts are tracked efficiently.
Receive a contract in Gmail, read it with OCR, add it to kintone, and notify via Google Chat.
Using Yoom’s schedule trigger, emails can be automatically sent at a set date and time, informing your team of goals and providing reminders without manual effort.
Activate the flow bot at the end of each month to send an email in Gmail.
■Overview Do you feel it’s a hassle to manually send regular communications such as month-end reports via Gmail every month? You may also have concerns about forgetting to send them when you’re busy. By using this workflow, you can automatically send templated emails from Gmail based on a specific schedule, such as at the end of each month. Eliminate the effort of manual work and the risk of missed sends, and ensure reliable periodic communications.
■Who we recommend this template for ・Those who spend time and effort on regular email sending using Gmail ・Team leaders who want to prevent mistakes such as forgetting to send monthly reports or reminder emails ・Those who want to automate routine email-sending tasks and focus on core work
■Notes ・Please connect Gmail with Yoom. ・Branching is a feature (operation) available on the Mini plan or higher. If you are on the Free plan, the operations in the configured Flowbot will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Mini plan offer a two-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use apps and features (operations) that are normally restricted.
This is a flow bot that automatically sends an email via Gmail at a specified time every day. Feel free to change the recipient and content of the email.
Send Customer Information via Gmail on a Set Schedule
Automate the sending of standard messages via Gmail at specified times. This eliminates manual tasks, reducing the chance of emails being sent to the wrong address or missed altogether.
Retrieve customer information from Google Sheets at the specified date and time, and send a template email via Gmail.
■Overview This is a flow to retrieve customer information from Google Spreadsheet at a specified date and time and send a template email via Gmail. With Yoom, you can easily achieve this flow without programming, as it allows integration between apps.
■Recommended for ・Sales or customer support personnel at companies managing customer information with Google Spreadsheet ・Those who feel burdened by regularly sending follow-up emails to customers ・Corporate sales representatives or assistants who need to send reminder emails to customers according to contract renewal dates or deadlines ・Those who want to send notifications such as coupons to multiple customers meeting certain conditions on a scheduled basis
■Notes ・Please integrate Google Spreadsheet and Gmail with Yoom. ・Operations between "repeating the same process" are only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. In the case of the Free Plan or Mini Plan, the operations or data connections set in the flow bot will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as Team Plan and Success Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations).
■Overview This is a flow to retrieve customer information from Notion at a specified date and time and send a template email via Gmail. With Yoom, you can easily achieve this flow without programming, as it allows integration between apps.
■Recommended for ・Sales or customer support personnel at companies managing customer information with Notion ・Those who find it burdensome to send regular follow-up emails to customers ・Corporate sales representatives or assistants who need to send reminder emails to customers according to contract renewal times or deadlines ・Those who want to send notifications such as coupons to multiple customers meeting certain conditions on a scheduled basis
■Notes ・Please integrate Notion and Gmail with Yoom. ・The operation between "repeating the same process" is a feature available only in the Team Plan and Success Plan. In the case of the Free Plan and Mini Plan, the operations or data connections set in the flow bot will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Team Plan and Success Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations).
■Overview This is a flow to retrieve customer information from kintone at a specified date and time and send a template email via Gmail. With Yoom, you can easily achieve this flow without programming by linking apps.
■Recommended for ・Sales or customer support personnel at companies managing customer information with Notion ・Those who find it cumbersome to send follow-up emails to customers regularly ・Corporate sales representatives or assistants who want to send reminder emails to customers according to contract renewal times or deadlines ・Those who want to send coupons or campaign information to multiple customers who meet certain conditions on a scheduled basis
■Notes ・Please link both kintone and Gmail with Yoom. ・Operations between "repeating the same process" are only available in the Team Plan and Success Plan. In the case of the Free Plan or Mini Plan, the operations or data connections of the flow bot set will result in an error, so please be careful. ・Paid plans such as the Team Plan or Success Plan offer a 2-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use restricted apps and features (operations).
Automatically upload email attachments received in Gmail to a designated folder. This feature is especially useful for sharing files quickly with your team.
■Overview Are you finding it cumbersome to manually save to Google Drive the attachments of invoices and important documents received in Gmail? Handling them one by one takes time and can lead to mistakes such as forgetting to save. By using this workflow, when an email with a specific label is received in Gmail, attachments can be automatically uploaded to Google Drive, streamlining file management tasks.
■Recommended for - Those who spend time downloading and organizing attachments received in Gmail - Accounting personnel who want to centrally manage items such as invoices from business partners in Google Drive - Those who want to prevent mistakes such as omissions in manually saving files or putting them in the wrong location
■Notes - Please connect both Gmail and Google Drive with Yoom. - For the trigger, you can select an execution interval of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. - The minimum execution interval varies depending on your plan. - Branching is a feature (operation) available with the Mini plan or higher. With the Free plan, operations of the configured flow bot will result in an error. - Paid plans such as the Mini plan offer a two-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use apps and features (operations) that are otherwise restricted.
👏 Benefits and Examples of Integrating AI OCR with Gmail
Benefit 1. Digitization of Documents
By converting documents saved as images or PDFs into text using AI-OCR, you can easily digitize document data. This makes document management more efficient by getting rid of the need for manual data entry and reducing errors.
Benefit 2. Easy Information Retrieval
Once converted into text, the data is fully searchable. Using OCR technology enables fast and efficient keyword searches, allowing you to quickly locate the information you need without having to look through physical or image-based documents.
Benefit 3. Streamlining Data Entry
OCR eliminates the need for manual entry by automatically converting paper-based documents into digital data. This reduces the time and effort required for data input, freeing up resources for other tasks. OCR can handle large volumes of documents in no time, making data entry much faster and more efficient.
Benefit 4. Integration with Other Systems
By digitizing documents, you open the possibilities to workflow automation and system integration. Once documents are converted into a usable digital format, they can be seamlessly integrated with other systems, improving overall operational efficiency.
📖 Summary
Being able to digitize documents has become increasingly important in today’s business environment. Automating image data and PDF extraction with AI-OCR can greatly streamline your workflow, improve accuracy, and save valuable time.
Best of all, no technical expertise is needed, and anyone can easily set it up! Ready to simplify your workflows? Sign up for Yoom and try it today!
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