A simple choice
| Task | Better starting point |
|---|---|
| Read a clean serial number | OCR |
| Extract every field from a standard form | OCR plus layout parsing |
| Explain what a chart shows | VLM |
| Answer which part of a diagram connects to another | VLM |
| Find exact text for search | OCR |
| Interpret a screenshot and suggest the next step | VLM |
Why VLM is not automatically better
A VLM can interpret the whole image but may misread small text, count objects incorrectly, or invent context. OCR is narrower, but that narrowness can make it easier to test and trust for exact extraction.
The strongest production pattern
Use OCR for exact text and a VLM for interpretation when both are needed. Keep the extracted text and visual answer separate so a person can tell which facts came from characters and which came from visual reasoning.