Struggling to find the time, resources, or creative energy to boost your website’s accessibility? Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be the answer. AI tools can potentially take on the burden of digital accessibility, freeing you up to focus on growing your business. Whether generating image alt text at the push of a button or providing instant video captions for your content, AI can serve as your virtual accessibility assistant. But before entering into any commitment, you should first familiarise yourself with AI. Both the good and the bad, so that you can adopt AI technologies effectively.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Before we explore how AI can turn your website into a pioneer for digital accessibility, we first need to grasp the concept of what AI is.
At its core, AI refers to computer systems that simulate human intelligence to perform tasks like decision-making and problem-solving. Crucially, AI systems learn from experience through pattern recognition, allowing them to continually improve.
Siri, Apple’s well-known speech recognition tool, is a classic example of modern-day AI. But AI and its capabilities extend to an almost unfathomable number of sectors and applications. Netflix and Amazon, for example, use AI to recommend movies, shows, or products based on previous usage. Some thermostats use AI to adjust temperatures based on an individual’s routine or habits. And advanced language models like ChatGPT use language to provide human-like responses to text-based inputs.
To put it bluntly, AI is shaping the modern world in unprecedented ways. A recent study found AI adoption rates jumped from a 6-year plateau of 50%, to 72% in the last 12 months, making 2025 the year of AI. And as AI continues to evolve, it becomes an increasingly valuable tool in digital accessibility, helping websites meet compliance standards and adapt to the diverse needs of users. How exactly? Let’s find out.
Free Accessibility Audit of your Website
Detecting accessibility issues has never been easier than it is now. At Recite Me we offer a free automated scan of your websites homepage. This will identify and highlight any non-compliance on your website. Followed by recommendations on how to implement the necessary changes to improve your websites accessibility score and standing.
How AI can help create more accessible online spaces
AI is often described as a digital assistant, working behind the scenes to complete repetitive, labour-intensive tasks that would otherwise take humans hours. By leveraging a digital assistant in this way, you can automate major aspects of accessible design, saving your company money and your staff a headache. In this section, we unpack just a few different types of digital accessibility AI tools on the market today.
AI page summarizers
One of the most valuable applications of AI is its ability to summarise reams of web content in a matter of seconds. For example, the Recite Me assistive toolbar features an AI Page Summarizer tool. This tool condenses long paragraphs and articles into clear, digestible summaries.
This is particularly beneficial for users with cognitive disabilities, such as those with ADHD or dyslexia, who may struggle to process large blocks of text. It also provides flexible options to users who may be in a rush and need only to grasp the key points of an extract.
Imagine a user with dyslexia trying to navigate a dense web page filled with dozens of wordy lines. There is a high chance this user becomes overwhelmed and exits your webpage without engagement. An AI page summarizer, however, can extract key takeaways from any webpage within seconds, providing an alternative for those with varying types of cognitive impairment.
With that said, there are very few people to whom an AI page summarizer wouldn’t be helpful. Because, after all, no one likes trawling through vast pages of text to find the information they need.
Alt text generated through AI
Alt text is a brief description of an image that is embedded within a website’s code so that it can be interpreted by screen readers, helping visually impaired users to perceive the contents of visual elements. Traditionally, alt text would need to be manually written and embedded into each image, by either a web developer or accessibility expert. But with AI, this process is automated.
AI can automatically generate alt text, making websites more accessible to blind and visually impaired users. This feature is especially useful for websites that rely heavily on images, such as e-commerce sites, news outlets, and blogs.
Generating video transcripts and captions
Video content is increasingly prevalent on websites, and rightfully so, its ability to engage and entertain users far exceeds that of traditional written content. But without accurate captions or transcripts, videos can be difficult or near impossible to perceive for individuals with hearing impairments. This is where AI steps in.
AI is able to recognise spoken language, convert it into text, and upload it to a video, such that the text appears synchronised with its spoken counterpart. In other words, AI tools can be used to automate the caption generation process — an otherwise time-consuming and labour-intensive operation.
Not only does this make your video content more inclusive, but it also helps enhance the overall user experience of your site, as captions and transcripts are used by more than just those with hearing impairments. They offer a way for people to watch videos in quiet spaces without headphones or in noisy environments where audio is difficult to hear.
Translating content into different languages
AI-powered translation tools can help you reach a broader audience by breaking down language barriers across your website. These tools translate static content, such as web pages or product descriptions, into multiple languages within seconds. Advanced AI systems can even handle real-time translations for dynamic content like live chats, allowing you to communicate seamlessly with your international customer base.
What are the limitations of using AI for accessibility improvements?
While AI offers remarkable potential for improving digital accessibility, it is not without its limitations. As a business owner, it is important to understand these pitfalls so that you can make an informed business decision about AI and the role you want it to play in your accessibility strategy.
Accuracy Issues
AI tools, while advanced, are not infallible. They can misinterpret complex or abstract content, leading to inaccuracies in accessibility features. For example, AI-generated alt text might misidentify a painting of an object with the object itself, failing to grasp the image’s nuance. Similarly, auto-captioning tools might struggle with regional accents or background noise, creating transcripts that are incomplete or misleading. These errors can diminish user trust and hinder accessibility efforts.
Dependence on quality data
AI systems are only as effective as the data they are trained on. If the training data is biased, incomplete, or lacks diversity, the resulting AI tool may not be as effective. Take speech recognition tools, for example. Those which are trained primarily on standard English accents may struggle to interpret non-native speakers or those with unique speech patterns. This particular dependency could end up amplifying accessibility gaps rather than bridge them.
Lack of Human Context
Despite its sophistication, current AI models lack the cultural and emotional understanding of humans. So, while an AI tool might be able to summarise a web page accurately, it cannot assess the tone, emotional weight, or cultural relevance of the content. This could result in messages being misconstrued or not contextualised appropriately.
High implementation costs
The cost of implementing AI solutions can be a barrier, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Bespoke AI integrations or advanced accessibility tools are often pricier than using more traditional, manual methods. They can end up being a significant financial investment, making them inaccessible to businesses operating on tighter budgets. This reality underscores the importance of balancing the benefits of AI with practical considerations like affordability and the ability to scale.
Online Accessibility and Inclusion Toolkit
This year we published our Digital Inclusion Toolkit that was developed to help businesses make a real difference to the lives of the millions of people around the world who encounter online barriers. The 40 page document provides practical advice covering the complete landscape of online accessibility from how to write an accessibility statement to our top tips for providing an inclusive recruitment journey.
Final verdict on the importance of accessibility AI
AI is not a silver bullet for accessibility, but when harnessed correctly, it can be an invaluable ally in creating inclusive digital spaces. By adopting automated tools like the page summarizer in our assistive toolbar, users can offload burdensome tasks to AI, freeing up more time to tackle more important tasks. So, while AI can’t do everything, it does act as a powerful catalyst towards growth, compliance, and inclusion. If you think AI tools could be useful in your business, why not take a leap of faith? Just be sure it’s the right decision for you and your customers.
