How should we use AI to improve website accessibility?

AI can support website accessibility by helping developers build interface features and draft meaningful image descriptions during development. Code assistants can help implement custom dropdown menus intended to work with mouse, keyboard and voice input. Image analysis can use surrounding page content to propose alt text rather than leaving a filename as the description. These are opportunities to integrate accessibility into the foundation of a website, rather than add it at the end.

However, faster code generation is not the same as faster delivery of an accessible website. In his account of a high-pressure digital build, Lead Developer Sergio Agosti described rapid implementation alongside bloated, repetitive code and a continuing need for expert oversight. For an enterprise website, assess the complete workload: generation, human review, accessibility QA, correction and ongoing maintenance. Initial coding speed alone does not establish a net accessibility implementation saving.

AI-generated alt text needs editorial judgement because describing an image is not the same as explaining its purpose on a page. A model can analyse both an image and surrounding content to propose a contextual description, but the result still needs to be accurate, complete and concise for that use. When the same image appears in different contexts, assess each description against the message the image communicates in that location rather than assuming one description fits every page.

Human review is particularly important because AI can misinterpret visual content, misunderstand cultural context or reproduce biases from its training data. Those errors can exclude the users the description is intended to support. Keep content editors, designers and accessibility advocates involved in deciding whether the wording conveys the relevant information. Treat generated text as a draft to evaluate, not as an accessibility requirement satisfied merely because text is present.

AI could support interfaces that adapt to different accessibility needs, but adaptation should build on an accessible foundation. Potential applications include increasing button hit areas for someone struggling with fine motor control, simplifying complex navigation or multi-step forms, and providing cognitive support through summaries, simpler vocabulary or explanations of unfamiliar concepts. These are possibilities for designing flexible experiences, not demonstrated outcomes for a deployed website.

The practical distinction is between generating an adjustment and establishing that the adjustment helps a person use the service. Designers, developers and accessibility advocates should remain central to that judgement. An adaptive interface should not be treated as permission to leave the underlying experience inaccessible. Use AI as a collaborator in exploring and implementing support, while retaining human responsibility for accuracy and for understanding how people experience the resulting website.