Artificial intelligence (AI) has a role to play in the future of digital accessibility. In fact, it has a significant role to play in the present: The technology can be used to find and fix many of the most frustrating barriers that impact users with disabilities.
Given the fast pace of current AI development, it’s reasonable to assume that generative tools will massively improve digital accessibility at scale. Someday soon, we may not have to do much additional work to create web content that fully conforms with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
But while there are already use cases for accessible AI, you don’t want to wait for new technology to step in and fix your website (or mobile app, or PDFs, or other digital content). Here’s why.
Most businesses have a legal responsibility to provide accessible digital content — right now!
In five years, you might be able to install a Wordpress plugin that fixes every accessibility issue on your website. The problem? You can’t afford to wait five years.
Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) outline harsh penalties for businesses that ignore consumers with disabilities. While those laws have limited exceptions for certain types of technologies, none have a “wait and see if technology can make it easier" clause.
And the threat of accessibility lawsuits is certainly significant: 2024 saw a meaningful increase in federal ADA Title III lawsuits from 2023. Thousands of businesses deal with accessibility-related lawsuits each year — and given that even successful lawsuit defenses carry significant costs, you want to avoid litigation wherever possible.
Digital accessibility is one of the best investments you can make
Most businesses begin their accessibility initiatives to mitigate legal threats. That’s one reason that we almost always discuss the ADA, AODA, and EAA in our articles — business leaders are rightfully concerned about lawsuits, and we want to address those concerns wherever possible.
But when you think of accessibility as a core component of a good user experience, you’ll understand why procrastination is a bad approach: You want people to visit your website. You want them to use your mobile app, open your marketing emails, and place orders. If they have a bad experience with your digital products, they’re less likely to do all of those things.
About 20% of the world population lives with at least one disability. Regardless of your business’s products or services, those people are part of your audience: By following WCAG, you can present them with an equitable experience.
And consider some of the ways that digital accessibility can improve experiences for all users, regardless of their abilities:
- Clear video captions are useful in noisy environments or when sound isn't an option. Accurate captions can also boost engagement — particularly when paired with transcripts.
- Sufficient color contrast helps people see content clearly, whether they have a color vision deficiency or are just using their phone in bright sunlight.
- Well-written, descriptive link text clarifies where a link will take you, improving site navigation and context for every user.
- Consistently organized layouts and predictable navigation patterns reduce confusion and help all users find information more quickly and efficiently.
All of these issues are outlined in WCAG, and while they’re intended for folks with disabilities, they’re common-sense best practices for inclusive web development. Eventually, AI will be able to handle many of these improvements — but if you can take a few minutes today to make the necessary changes, why not take that step?
You can start using AI today to improve digital accessibility
AI isn't the magical "fix-it-all" button (at least, not yet). But while it’s not perfect yet, today’s best AI tools are already powerful and useful — and they’re getting more capable by the day.
AudioEye, for example, currently performs more than 400 tests to identify potential WCAG violations and fixes many issues as the page loads. When barriers can’t be remediated with automation alone, the platform provides guidance for human designers and developers.
To be clear, no automated tool is currently capable of guaranteeing WCAG conformance (or ADA compliance). AI isn’t going to replicate the insights gained from a seasoned accessibility consultant or the lived experience of a person navigating your site with a screen reader. But by leveraging AI with human-led testing and remediation, you can enjoy the business benefits of accessible design — while limiting costs at scale via targeted automated fixes.
If you're ready to learn more about the hybrid approach to web accessibility, get started with a free website analysis from AudioEye. To discuss your accessibility strategy with an expert, send us a message.
