This article was written by Modus Agency Executive Vice President of Development, Michael Stineman. Based in New York, Modus is a full-service digital agency and WP Engine Agency partner focused on creating human-centric digital experiences that drive businesses forward.
Any business or institution today could not understand that its physical location is inaccessible. However, for the 1 in 6 people worldwide with a significant disability—sensory, cognitive, physical or emotional—navigating websites and digital platforms can be time-consuming and frustrating to the point of exclusion.
In the digital age, using the web is essential to everyday life. In addition to online shopping and socializing, Web access is often an integral part of employment, education, and government services.
And while web accessibility has evolved from an industry focused on meeting compliance standards to one about developing inclusive experiences, a significant digital divide remains. According to a recent IDC report, less than 10% of websites are fully accessible.
This is where the transformative capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the potential to profoundly improve web accessibility. Organizations have the opportunity to use these new tools to address accessibility at a personalized level for the end user. Artificial intelligence can help bring the digital environment closer to the goal of universal design.
What is Universal Design?
“Universal design is design that can be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”
– Ron Mace, an architect with polio who coined the term in the 1980s
When websites like those using WordPress apply universal design principles, they are accessible to all people, including those with disabilities. By addressing accessibility issues in the component and template architecture, future pages and content updates will remain accessible without additional coding or maintenance.
The Business Case for Prioritizing Web Accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed to help web designers and website owners meet best practice standards. According to the guidelines, web accessibility means that users can perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the web.
Organizations can hire digital partners like Modus to conduct accessibility audits and apply patches. Beyond the legal and ethical incentives to meet these criteria, organizations can serve more people and reach more customers. McKinsey estimates that companies that lack accessible digital experiences will almost certainly lose out $7 billion a year. And this rate is expected to increase as the aging population increases.
From following coding best practices to copywriting, designing web experiences for accessibility is no small feat. Organizations can save money by investing in web experiences that are the most accessible from the start.
“Many organizations try to address accessibility concerns after the fact, and while this approach can be successful, the cost of doing so is orders of magnitude greater than when considering all of these factors from the outset ”, says the Vice President of Modus. Engineer, Asim Mittal.
The ability of artificial intelligence to automatically adapt the user interface for people with disabilities is potentially game-changing. Let’s explore some of the latest developments using AI technology to transform web accessibility:
AI-enhanced image and object recognition
For the visually impaired, screen readers have evolved over the years to convert digital content into audible speech. With artificial intelligence computer vision and natural language processing, these tools have been enhanced to better interpret web content.
For example, Ahrefs’ free AI Alt Text Generator can scan the content of an image and produce descriptive copy, identifying key elements and context for understanding. You can even choose your preferred tone of voice.
Another tool for the visually impaired, Be My AI is a digital visual assistant tool created by Be My Eyes in collaboration with OpenAI.
Users can get clear, live audio descriptions of the photos they take with their iOS and Android devices. Users can even chat with the app for more information or guidance on the displayed items, such as interpreting product instructions.
Audio transcription with artificial intelligence
The speed and quality of subtitling and audio transcription has been greatly improved with artificial intelligence, as the popularity of tools like Otter.ai and Zoom AI Assistant have proven. Real-time subtitles for audio and video content can help users with all kinds of hearing impairments access online content that has sound.
Many of these tools also provide bulleted summaries that help users understand general main points, decisions, and action items. Of course, the accuracy of natural language processing is still not perfect and should not be fully relied upon.
Navigation optimized with AI
For users with physical disabilities, such as mobility challenges, it is important to consider alternative ways to navigate your site without using a mouse.
Plugin solutions like accessiBe and UserWay overlay the front end of your website to enable accessibility customizations like keyboard navigation.
The programs use artificial intelligence to analyze your website architecture and implement keyboard functionality. It’s important to make sure your site has well-structured headings to ensure content is understandable for these tools.
It is constantly improving
AI-based accessibility technology is just getting started. Future trends on the horizon include real-time AI-based translation, gesture recognition, and brain-computer interfaces, which promise to further break down barriers to accessibility.
However, businesses must adopt AI solutions responsibly. Validating solutions with input from disability communities will help ensure they benefit people as intended. We are excited to work towards a future where the digital experience welcomes all users and brings us closer to the promise of a globally accessible Internet.
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