AI‑powered SaaS is making digital experiences more accessible by adding live captions and comprehension aids, AI vision assistance for blind and low‑vision users, automated PDF tagging, auto‑generated alt text, and intelligent accessibility testing directly into everyday apps and developer workflows. These capabilities reduce manual remediation, expand inclusivity across disabilities and languages, and bring accessibility into routine content creation and engineering cycles.
Why it matters
- Accessibility features like live captions, read‑aloud, and translation open meetings, documents, and web apps to people who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing, dyslexic, or non‑native speakers, improving comprehension and participation.
- Automating alt text, PDF tagging, and issue detection shortens remediation time and helps organizations align with WCAG and legal requirements at scale.
What AI adds
- Live captions and meeting access
- System‑level live captions transcribe audio in real time to support deaf and hard‑of‑hearing participants, with enterprise controls that protect content while preserving accessibility.
- Reading and comprehension at scale
- Immersive Reader enables read‑aloud, translation into 100+ languages, line focus, and picture dictionary via a simple API or built‑ins across Microsoft apps.
- Visual assistance from the camera
- Be My AI provides detailed, conversational descriptions of photos and scenes for blind or low‑vision users, reducing reliance on volunteers for many tasks.
- PDF accessibility remediation
- Acrobat’s cloud‑based Auto‑Tag analyzes structure and applies accessible tags to eligible PDFs, with local fallback when needed.
- Auto‑generated alt text
- Azure Image Analysis can caption images for screen readers with configurable confidence thresholds and guidance to avoid sensitive mislabeling.
- AI‑assisted accessibility testing
- Deque axe DevTools combines axe‑core with computer vision and AI to detect contrast issues, missing semantics, focus indicators, and table/header problems faster.
- Be My Eyes (Be My AI)
- Smartphone app with an AI assistant that describes images and environments, complementing live volunteer help for blind and low‑vision users.
- Microsoft Immersive Reader (Azure service + Microsoft 365)
- Embeddable literacy tools (read‑aloud, translation, focus) used across Word, OneNote, Teams, Edge, and more to improve comprehension for all abilities.
- Adobe Acrobat (cloud Auto‑Tag)
- One‑click “Autotag document” applies accessibility tags via cloud‑based analysis or a local fallback for unsupported files.
- Azure Image Analysis (Alt Text)
- Generates screen‑reader‑ready captions with recommended thresholds and bias guidance (e.g., gender‑neutral captions).
- Deque axe DevTools (AI testing)
- AI‑augmented audits and Intelligent Guided Tests streamline WCAG checks across contrast, keyboard, semantics, and dynamic UI states.
- LMS integrations
- Immersive Reader is available inside learning platforms (e.g., Canvas) to read pages aloud and adjust grammar and text preferences.
Workflow blueprint
- Enable foundational aids
- Turn on system or suite‑level live captions for meetings and media, ensuring policies preserve accessibility while protecting content.
- Support comprehension
- Embed or activate Immersive Reader across docs, pages, and LMS content to offer read‑aloud, translation, and line focus.
- Remediate documents
- Use Acrobat cloud Auto‑Tag for PDFs and add manual fixes where needed; verify with an accessibility checker.
- Generate alt text
- Pipe images through Azure Image Analysis with appropriate confidence thresholds and review sensitive outputs before publishing.
- Shift‑left testing
- Integrate axe DevTools into CI/CD and local browsers to catch and fix issues (contrast, semantics, focus) early.
30–60 day rollout
- Weeks 1–2: Turn on essentials
- Roll out live captions and publish guidance; add Immersive Reader to key content surfaces.
- Weeks 3–4: Automate remediation
- Batch‑process high‑value PDFs with Auto‑Tag and enable alt text generation for new images with human review for edge cases.
- Weeks 5–8: Bake into dev and content ops
- Add axe DevTools to CI/CD, set acceptance criteria, and create an accessibility playbook for writers, designers, and engineers.
KPIs to prove impact
- Reach and usage
- Percentage of meetings using live captions; Immersive Reader activations across pages or lessons.
- Remediation velocity
- Number of PDFs auto‑tagged and mean time to remediate documents and images (alt text coverage).
- Defect reduction
- Drop in contrast, keyboard, and semantic issues reported by axe DevTools over release cycles.
- Satisfaction and comprehension
- User feedback on readability and understanding after enabling read‑aloud/translation/focus tools.
Governance and trust
- Privacy and safety
- Prefer services that avoid storing customer data by default (e.g., Acrobat’s cloud Auto‑Tag doesn’t save files) and enforce enterprise security.
- Accuracy and bias
- Set confidence thresholds for alt text and review outputs to prevent embarrassing or sensitive captions; use gender‑neutral descriptions where possible.
- Policy and transparency
- Communicate caption and transcript policies (e.g., copy restrictions in Teams) while maintaining accessible experiences.
Buyer checklist
- Multimodal support
- Live captions, read‑aloud, translation, and focus tools that work across OS, browser, and mobile contexts.
- Remediation automation
- Cloud auto‑tagging for PDFs and API‑based alt text generation with governance controls.
- Developer tooling
- AI‑augmented accessibility testing with CI/CD integrations and guided fixes to scale WCAG compliance.
- Integrations and training
- LMS and content platform integrations for Immersive Reader and clear admin guides to drive adoption.
Bottom line
- The fastest path to inclusive experiences pairs live captions, AI‑assisted reading tools, visual description, automated PDF tagging, alt‑text generation, and AI testing—embedded across content and dev workflows with strong privacy and review practices.
Related
Which AI features does Be My AI provide for visual accessibility
How do Be My Eyes’ volunteer and AI workflows compare
What privacy limits should I expect when using image-based AI assist
How reliable is Be My AI’s object identification in daily tasks
How will cloud auto-tagging and live captions affect accessibility tools