AI Will Revolutionize Accessibility

Accessibility Is Hard

Building accessible digital products is tough. Right now, it requires product designers to dive deep into the complexities of accessibility—learning the ins and outs of the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and developing a sharp intuition for tackling gray areas. It’s not straightforward, and getting it right takes time and effort.

For people who rely on accessible products, it’s not much easier. They often need specialized software or even hardware to interact with digital tools. Each piece of technology comes with its own quirks, a learning curve, and a price tag—especially if hardware is involved.

The whole process is hard, expensive, and time-consuming—for everyone.

This is where AI comes in. I genuinely believe AI can solve most, if not all, of the problems in the current accessibility ecosystem. But to see why AI is such a game-changer, we first need to take a closer look at the system we’re working with now—and why it’s so overdue for disruption.

The Three Pillar System

Accessibility today is a three pillared system:

1. Products need to be designed for accessibility.
2. Those with impairments need access to accessibility technology.
3. Legislation to enforce progress.

Assistive-Developed Products

First, the tech itself has to be built with accessibility in mind. Think about websites or apps—they need to work with tools like screen readers or voice recognition software so people with impairments (visual, hearing, motor, cognitive, or speech) can use them just like anyone else.

Assistive Technology

But even the best-designed tech won’t help if someone doesn’t have access to the tools that make it usable. Assistive technologies like screen readers, magnifiers, or voice input systems are often built into the operating system being used but typically lack the advanced capability found in third-party software. If you don’t have the right tools—or the skills to use them—you’re out of luck.

Legislation

Finally, there’s the legal side. Because accessibility is often seen as “nice to have” instead of essential, governments are stepping in to push companies to comply. In the U.S., for example, accessibility is (slowly) becoming legally required. But the standards aren’t always clear, leaving companies (and courts) stuck debating whether something is accessible enough. Europe is ahead of the curve with more defined rules, but even there, challenges remain.

Why It’s Not Working

Here’s the thing: making products accessible is a lot of work. It slows down timelines, costs more money, and demands extra expertise. As a result, many companies treat it like an optional bonus instead of a priority. The laws meant to enforce accessibility help, but they’re inconsistent and reactive, often creating more confusion than solutions.

It’s a messy, frustrating system, and it’s holding us back.

Disruption

Now, let’s flip the script. Imagine you’re someone with an impairment. You don’t have specialized software, your favorite apps weren’t designed with accessibility in mind, and you can’t afford the latest assistive tech. What do you do? Most likely, you’d ask someone for help.

Naturally, this solution doesn’t scale. There won’t always be a person nearby waiting to assist with any of your immediate needs.

AI has the potential to be exactly that. It can already understand and respond to us in natural language. So why couldn’t it also handle the tasks we’d normally rely on assistive software or tools for? Think about it:

• No need for specially designed software. AI can interact with existing apps and websites, making them accessible without extra development.
• No steep learning curves. You don’t need to learn how to use a new tool—just talk to the AI like you would to a friend.
• Less reliance on laws. If AI can solve these problems from the start, we wouldn’t need legislation to force companies to act.

 Using AI as assistive technology could make many of our current solutions obsolete. There wouldn’t be a need for specialized software development—AI can navigate and interact with existing tools effortlessly. People wouldn’t have to master new or complex software because they could simply communicate with AI as naturally as they would with a friend. The need for legislation to enforce accessibility standards would disappear as AI would inherently bridge the gaps, solving the problem at its core.

Accessibility has always been a challenge, but AI gives us a chance to simplify things in a way that works for everyone. By cutting out the complexity and making technology easier to use, we can finally start breaking down the barriers that so many people face. It’s not a perfect solution yet, but it’s a step in the right direction—and that’s something to be excited about.