AI tools can help with accessibility work: drafting alt text, cleaning up captions, writing plain-language summaries, converting documents. They can also introduce errors, and the tools themselves are not always accessible. The rule of thumb is simple: AI can draft, but a person checks and is responsible for what gets published.
Follow the University’s AI Guidelines & Principles alongside this page.
Alt text
AI-generated alt text is a reasonable first draft, but only you know why an image is on the page. Before you publish it:
- Check that it is accurate: names, numbers, places and any text in the image.
- Rewrite it for purpose. Say what the image means in context, not everything it shows.
- Remove filler such as “image of” or “picture of”.
- For charts and diagrams, write from the data, not from the AI’s reading of the picture. See Accessible Charts and Data Visualizations.
- Mark decorative images as decorative instead of describing them.
Many screen reader users now use AI to describe images themselves: 60.1% did so in WebAIM’s 2026 survey (our summary). That makes your alt text more important, not less, because AI cannot know your purpose.
Captions and transcripts
Automatic captions are a starting point. Before you publish a recorded video, edit the captions for accuracy: names, technical terms, punctuation and who is speaking. Captions that are mostly right still fail people when the words that matter are wrong. See Captioning.
Summaries, plain language and document conversion
- AI can draft a plain-language version of complex text. Check that the meaning has not changed, especially for policies, deadlines and instructions.
- AI conversion of a PDF to a web page or Word file can save time. Then check the structure: real headings in order, lists, table headers, link text and reading order. Run an accessibility checker on the result.
Protect privacy
- Do not put confidential information in prompts. That includes student records, health information and personal data.
- Use the AI tools supported by the University when you work with University material.
- If you are unsure, see the Responsible AI frequently asked questions.
Choosing and buying AI tools
An AI tool the University adopts has to be accessible to everyone who must use it. Before you buy or recommend one:
- Try it with the keyboard alone, and with a screen reader if you can.
- Ask the vendor for an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR, often based on a VPAT).
- Follow the Accessible Procurement Process.
Overlays do not fix accessibility
Widgets that claim to make a website accessible automatically, often marketed as AI-powered, do not make a site conform to WCAG and can get in the way of people’s own assistive technology. Fix the source content and code instead.
AI review checklist
Before you publish anything AI helped create, check:
- Is it accurate, including names, numbers and dates?
- Does it say what you intended, in context?
- Are headings, lists and tables real structure, not just formatting?
- Is the link text meaningful on its own?
- Is the language plain enough for its audience?
- Did you keep confidential information out of the prompts?
- Have you run an accessibility checker, and has a person reviewed the result?
Related
- AI Guidelines & Principles (University of Arizona)
- AI Tools at U of A (UCATT)
- Accessibility Testing Toolkit
- Get Help