Artificial intelligence (AI) has no restrictions and is present across various industries, and is also assisting businesses to optimize their operations. Hence, the contribution of the AI market to the global economy is anticipated to be a whopping $15.7 trillion by 2030.
Many industries are reaping the benefits of AI development and one among them is the web accessibility sector. Previously, web accessibility was a major source of annoyance for businesses and website owners seeking to enhance the usability of their digital content. Getting full accessibility usually meant the recruitment of specialized web developers who would manually rectify new and existing content line by line which is an expense that most small and medium-sized businesses cannot afford.
As a result, many business owners overlook the significance of web accessibility, which affects a sizable portion of their user base and endangers them to a high level of risk, namely accessibility lawsuits.
What exactly is web accessibility?
Web accessibility entails designing and developing websites, tools, and technologies so that people with disabilities can use them. Web content should be accessible to assistive technologies like screen readers, and sites should be fully navigable through the keyboard. However, accessibility is much more than just these two factors.
A website owner can refer to WCAG 2.1 – a universally recognized set of guidelines advising how to develop a fully accessible site. The four vital criteria detailing online accessibility in this exhaustive document are:
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable, and
- Robust
A company failing to adhere to these standards may be considered violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – a civil rights statute that prohibits disability discrimination.
AI’s Influence on Web Accessibility
According to a 2020 study, 98 percent of the world’s top one million websites disclosed accessibility failures, owing to the complexity of maintaining compliance across all digital mediums. Artificial intelligence has become a boon in terms of enhancing digital content’s accessibility. This is a great advantage to business owners who have been struggling to gain conformity with the WCAG and ADA.
Below are some of the most common applications of AI in the web accessibility sector.
- Checking the site’s accessibility
One of the major problems with web accessibility is that most business owners do not realize that their site is inaccessible. Without being aware of the issue, it is impossible to fix it. However, with the help of AI, business owners can be aware of their website’s accessibility and compliance status with automated accessibility scanners like accessScan.
- AI-powered solutions
With the advent of AI-powered solutions which can automatically scan, diagnose, and correct accessibility issues, the need to depend on web developers to manually rectify the code on the website can be eliminated.
The services of AI-powered solutions can be enjoyed with the simple installation of a plug-in, and the overlay will handle everything without altering the source code.
- Automated Speech Recognition
Users who are deaf or hard of hearing can interact with video content thanks to automated speech recognition (ASR) algorithms. These solutions eliminate the need for content creators to manually enter captions. Instead of requiring user input, ASR services will automatically insert captions. Moreover, ASR solutions can caption video content in real-time, allowing those with disabilities to watch live streams.
Importance of web accessibility
Web accessibility lawsuits are increasing year after year, with 2021 setting a new high for the most digital accessibility lawsuits. As a result, operating with an inaccessible website puts your company at a higher risk of being the target of one of these lawsuits, which can be expensive.
Aside from the legal ramifications, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 15% of the global population is disabled. As a result, business owners are making a huge mistake by ignoring users with disabilities, as they will unintentionally exclude a sizable portion of the user market from interacting with their brand.
AI technology is developing new solutions that can assist website owners in improving the accessibility of their sites and making their services available to people of all abilities. We can only hope that as these technologies advance, the internet will become fully accessible to all users.
