If you look around today, you’ll see AI everywhere. From typing assistants to video platforms, AI is trying to make our lives easier. One of the best things about AI is how it helps with accessibility. People who cannot hear, cannot see, or simply prefer to read instead of listen, all benefit when captions, transcriptions, and audio descriptions are available.
Let’s talk about how AI is changing this space.
AI for Captions – Making Videos Accessible and Understandable
Imagine watching a video but not being able to hear it. Captions make sure you can still understand what’s being said. AI listens to the audio and instantly creates text on the screen. This means a lecture, a news report, or even a casual vlog becomes more accessible to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. And honestly, even people who are not disabled use captions—think of watching videos in a noisy café or when you don’t want to disturb others.
AI for Transcriptions – Turning Speech into Text Quickly
Transcriptions are like a written record of a whole conversation, meeting, or podcast. Instead of typing word by word, AI does the job in minutes. It can give you the entire text of an interview or a meeting. Students love this because they can focus on listening during class and later read everything word-for-word. Professionals save time too, because they don’t have to make notes while also trying to listen.
AI for Audio Descriptions – Bringing Visuals to Life for Blind Users
Now, for people who cannot see, video content can be a wall of silence when no one explains what’s happening on screen. Audio description fills that gap. With AI, software can describe what’s happening—“a man walks into a room holding flowers” or “the woman smiles as the child runs towards her.” It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a step toward making videos, movies, and even images online more inclusive.
Why AI Accessibility Tools Are Helpful – The Bright Side
The biggest advantage of AI is speed. A human captioner might take hours, but AI can do it almost instantly. It’s also cheaper and available in many languages, which makes it possible for smaller creators or schools to use it without huge budgets.
Where AI Accessibility Tools Still Fall Short
But here’s the catch: AI isn’t always right. If someone speaks fast, has an accent, or uses unusual words, AI captions and transcripts can look like gibberish. AI also doesn’t “understand” emotions or cultural context—it just translates sound into text. For audio descriptions, sometimes the AI completely misses the point of the scene, which can confuse users more than it helps. And if people blindly trust AI outputs without reviewing them, accessibility can actually suffer.
My Personal Note – The Irony That Drives Me Crazy
Here’s what really frustrates me: many AI companies proudly talk about accessibility, yet their own platforms are often inaccessible. Imagine this—an AI tool that creates captions for deaf users, but the interface itself is so badly designed that a blind person using a screen reader can’t even set it up. Or a transcription service that talks about inclusivity but doesn’t allow proper keyboard navigation. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking. How can you build tools for accessibility when your own product is shutting people out? It shows how far we still need to go.
Accessibility should not be a marketing word—it should be real, lived, and tested.
Reference and WCAG Success Criteria
For anyone who wants to dig deeper, here’s the official guidance:
WCAG 2.2 Guidelines
- 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
- 1.2.4 Captions (Live)
- 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
- 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
Final Thoughts – AI’s Promise and Responsibility
AI is powerful. It can make captions, transcriptions, and audio descriptions easier than ever. But unless companies make their own platforms accessible, the promise of AI will always feel incomplete.
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