If the tools we use to create content better supported accessibility, it would have a tremendous impact on making the web accessible to people with disabilities.
Billions of content creators
If you're reading this post, you're probably involved in developing web content — for your employer, for your hobby, as a volunteer, or through social media.
An estimated 6 billion people use the web. Most of them create web content, from posting on social media to developing complex websites and apps. Few have expertise in making their content accessible.
Many of my family and friends are responsible for websites and digital content in small organizations, for example:
- a pick-your-own fruit farm that provides regular updates during the growing season
- a rural public school district
- a non-profit organization with five staff
Some are in large organizations:
- a public university system with 20 campuses
- a multinational company with content authors in several countries
These family and friends want to make their digital content accessible to me and other people with disabilities. Unfortunately, the tools they use to create content do not adequately support accessibility.
Now imagine that tools made it easy for them to create accessible content.
Thousands of tools
Many people create web content via social media. They create a profile, post pictures, publish articles, and comment on others.
Many small businesses use no-code website builders to create their website.
Many large organizations use content management systems (CMS) and educational institutions use learning management systems (LMS).
These tools that people use to create web content are called "authoring tools". Here "authors" are anyone who creates content, including fruit farmers, teachers, corporate designers, and developers.
Improving accessibility support in the thousands of authoring tools would help the billions of content creators make the web more accessible.
Accessibility support examples
Tools can support authors in creating accessible content that meets the latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standard. Some examples of how are introduced below.
First a little background: Providing alternative text (alt text) for images is a basic accessibility requirement to meet the needs of people with disabilities. People who are blind and cannot see the image can get the alt text from their screen reader or braille display.
Alt text: Tools can support content authors in providing alt text.
Recently my colleague Kevin was selling a desk online. When he uploaded a photo of the desk, the tool provided a draft text description of the desk that he could edit.
When an author adds an image, the tool can:
- Require alt text or confirmation that alt text is not needed.
- Provide short guidance on why and what to include as alt text, with detailed guidance available.
- Provide suggested alt text based on the context, if available with AI.
- Save the alt text along with the image. And when the image is used again, provide that alt text as a draft and ask the author to confirm if it is appropriate in the new context.
Accessible options: When authors have choices, such as text and background colors, the tool only suggests options that meet WCAG. If an author selects options that do not meet WCAG, the tool suggests ways to fix the accessibility failure.
Accessibility accountability: The tool makes it difficult to break accessibility. If an author introduces an accessibility failure, the tool explains the problem and the impact on disabled people, and requires the author to acknowledge it.
Accessible templates: The tool's provided templates, components, and widgets meet WCAG.
By supporting accessibility, authoring tools can help make vast amounts of content more accessible with less effort.
AI-generated urgency
Authoring tools are increasingly including AI for content creation. Some website builders use AI to generate an initial site from a creator's description.
74% of new web pages in April 2025 included AI-generated content; and the percentage of web pages with significant AI-authored content is increasing.
This use of AI presents both a massive opportunity and a serious risk for accessibility. Do it right, and all that new content can be more accessible than most of today's web. Get it wrong, and accessibility barriers that exclude disabled people multiply even faster.
Example of minimal AI for maximum accessibility
At a roundtable with disability organizations in Hong Kong in early 2025, a couple of blind people were talking about how much they use AI to figure out the content of images that are missing alt text. It struck me how much of a waste that was. All that AI use, and blind people don't even know if they are getting the information that the content author wanted the image to convey.
If instead, when an author uploads an image, the authoring tool suggested alt text — as Kevin's tool did for his desk — AI would have been used only once and blind people would have relevant alt text.
This is an example of how judicious use of AI in authoring tools can reduce the overall use of AI. Léonie Watson contends that accessibility is AI resistance.
When authoring tools better support creating accessible content, it reduces the need for disabled people to use AI as a workaround.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)
To help authoring tool developers know how to support accessibility, W3C developed Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG). ATAG covers two aspects:
- The tool enables, supports, and promotes the production of accessible content that meets the WCAG standard.
- The tool itself is accessible. This enables the billions of people with disabilities to create content.
It's been 10 years since we published ATAG 2. ATAG now needs to be updated to align with developments in WCAG, to better apply in the current and future environments, to address emerging technologies, and to cover appropriate use of AI for accessibility.
W3C is bringing together stakeholders from around the world to update ATAG.
You can help
If your organization develops an authoring tool:
- prioritize providing accessibility support in your tool
- read the ATAG 2.0 materials and consider submitting your tool to the Authoring Tools List with information on its accessibility support
- participate in the W3C ATAG Community Group now, and in the proposed ATAG Working Group as a W3C Member
Anyone can:
- participate in the W3C ATAG Community Group
- contact authoring tool vendors and encourage them to meet ATAG
- review draft ATAG updates
To get notification when ATAG drafts are available for review, subscribe to get W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) news.
We especially welcome financial support for W3C WAI work on ATAG, including individual donations, organizational sponsorships, and grants.
Together we can transform accessible content creation from experts to everyone; from the end to the beginning; from bolt-on to built-in.
References: ITU, Ahrefs, Pew Research Center, WHO1, CDC, WHO2.
