accessibility

**AI Accessibility (A11y) Audits** **Overview** Web Accessibility ensures websites are usable by people with disabilities (Screen readers, keyboard navigation). AI tools can scan code or UI screenshots to detect violations of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). **What AI Can Detect** **1. Visual Issues (Computer Vision)** - **Contrast**: "Text color #CCC on white background is too hard to read." - **Focus Order**: "The tab order jumps randomly." - **Target Size**: "Button is too small for touch users." **2. Code Issues (Static Analysis)** - **Alt Text**: "Image missing `alt` attribute." AI can even *generate* descriptive alt text. - **ARIA Labels**: "Icon button needs `aria-label`." - **Semantics**: "Using `div` instead of `button`." **Tools** - **AccessiBe / UserWay**: AI overlays that try to fix sites dynamically (Controversial). - **Lighthouse**: Google's built-in audit tool (Automated checks). - **GitHub Copilot**: "Fix the accessibility issues in this React component." **Limitations** AI can catch ~40-50% of issues (mostly syntax). It **cannot** catch usability issues: - "does this navigation menu make sense?" - "Is the alt text 'Image 123' helpful?" (No). Manual testing with a real screen reader (NVDA/VoiceOver) is still required for compliance.