The Role of Alt Text in E-Commerce
Alt text (short for alternative text) provides image descriptions that screen readers can interpret for users with visual impairments. In the context of digital commerce, it serves as a critical bridge between visual product information and accessible digital experiences. It’s an absolute necessity for online accessibility, and when implemented correctly, it helps digital users who rely on screen readers understand the content of images, making digital experiences inclusive and navigable for all. But beyond accessibility, it also:
- Enhances search engine optimization (SEO)
- Supports product discoverability
- Encourages inclusive brand perception
The European Accessibility Act: A New EU Directive
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive that sets common accessibility standards for products and services across the EU. Enforced June 2025, it applies to most companies that make or sell products and services such as computers, smartphones, ATMs, ticketing machines, e-books, e-commerce platforms, banking services, telecoms, and transport services when offered in the EU market.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) draws from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), an international standard for making digital content usable by people with disabilities. By aligning legislation with technical best practices, the EAA elevates accessibility from a recommended guideline to a mandatory obligation, ensuring that inclusivity is built into the very foundation of digital products and services.
The aim of the act is to remove barriers for people with disabilities and ensure equal access to digital content across Europe. For online retailers and brands, this means that everything from site navigation to product imagery must be accessible. Companies that fail to meet the requirements risk not only penalties but also missing out on reaching a wider audience and delivering a better customer experience.
Where AI Meets Accessibility
Creating high-quality alt text for thousands (or millions) of product images is a daunting task. Product catalogs often contain thousands of images, making manual alt text generation time-consuming and costly.
That’s where AI can make a large difference. Modern AI models can analyze an image and generate contextually relevant alt text. When integrated with product information (like attributes, categories, or features), this approach becomes both intelligent and a perfect use case for automation.
Key benefits include:
- Scalability across large or growing product catalogs
- Consistency in tone, language, and compliance
- Multilingual capabilities to support global commerce
- Speed, allowing updates to keep pace with product cycles
- Regulatory alignment, ensuring adherence to accessibility standards such as WCAG and the European Accessibility Act
Why Compliance Now Drives ROI
With accessibility regulations in play, compliance is no longer optional. But we see it as an opportunity to turn mandatory changes into measurable wins.
For example, by automating alt text creation:
- You reduce the manual load on content teams
- You avoid the legal and financial risks of non-compliance
- You improve search visibility and accessibility at once
Investing in accessibility is ultimately an investment in your brand's growth, reputation, and digital maturity.
Real-World Example: AI Alt Text in Action
Let’s say a retailer has a product catalog with over 10,000 images. They need to meet the EAA requirements but don’t have the resources to manually create alt texts for all these images. What they could really benefit from is a targeted, cost-efficient solution that enhances their product content and integrates smoothly with their product information management (PIM) system.
They also want alt text tailored to their brand, not just generic descriptions.
In one example, a fashion brand requested detailed, context-rich alt text such as: “Front view of a woman wearing a brown t-shirt and matching brown linen trousers.”
Meanwhile, a utility retailer preferred simpler output: “A yellow bucket on green grass.”
Others required brand names, sizes, and materials embedded in the alt text. AI enables this level of customization at scale, ensuring that content is not only accessible but also aligned with each brand's tone and product focus. Of course, even AI-generated alt text may require occasional manual refinement to guarantee accuracy and brand consistency.
Looking Ahead: Accessibility as a Cornerstone of Digital Commerce
As commerce continues to evolve, accessibility has become a core component of quality, usability, and ethical digital business.
The introduction of the European Accessibility Act signals a shift in how businesses must approach digital content. But more than regulation, it presents a chance to build better experiences for everyone. Accessibility isn’t just about compliance; it’s about creating digital environments that reflect the diversity of the people who use them.
Leveraging AI for alt text generation is one step in this broader journey. It’s a practical, scalable way to bridge the gap between legal requirements and meaningful user experiences. And when done right, it frees up teams to focus on creativity, storytelling, and strategic growth, without compromising on inclusivity.
Avensia’s AI Alt Text Solution
At Avensia, we’ve developed an AI alt text solution specifically designed to help businesses meet accessibility standards in a secure, scalable, and customized way.
Here’s what our solution offers:
Bulk generation of alt text for all existing images, with automatic generation of alt text for any new images added.
Consistent, and human-understandable alt texts that meet both Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the EAA directive
Multilingual support: Alt texts tailored to your markets, available in English, Swedish, Norwegian, etc.
Cost-efficient performance: We've carefully selected underlying AI models and thoroughly worked with prompt engineering in order to keep the usage and cost low.
Whether you need a one-time accessibility update or a continuously running alt text service, integrated into your PIM system or available via a self-service web interface, we’re ready to collaborate and customize our solution to your unique needs.
