How do I use AI to make my book more accessible?
- Accessibility includes alt text, readable formatting, and proper ebook structure.
- AI can draft image alt text and flag readability issues.
- It can help prepare and check accessible file structure.
- Output must be verified against accessibility standards.
- Real user testing and standards matter more than AI alone.
Use AI to support book accessibility by drafting image alt text, checking readability, and helping prepare properly structured, accessible ebook files (headings, navigation, semantic structure). Treat its output as a starting point: verify against established accessibility standards (like EPUB accessibility guidelines) and, where possible, real users of assistive technology. AI can speed up the work and catch obvious issues, but accessibility is a real standard with real users, so human verification ensures the book is genuinely usable, not just nominally compliant.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Accessible books reach readers who use screen readers, need readable formatting, or rely on assistive technology — a meaningful audience often overlooked. AI can lower the effort of accessibility work (alt text, structure checks) that authors might otherwise skip. But accessibility is about real people's real experience, and AI output can be wrong or superficial, so verification against standards and users is essential. Understanding AI as a helpful accelerator — not a substitute for genuine accessibility practice — lets you make your book usable by more readers.
Chapter ii·What to include
- AI-drafted alt text for images.
- Readability checks.
- Help preparing accessible file structure.
- Verification against accessibility standards.
- Real assistive-technology user testing where possible.
- AI as an accelerator, not a substitute.
Chapter iii·Example
An author publishing an illustrated nonfiction book uses AI to draft alt text for each image and to check her ebook's heading structure for screen-reader navigation. She then verifies the alt text is accurate and the file meets EPUB accessibility guidelines. AI sped up the work; her verification made the book genuinely usable by readers with assistive technology.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom keeps your formats and accessibility notes organized, so AI-assisted accessibility work is easy to verify and ship.
See how WriteLoom uses AI