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Accessibility Industry Update: December 2024

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Welcome to the final publication of the accessibility industry update for 2024! November brought us some interesting insights from the State of Digital Accessibility Report, and the Accessing Higher Ground Conference showcased creative uses of AI for STEM and document accessibility. We’re also sharing some great events, conferences, and further reading and resources you may find useful.

As always, let us know if you think we’ve missed something, or share the link with your colleagues or partners who may benefit from some or all of this information. You can also sign up to receive these accessibility updates via email.

Contents:

Takeaways from the State of Digital Accessibility Report 

Level Access, in collaboration with the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) and the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ICT), published their sixth annual state of digital accessibility report. This time around, over 1,400 professionals from across organizations of all sizes throughout the private and public sectors participated. Notably, 37% of respondents held C-level roles, and 41% were made up of senior management, amounting to the largest leadership concentration we’ve seen in quite a while. 

You can grab the report (PDF). It’s a relatively large document, comprising 54 pages, so we’ve summarized our takeaways below. All told, the figures tell quite the optimistic story. 

Overwhelmingly, the question has shifted from “do we need to do digital accessibility?” to “how do we do digital accessibility the right way?” This is likely a result of mounting legal pressure brought on by expansions to title II of the ADA in the United States and the European Accessibility Act in the EU. 

  • Over 80% of surveyed organizations now have a digital accessibility policy, with 60% planning to maintain or increase budgets in the coming year. 
  • Adoption of proactive accessibility practices during design and planning phases (e.g., the shift-left approach) has risen to 61%, up from 52% in 2023. 
  • The proportion of respondents who say they address digital accessibility after an experience goes live went down—from 11% in 2023 to just 6% in 2024. 

There is an undisputed growth in commitment across the board, which is always good to see. In terms of difficulties that people are experiencing: 

  • Managing accessibility across diverse digital assets (many documents and websites) was a top challenge, followed closely by competing organizational priorities and insufficient time to address all the issues. 
  • 49% of respondents indicated they were highly confident that their organization’s primary digital experience (such as a main website) was accessible, but significant gaps exist for mobile apps and internal resources. 

From a legal perspective: 

  • In the U.S. alone, 43% of respondents mentioned that their organizations had been involved in some form of legal action this year. This sounds like a high number, but it’s actually an improvement over the 46% figure from 2023. There could be some selection bias here, i.e., individuals taking part in the survey due to heightened awareness, but it’s still pretty remarkable. 
  • In the U.S., 17% say they received a lawsuit, 20% say they received a written threat of litigation (such as a demand letter), and 6% say they received both a lawsuit and a written threat of litigation. 
  • In both this year and last, retail and financial services organizations reported above average rates of legal action when compared to other industries. 
  • Over in Europe, regulatory action, driven by the European Accessibility Act (EAA), impacted 68% of organizations, with many still lagging in compliance preparation for the 2025 deadline. This number was particularly high (at 81%) in Germany where there is a strict framework for monitoring and tracking compliance efforts. 
  • When it comes to the EAA, organizations are aware of the law (73% said it applied to them). However, only 55% have started to take action, the remaining 18% have done nothing. We expect this number to change significantly at the beginning of next year with the looming 2025 deadline. 

When it comes to next steps: 

  • 79% of organizations utilize AI tools for tasks such as alt text generation or accessible code generation, but professional expertise remains critical for comprehensive accessibility. This number is only expected to increase as more generative AI based solutions come to market. One important thing to keep in mind as an accessibility services provider is that companies are more likely to prioritize vendors talking about and incorporating GenAI. 
  • 45% of respondents said their organizations used some form of automated remediation. Almost 9 in 10 respondents have high hopes for the potential of this technology. 

Measurable benefits and outcomes continue to be the name of the game: 

  • 89% of respondents cited improved user experience as an upside to implementation of accessibility features 
  • 87% cited improved customer satisfaction 
  • 84% cited avoidance of legal risk 
  • 83% cited brand reputation 
  • 75% cited increased revenue (an increase from 61% in 2023) 

Actionable recommendations: 

  • Continue implementing robust governance strategies like establishing policies, securing budgets, and assigning accountability. 
  • Leverage technology wisely. In a world where efficiency is top priority, advancements like AI need to be ethically implemented with human expertise and oversight. 
  • Get prepared for upcoming regulations. If you have customers in the EU, this is especially important right now. 

Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) 2024 

Earlier in the month, our team had a phenomenal time at the Accessing Higher Ground conference in Denver. A quick shoutout to everyone who took the time to come by and say hello, we appreciate you! 

If you weren’t there, we’ve compiled a couple quick points that kept surfacing and were exceedingly prevalent: 

  • Significant strides have been made in the creation and implementation of accessible digital maps. With products like Audiom from XR Navigation, blind individuals can navigate and gain a partial understanding of a space virtually. 
  • AI is being used consistently across higher-ed institutions, and not just by students scrambling to complete assignments by 11:59 PM. The creation of materials in alternate formats is a task well suited to GenAI models, and with human oversight they can significantly speed up the process.

Some things that seem to be working well: 

  • Generating high quality alternative text for graphics and images 
  • Reformatting documents and cleaning up messy structured data, i.e., images that need to be rendered as tables. 
  • Making text easier to read for individuals with cognitive impairments 
  • Transcribing and cleaning up sloppy and quickly hand-written notes. 
  • Creating transcripts for concise audio descriptions 
  • STEM remains an accessibility challenge, especially so when it comes to higher-level classes and subjects. 
  • Many institutions have more inaccessible documents than they know what to do with (tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands), but budgets are obviously finite. This has resulted in innovation among service providers striving to keep costs down without sacrificing accuracy. 

Conferences and Events 

Informative Reads and Resources 

Interested in More Information?