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accessiBe Leverages AI to Make the Web More Accessible to the Disabled

Thursday, 08 August 2019 08:00 AM

accessiBe

accessiBe Launches Pioneering Web Accessibility Tool Powered by Artificial Intelligence

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / August 8, 2019 / Web accessibility company accessiBe has recently launched a platform that enables websites to easily become accessible to users with disabilities. Using artificial intelligence (AI), accessiBe can automatically rework website content to make them conform to accessibility standards.

accessiBe, Thursday, August 8, 2019, Press release picture

Administrators only need to integrate a single line of JavaScript code into their website to enable accessiBe's accessibility interface. This instantly adds features that allow users to tweak content sizes and colors which are helpful for users with visual impairment.

The integration also triggers accessiBe’s AI to scan the site and automatically adjusts the content to ensure compliance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Within 48 hours, the site would be able to display content that’s interpretable by screen readers and operable using special input devices.

accessiBe co-founder and CEO Shir Ekerling shared, "For the first time in history, an accessible internet is not a distant dream but an actual achievable reality. With the utilization of AI, we streamlined the complex and costly process of making websites accessible and made it automatic, simple and affordable to any business."

Inclusion through Accessibility Needed

The World Bank estimates that 1 billion people or 15 percent of the global population have some form of disability. In the US alone, there are more than 85 million Americans living with disabilities according to the 2014 Census.

Unfortunately, despite increasing connectivity, many of them are still unable to enjoy what the internet has to offer. A Pew Research study in 2016 found that they are less likely to use the internet daily compared to those without disabilities. They are also less likely to own multiple computing devices.

Technological advances in assistive devices should be bridging this gap. Braille smartphones and eye-tracking headsets are now increasingly becoming available to enable a wider set of people with disabilities to interact with computers.

A key barrier to digital inclusion is the lack of accessible internet content. Most websites are still not compliant to the WCAG. Adherence to these standards and practices should make it possible for assistive technologies to accurately process web content. Regulations such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandate organizations to provide better web accessibility.

But despite having been first released over a decade ago, less than 10 percent of websites are WCAG compliant, and in 2018, over 2,250 ADA web accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal courts against organizations that failed to provide web accessibility.

Failure to design websites according to accessibility standards generally results from two factors. Firstly, many organizations are simply ignorant to the issue and its importance. And secondly, the costs and processes involved with compliance-focused redesigns can be daunting.

While there are website plugins that seek to help improve accessibility, these only typically address less than 15 percent of the WCAG. Strict compliance is only conventionally possible through manual and costly site redesign and redevelopment.

accessiBe changes this by making WCAG compliance automatic, quick, and more affordable. The company’s AI solution enables organizations to upgrade their websites’ accessibility, and at price points that have yet to be seen in the market. Based on a site's page count, companies can choose an affordable package fit for their situation.

People with disabilities should ultimately benefit from a more accessible internet as more websites and companies commit to compliance efforts.

About the Company

accessiBe’s founders, Shir Ekerling, Gal Vizel, and Dekel Skoop, are veterans of the software, marketing, and user experience industries. They started development of the platform in 2016 after recognizing the need for wider web accessibility. The platform initially launched locally in 2018 and gained over 2,000 paying users, including Israeli licensees of leading brands like Burger King, Volvo, Deloitte and HStern. As part of its advocacy, accessiBe has also provided its service for free to over 300 non-profit organizations.

For more information, visit: https://accessibe.com/

Contact for accessiBe

Gal Vizel, CMO
[email protected]
+972-52-450-1845

SOURCE: accessiBe

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