AI-powered accessibility tools are rapidly being integrated into the WordPress ecosystem, from auto-generated alt text in media libraries to automated scanning tools and “one-click” accessibility plugins. These tools are often positioned as scalable solutions to long-standing accessibility challenges.
This talk challenges that narrative.
Drawing from real-world experience working across large, complex WordPress environments, Kevin Andrews examines how AI is currently being used in WordPress workflows and where it is actively failing users. He will demonstrate how automated alt text frequently lacks context, how AI-driven scanning tools produce high volumes of low-value output, and how plugin-based “automated fixes” create a false sense of confidence without addressing core interaction issues.
Rather than framing AI as inherently good or bad, this session focuses on how it is being applied in practice. In many cases, AI is not improving accessibility outcomes. It is accelerating existing problems, reducing critical thinking in content workflows, and diffusing accountability across teams, vendors, and tools.
Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of where AI can support accessibility efforts in WordPress, where it introduces risk, and how to make deliberate, responsible decisions about its use in real production environments.
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