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Alt Text Generation

Automatically generate alt text for images to improve accessibility.

Deckyard can use AI vision capabilities to generate descriptive alt text for images in your presentations. This improves accessibility for screen reader users and helps meet compliance requirements.

Slide editor showing Image role toggle between Meaningful and Decorative, Alt text field with guidance, and expanded Accessibility section with title and summary fields

AI analyzes images and generates appropriate descriptions for screen readers.

  1. Image is sent to the AI vision model
  2. AI analyzes visual content
  3. Descriptive text is generated
  4. Alt text is attached to the image
  • Main subject of the image
  • Important visual elements
  • Text visible in the image
  • Context relevant to the slide

Alt text generation requires:

  • OpenAI API key - Only OpenAI supports vision capabilities
  • Image access - Images must be accessible URLs or uploaded files

Other AI providers (Claude, Mistral) do not currently support image analysis.

  1. Select an image in your slide
  2. Click AI > Generate Alt Text
  3. Review the generated text
  4. Edit if needed
  5. Save

Generate alt text for all images at once:

  1. Click AI > Generate All Alt Text
  2. AI processes each image
  3. Review generated text in the image settings
  4. Edit any that need adjustment

Configure automatic generation:

  1. Go to Settings > AI
  2. Enable Auto-generate alt text
  3. New images automatically get alt text

View and edit alt text:

  1. Select the image
  2. Open image settings
  3. Find the Alt Text field
  4. Edit as needed

Review AI-generated alt text for:

  • Accuracy (does it describe the image correctly?)
  • Relevance (does it help in the slide context?)
  • Conciseness (is it appropriately brief?)
  • Completeness (are important details included?)

Proper alt text helps:

  • Understand image content without seeing it
  • Navigate presentations effectively
  • Get full context of your message
  • Search engines index alt text
  • Improves discoverability
  • Better image search results

Meets requirements for:

  • WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines
  • Section 508 compliance
  • ADA digital accessibility

Do:

  • Describe the image content clearly
  • Keep it concise (125 characters is ideal)
  • Include relevant context
  • Describe text shown in images

Don’t:

  • Start with “Image of” or “Picture of”
  • Include irrelevant details
  • Describe decorative elements
  • Leave important images without alt text

Edit the generated text when:

  • It misses the main point
  • Context from the slide is needed
  • Technical terms need clarification
  • The image has specific meaning in your presentation

For purely decorative images:

  • Set alt text to empty ("")
  • Screen readers will skip them
  • Mark as decorative in image settings

AI Generated:

“A bar chart showing four colored bars of different heights”

Improved:

“Q4 revenue by region: North America $4.2M, Europe $3.1M, Asia $2.8M, Other $1.2M”

AI Generated:

“A group of people sitting around a table in an office”

Improved:

“The leadership team reviewing quarterly results in the boardroom”

Alt text can be generated in your presentation’s language:

  • AI generates in detected language
  • Multi-language presentations get localized alt text
  • Translate existing alt text with AI translation
  • Image data (for analysis)
  • Presentation context (optional, improves relevance)
  • Images are processed but not stored
  • OpenAI’s data policies apply
  • See your privacy settings
  • Complex diagrams (AI may not capture all details)
  • Charts with many data points
  • Images with dense text
  • Very abstract images
  • Charts and graphs (describe the data/trend)
  • Screenshots (describe what’s shown)
  • Branded images (include brand context)
  • Images with specific meaning to your audience