In recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (15th May), Google has announced a range of AI-powered updates to improve digital accessibility on Android and Chrome, along with new support for speech recognition developers. According to Angana Ghosh, Director of Product Management for Android, Google is integrating advanced AI tools – including Gemini AI – to enhance experiences for users with vision and hearing impairments.
Angana Ghosh noted, “Advances in AI continue to make our world more and more accessible. We’re building on our work and integrating the best of Google AI and Gemini into core mobile experiences customized for vision and hearing.”
Key Android Updates Include:
- Enhanced TalkBack with Gemini AI: TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, now uses Gemini to help users better understand visual content. Users can ask contextual questions about on-screen images (e.g., “What color is this guitar?” or “Is there a discount on this item?”), making interactions more dynamic and informative.
- Expressive Captions: The feature goes beyond basic transcription. It captures speech nuances like tone, stretched sounds (“nooooo!”), and ambient cues such as whistling or clearing the throat. Available in English for users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, on Android 15 and newer.
Since launching Project Euphonia in 2019 to support users with atypical speech patterns, Google is now extending the initiative globally.
Open-Source Tools for Developers:
Project Euphonia’s GitHub page provides resources to build custom speech models tailored to individual needs.
Support for African Languages:
In partnership with University College London, Google.org has funded the Centre for Digital Language Inclusion (CDLI).
- Developing speech datasets for 10 African languages
- Aiming to empower local developers and organizations
With over 2 billion daily users, Chrome is also seeing major accessibility improvements:
- PDF Accessibility via OCR: Chrome can now apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to scanned PDFs. This makes text within images selectable, searchable, and readable by screen readers.
- Page Zoom on Android: Users can now zoom into text without disrupting page layout. Settings can be applied globally or site-specifically via the browser menu.
Chromebooks continue to support students with disabilities – Face Control enables navigation using facial gestures, and Reading Mode offers simplified and customizable text display. Students taking SAT and AP exams via the Bluebook app can use ChromeVox screen reader and dictation tools alongside test features.
