Google is advancing digital accessibility with an array of new artificial intelligence tools for Android and Chrome. The company has significantly upgraded TalkBack, its screen reader, allowing users to query Gemini about details in images and on-screen content.
Previously, Gemini assisted with image descriptions for those without sight or with limited vision, especially when no Alt text exists. Now, users can engage in a two-way conversation about the images they encounter, such as identifying a guitar’s make or color in a photo message.
If a user is browsing or shopping within an app, Gemini can now answer questions about the items displayed, from their material to potential deals. These AI-driven insights extend to the entire phone screen, creating a more interactive and informative user experience.
Enhanced Captions and PDF Accessibility
Expressive Captions, known for providing real-time AI captions, has received an update to better reflect how people speak. The system now picks up on elongated sounds, so viewers can tell if someone draws out the word “amazing” or says a dramatic “no,” and it offers new audio labels for actions like whistling.
This improved accessibility rolls out first for English speakers in select regions such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, specifically for devices operating on Android version 15 and up. At the same time, Chrome is receiving a significant accessibility boost with Optical Character Recognition.
Screen readers on a desktop browser can now access previously unreadable scanned PDFs, as Chrome’s new capability allows users to highlight, copy, and search these documents for the first time. The OCR technology quickly identifies and processes text, making navigating PDF files easier for everyone.
Page Zoom on Chrome for Android brings another improvement, enabling users to enlarge text across websites without altering the overall page design. The customized zoom preference can be universally applied or limited to certain pages, with settings accessible via the browser’s menu for added convenience. Google boosts TalkBack, Expressive Captions, and Chrome PDF support with new AI accessibility features for Android and web users[7] Google boosts TalkBack, Expressive Captions, and Chrome PDF support with new AI accessibility features for Android and web users[1]
