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Bridging the digital divide for customers with disabilities or those who don’t fully understand technology or data helps all customers use and benefit from modern technology. Similarly, removing barriers to accessing information helps non-technical users benefit from AI tools.
Despite legal requirements like the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) in the UK, the US, and Australia, disabled customers still can’t accomplish many online tasks on websites and mobile apps. This usability gap between legal compliance and actual usability blocks customers from using modern app technology at a time when many essential tasks are done online.
Designing for accessibility helps businesses find more customers. It’s also the right thing to do. Online access is essential for many critical tasks, from banking and shopping to working and managing life. However, in a recent accessibility study performed by See Me Please, of 50 global airlines, only one application allowed a blind person to book a flight.
“Most airlines will claim to be AA or AAA WCAG-conforming, and we did some research where we had blind users try to book a flight across 50 different global airlines, and there was only one aviation provider globally that they could successfully book an airline ticket. Companies think conformance means they are usable, and they are not, ” said Katie McDermott, Founder, See Me Please.
Measuring Real-Time Accessibility With User Testing
“There is nothing like observing someone suffer through something that you are proud to have designed or created. It invokes something different in you. You can see human impact. Every designer and developer takes pride in their work. And if people cannot use it, and you can actually see that yourself, it picks something in you to want to do something about it that an audit report will never bring to life,” McDermott added.
A growing number of companies are pushing beyond checkbox audits to make digital spaces truly inclusive: using human-centered testing, video evidence, and intelligent technology to bridge the divide between public policy and actual user experience.
See Me Please offers application development providers video-based user testing with 18-person tester teams, each with three testers who are blind, deaf, neurodivergent, low vision, ESL, and/or older citizens. The platform synthesizes findings into an actionable research repository, prioritizing blockers and persistent issues without prescribing solutions that may conflict with a client’s technology stack, all within an agreed timeframe.
Find out if your application or app is truly accessible, not only to improve customer experience but also to ensure you are not missing out on customers. See Me Please testers are diverse and disabled. The number of disabled people in the UK alone is currently 16 million, with an employment rate of 53%.
See Me Please aims to provide disabled citizens meaningful jobs that positively contribute to society.
“We pay every single one of our participants double the open employment minimum wage; we always pay them three hours’ pay, conscious of the gig economy, and for many people, in particular, the non-English-speaking refugees that do testing with us, it is the first job they have had in 10 years,” McDermott concluded.
Removing Information & Data Barriers Using AI
Digital accessibility for disabled users ensures all customers can use modern websites and applications. Similarly, working professionals who are not technically inclined need customized tools to help them fully leverage AI business tools. Custom AI tools help those without technical skills use and understand AI data, models, and generated analysis.
For employees without technical backgrounds, critical business data can be inaccessible, and AI tools can waste time. Shipmonk, a third-party logistics provider, has used AI to tear down walls, making AI tools usable for non-technical professionals.
“Prior to AI, accessibility to the right information was a big barrier. If you had a question, you would Slack two or three people before getting to that specific person. Now with AI, everyone has access to the same agentic bot who can answer all those questions that a domain expert would; and it is available 24-seven, ” said Arjun Kulshreshtha, Senior Manager of B2B Strategy, Shipmonk.
Many non-technical users spend hours trying to track down SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), get prompts to use in an AI tool, and understand the results. With Shipmonk, any user can query databases in natural language and get the answers they need in real time.
“Our Slack pings to domain owners have decreased a lot because people can just go and ask that agent in Slack, what is this? And it instantly gives them the answer. There is no delay, no communication gap. It gives it to them with relevant references at the bottom,” Kulshreshtha explained.
When all employees can use AI tools effectively, AI adoption accelerates across the business. Customized tools that generate prompts and translate output help all users leverage AI to convert more customers.
“Once we had that initial setup, most of the creative teams were coming up with a lot of use cases. Our sales team came up with customizing presentations to each customer’s needs: we have CPG brands, apparel brands, brands with kitchen appliances, all with separate needs. Now, we can customize all the data and information according to their needs, which helped with funnel conversions.”
Final Thoughts
Accessibility — whether for a blind user navigating an airline booking flow or a sales rep trying to pull a business report using an AI tool — is ultimately about removing friction between people and the information or services they need. As tools for measuring, testing, and democratizing access continue to mature, the business world gets closer to providing global accessibility for every user.
