State of Digital Accessibility Report: 2025-2026 Forewords

By Mark Zablan, CEO, Level Access

The digital accessibility landscape is at a critical inflection point. For years, accessibility programs have struggled to keep pace with evolving regulatory requirements while managing increasingly complex digital portfolios. Now, the widespread adoption of AI-powered accessibility solutions promises to help teams overcome long-standing challenges around efficiency and consistency at scale.

As regulatory pressure mounts and development cycles accelerate, our latest State of Digital Accessibility Report suggests that many teams lack the tools they need to clearly understand their risk, integrate accessibility into experience creation, and prove their impact. However, amid these challenges, organizations are embracing AI to drive progress in today’s dynamic digital landscape.

I believe that broader adoption of intelligent tools will empower teams to close these gaps by finding issues earlier, fixing them faster, and proving progress. But our research also underscores that technology, by itself, is not a complete solution. For real impact, accessibility needs to be embedded in the fabric of an organization’s culture: championed at the highest levels of leadership and reinforced through continuous education.

To build a barrier-free digital world, teams must combine the power of AI with human passion, judgment, and expertise—embracing inclusion as part of the agentic future of work.

By Dr. Christopher M. Lee, CEO, G3ict

The global accessibility industry is maturing and redefining its purpose in real time. Digital accessibility has evolved from a compliance-driven practice into a strategic business imperative, shaping customer experience, brand trust, and operational resilience. We are also entering an era of groundbreaking innovation. AI-powered tools are not just practical accelerators of progress, but beacons of hope that, when harnessed responsibly, can bridge long-standing gaps and expand access for millions.

Amid this optimism, however, there is cause for caution. Although the emergence of legal and regulatory frameworks, such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA), further solidifies the foundations of our work, economic uncertainty, conflict, and ever-shifting social dialogues and political agendas pose an omnipresent threat to forward progress.

The report’s findings call for action from all stakeholders in the accessibility ecosystem to maintain forward momentum. The findings underscore the importance of collaboration, as we are all part of a global industry that must remain competitive but work together on the common objective of promoting the digital rights of people with disabilities. It highlights the need for steadfast and committed senior-level leadership, increased but responsible use of AI-based accessibility tools, continued emphasis on business-driven accessibility over compliance, and professional education and training as key drivers toward a bright future for the industry.

Organizations must continue to invest in not only tools but also in their employees, evolving the accessibility profession—thus building a team of professionals with the knowledge and skill set they need to embrace evolving technology, rethink traditional roles, and expand their influence across industries and regions.