State of Digital Accessibility Report: 2025-2026 Glossary

Clarifying definitions for terms that appear frequently in the discussion of our findings:

• Digital accessibility:
  The practice of ensuring a digital experience, like a website, mobile app, software product, or platform, is usable for people with disabilities and works with assistive technologies (like screen readers).
• User experience:
  The overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or enjoyable it is to use.
• Digital accessibility policy:
  A documented commitment to digital accessibility, disseminated within an organization, which may include budget allocation, dedicated team resources, training procedures, and a system of measurement. A digital accessibility policy should not be confused with an accessibility statement, a public-facing declaration of an organization’s commitment to digital accessibility.
• Accessibility maturity:
  The relative development of an organization’s accessibility program. Maturity may be determined based on several factors, including the presence of an accessibility policy, accountable party (which could be an individual or team), and dedicated budget, as well as executive support for accessibility work, the implementation of digital accessibility training, and how proactively accessibility is incorporated into the digital experience creation life cycle.
• Artificial intelligence (AI):
  Technologies that leverage computing to perform tasks simulating human abilities such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.