THE KEY ANSWER
Design the AI application so that users can start, understand, interrupt, and refine tasks through various interaction methods. Ensure keyboard support, labels, focus, status messages, and motion reduction. Supplement automated audits with testing of actual user paths.
Start by completing the full task without a mouse
Navigate through login, forms, generation, and saving the result using only the keyboard. Check the tab order and the visibility of the active element. The user should know where they are and how to go back. An element that looks like a button should have appropriate semantics and be operable predictably.
Do not focus solely on the landing page. Issues may arise in confirmation dialogs or when editing a single field. Prepare an error path as well. If focus is lost after a failed task or the user must re-enter all data, both accessibility and usability deteriorate simultaneously.
Context and references: W3C WAI: How to Meet WCAG 2.2
Inform about status without flooding with messages
Generation may take several seconds or longer. The user needs to know that the task has started, is in progress, or has ended with an error. However, a screen reader should not read every appearing letter. Design status messages to convey significant changes rather than the entire stream of technical events.
Provide a readable result upon completion and the ability to interrupt long-running processes if the product allows it. Explain what happens to operations that have already started. “Cancel” may stop generation but does not necessarily revert a previous save. This distinction should be clear in the interface language.
Long responses require structure
Headings, paragraphs, lists, and descriptive links help scan content and use assistive technologies. A source should have a understandable name, not just an icon. Highlight the difference between confirmed information, missing data, and items requiring acceptance using text, not just color.
Demonstration example: in document analysis, display read data, fields to verify, and a completion button separately. The user should be able to navigate to a specific error. One long output with the instruction “check everything” shifts the cost of interpretation to the user, regardless of how efficiently the model operates.
Automated testing is part of acceptance
Tools detect some issues with labels, structure, and contrast. However, they cannot fully assess whether the workflow order is logical or if messages are understandable. Supplement testing with keyboard navigation, text zoom, screen readers, and various viewport sizes. For critical products, it is worth engaging people who use assistive technologies.
Define accessibility requirements before designing components, and then verify them with subsequent changes. Animations should respect the reduced motion preference. Decorative elements must not hinder access to content. Accessibility is a property of a working path, not a badge earned after a single scan.
WHERE TO START
Bring this into your project.
- Complete the entire task using the keyboard.
- Check focus, errors, and status messages.
- Give long results a readable structure.
- Combine automated audits with manual testing.
Choose one thing your process is missing today. It's a useful topic for your first conversation with the team.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Frequently asked questions.
Does a score of 100 in accessibility mean WCAG compliance?
No. Automated tests cover only a subset of criteria and scenarios. Compliance assessment requires broader verification of content and application behavior.
Must streaming be disabled?
Not always. You can display growing text visually while limiting how changes are announced to screen readers. Predictable status notifications and access to the complete result are essential.
Sources and context
- W3C WAI: How to Meet WCAG 2.2 ↗
W3C describes criteria regarding, among other things, keyboard, focus, structure, and status messages. Response generation scenarios are proprietary examples of application.
Prepared by the ALGOV team. Current as of September 8, 2026. Examples describe possible scenarios, not results from client projects. How we create our guides.
