How to Add an Alt Text to an Image for Accessibility

Adding alt text to images in Word makes your documents accessible to people who use screen readers. Screen readers describe the image aloud using the alt text you provide. Without alt text, a blind or low-vision reader only hears the word image and misses the content. This article shows you how to add alt text in Word, what to write, and common mistakes to avoid.

What Alt Text Does and Why It Matters

Alt text (alternative text) is a written description of an image embedded in the document’s code. Screen readers convert this text to speech, allowing people who are blind or have low vision to understand the image’s content and purpose. Word also uses alt text to describe images when the document is exported to PDF or HTML.

Alt text is not the same as a caption. A caption appears visually on the page and often includes a figure number. Alt text is hidden metadata read only by assistive technology. Both can exist on the same image, but they serve different audiences.

Word can generate automatic alt text for images using cloud-based AI. However, the auto-generated description is often generic or wrong. You should always review and edit the auto text or write your own.

How to Add Alt Text to an Image in Word

You can add alt text to any image, shape, chart, SmartArt, or icon in Word. The steps are the same for all object types.

1. Right-click the image
   Click the image to select it. Then right-click anywhere on the image. From the context menu, choose Edit Alt Text. The Alt Text pane opens on the right side of your document.
2. Write a meaningful description
   In the Alt Text pane, locate the Description text box. Type a short description that explains what the image shows and why it is there. For example: Bar chart showing quarterly sales from Q1 to Q4, with the highest sales in Q3 at $50,000. Do not start with Image of or Picture of — screen readers already announce it as an image.
3. Mark the image as decorative if needed
   If the image is purely decorative, such as a border or a stock photo that adds no information, check the box Mark as decorative. This tells the screen reader to skip the image entirely and not announce it.
4. Close the Alt Text pane
   After you finish writing, click the X in the top-right corner of the Alt Text pane. Word saves the alt text automatically. You do not need to save the document separately for the alt text to be stored.

Add Alt Text Using the Ribbon Menu

1. Select the image
   Click the image to select it. The Picture Format tab appears on the ribbon.
2. Open the Alt Text command
   On the Picture Format tab, locate the Accessibility group. Click Alt Text. The Alt Text pane opens on the right.
3. Write or edit the description
   Follow the same steps as above: type a description or mark the image as decorative.

Add Alt Text to Multiple Images at Once

Word does not have a bulk edit feature for alt text. You must add alt text to each image individually. To speed up the process, use the Accessibility Checker to find all images missing alt text.

1. Open the Accessibility Checker
   Go to Review > Check Accessibility. The Accessibility pane opens on the right.
2. Review the inspection results
   Under Inspection Results, look for the warning Missing alt text. Click that item to see a list of all images that need alt text.
3. Fix each image
   Click an image in the list. The image is selected in the document, and you can open the Alt Text pane to add a description. Repeat for each image.

Common Alt Text Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Writing Image of or Picture of at the Beginning

Screen readers already announce the element type, so starting with Image of a cat is redundant. Write directly: Gray tabby cat sleeping on a blue blanket. The screen reader says Image: Gray tabby cat sleeping on a blue blanket.

Using the File Name as Alt Text

Word sometimes fills the Description box with the file name, such as IMG_2023.jpg. File names are not descriptions and provide no value. Replace the file name with a real description.

Over-Describing the Image

Alt text should be concise. For a photo of a team meeting, write Five team members sitting around a conference table with laptops and notebooks. Do not describe every person’s clothing, expression, or background details unless those details are essential to the document’s content.

Leaving Auto-Generated Alt Text Unchanged

Word’s auto-generated alt text often says A person holding a phone or A close-up of a screen. This is rarely accurate enough. Always review and edit the auto text before publishing the document.

Forgetting to Mark Decorative Images

If you leave a decorative image without alt text, the Accessibility Checker flags it as an error. Marking it as decorative removes the error and improves the screen reader experience because the user does not hear an irrelevant description.

Alt Text Best Practices: Informative vs Decorative Images

Image Type	Informative Image	Decorative Image
Description	Conveys information needed to understand the document	Adds visual style but no content value
Alt text action	Write a short description of the content and function	Mark as decorative
Example	Photo of a product with a new feature highlighted	Gradient background image or a border icon
Screen reader output	Image: Product with new blue button on the side	Silent — no announcement

To decide whether an image is informative or decorative, ask: If this image were removed, would the reader miss information? If yes, write alt text. If no, mark it as decorative.

You can now add alt text to every image in your Word documents and make them accessible to screen reader users. Open the Accessibility Checker before finalizing your document to catch any missing alt text. For advanced accessibility, also check that your table headers, heading styles, and link text are clear and descriptive.