AI Alt Text Generator

Automatically generate descriptive alt text for your images using AI-powered image analysis. Improve accessibility for screen reader users and boost SEO without manually writing descriptions for every image.

Use Cases#

• Automatically add alt text to images as they’re uploaded
• Bulk-generate alt text for existing images missing descriptions
• Improve accessibility compliance (WCAG) without manual effort
• Enhance image SEO with descriptive, relevant alt attributes

Why Alt Text Matters#

Alt text (alternative text) serves critical purposes:

• Accessibility: Screen readers read alt text aloud for visually impaired users
• SEO: Search engines use alt text to understand image content
• Fallback: Displays when images fail to load
• Legal compliance: Many accessibility laws require alt text

How It Works#

1. Configure your AI provider and API key
2. When you upload an image, the module sends it to the AI for analysis
3. AI generates a descriptive caption based on image content
4. The description is automatically saved as the image’s alt text
5. You can review and edit the generated text if needed

Settings#

AI Providers#

OpenAI#

Direct access to OpenAI’s vision models:

• GPT-4o — Best quality
• GPT-4o-mini — Recommended (good balance of quality and cost)
• GPT-4 Turbo — Legacy option

Get your API key from OpenAI Platform.

OpenRouter#

Access multiple AI providers through a single API:

• GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini (OpenAI)
• Claude 3.5/3.7/4.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Haiku (Anthropic)
• Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 1.5 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash (Google)

Get your API key from OpenRouter.

Bulk Processing#

For existing images without alt text:

1. Go to the module settings in Switchboard
2. Click Find Images Without Alt Text
3. Review the number of images found
4. Click Generate Alt Text for All
5. Watch the progress as each image is processed
6. Review the generated descriptions in the results table

Manual Generation#

You can also generate alt text for individual images:

1. Go to Media → Library
2. Click on any image
3. Look for the AI Alt Text section with a “Generate with AI” button
4. Click the button to generate alt text
5. The generated text appears and is saved to the alt text field

Fallback Behavior#

If AI generation is disabled or fails, alt text is generated from the filename. For example, “beach-sunset-2024.jpg” becomes “Beach Sunset”.

Best Practices#

When AI Works Best#

• Product photos with clear subjects
• Landscape and nature images
• Stock-style photos
• Simple graphics and icons

When to Edit Manually#

• Images with specific context (e.g., “CEO Jane Smith” not just “woman in suit”)
• Screenshots requiring explanation of what’s shown
• Images integral to understanding content
• Brand-specific terminology

Keep Alt Text Concise#

Good alt text is:

• Descriptive but brief (125 characters or less ideal)
• Specific to content (what’s actually in the image)
• Context-aware (relevant to surrounding content)

Avoid:

• Starting with “Image of…” or “Picture of…”
• Keyword stuffing for SEO
• Describing decorative images (use empty alt="" instead)

Privacy and Processing#

Image analysis is performed using external AI services. Consider:

• Images are sent to external AI services for analysis
• No images are stored after processing
• Sensitive images may not be appropriate for automated analysis
• Review your privacy policy if handling user-uploaded images

FAQ#