Why Organisations Need an Review of Accessibility in their AI Strategy Inclusive AI: Strategic Review

AI is transforming how organisations design, deliver, and scale digital services. But for people with disabilities, it’s also creating new barriers at unprecedented speed.

Recent research shows AI systems frequently misrepresent disabled people, reinforce stereotypes, and make biased decisions in hiring and screening. The University of Washington found that GPT‑based résumé screening downranks candidates when disability is implied and even offers ableist justifications (UW News). Some of the challenges that AI cause include:

  • Regulatory & legal pressure – the EU AI Act requires transparency for interactive/generative AI (Article 50 overview); digital accessibility lawsuits remain elevated (UsableNet 2025 mid‑year).
  • Stereotyped or harmful content – AI generated text/images often render disabled people as tragic, passive, or invisible (NYC Bar Association report).
  • Dataset gaps → inaccessible outputs – Generative models can fail on disability-relevant prompts due to underrepresentation (Springer AI & Society) and studies of image generators’ bias (CVPR/arXiv).
  • Everyday interaction failures – Accessibility concerns (e.g. privacy of information disclosed to gain improved accessibility) recur across domains; experts call for disability-representative data in training and LLM testing (AFB consensus slides) and guiding principles (AFB principles).

Talk to us about AI Strategic Review

Why an Review of Disability Inclusion in your AI Strategy is essential now

An Review of Disability Inclusion in your AI Strategy gives your organisation clarity on how AI interacts with accessibility and disability inclusion across governance, data, design, delivery, and compliance. It answers questions like:

  • Are your AI systems producing biased or inaccessible outputs?
  • Are your teams trained to recognise AI‑related accessibility risks?
  • Are your vendors, models, data sources, and workflows aligned with accessibility best practice?
  • Are you compliant with emerging regulatory requirements?
  • Are accessibility requirements baked into your AI strategy and contracts?

Most importantly, it helps organisations prevent harm before it happens.

Inclusive AI: Strategic Review What we do

1.  Document & Model Review

We review your policies, AI system documentation, data sources, training sets, governance frameworks, and procurement approaches to identify accessibility and disability inclusion gaps.

2. Stakeholder Interviews

We speak with product owners, AI engineers, designers, data scientists, content teams, and leaders to understand how your AI is planned, delivered, and governed today.

3. Accessibility Analysis of your AI Systems

We examine how your AI models:

  • handle diverse user input
  • generate text, images, audio, or decisions
  • respond to disability‑related scenarios
  • influence downstream user experiences

We map risks using insights into AI bias, disability representation, and accessibility failures.

4. Standards Aligned Maturity Assessment

We assess your maturity against standards such as ISO 30071‑1, WCAG 2.2 AA, and relevant EU AI Act transparency and oversight obligations (Article 50 explainer).

5. AI‑Augmented Development Guidance

We advise teams on how AI‑enabled development, from vibe coding to Agentic Engineering, can maintain accessibility while speeding up product delivery. We advise on where AI can support accessibility effectively, and where human judgement and user testing remain essential.

6. Prioritised Action Plan

You receive a clear roadmap of what to improve first, what to plan next, and what your long‑term accessibility approach should be for your AI activities — across people, processes, tools, and governance. This is grounded in regulator and case‑law risk trends, and AFB principles.

What it’s like working with Hassell Inclusion

  • Collaborative partnership with practical, interactive workshops.
  • Transparent assessments that explain how inclusive your AI systems are and how to make improvements.
  • Actionable recommendations for both immediate improvements and long‑term governance.
  • Commitment to inclusion backed by decades of accessibility expertise.