An Alaska arts staffer built a free tool to describe images for screen readers

A staffer at the Alaska State Council on the Arts built an AI tool that writes image descriptions for blind and low-vision users, and gives it away free.

Charlie Sears, the council's community arts development director, made The ALT Text Company in 2023. It generates alt text — the description a screen reader reads aloud in place of a photo — and it came out of a session on web accessibility at a conference on arts and disability. "With recent advancements in LLM vision APIs, I knew I could build something better, more accurate, and cost-effective enough to offer for free," Sears said.

It has a practical use close to home. Artists applying for state arts grants submit portfolio images, and the panelists reviewing those applications may be using screen readers. Without alt text, the images are invisible to them. The council also runs its own website, newsletters and social media posts through the tool.

Anyone can use it at alttextcompany.com. It's separate from the council's grant system.

The next quarterly grant deadline is Dec. 1, and staff will look over drafts before then.