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On Thursday, Google announced the release of new artificial intelligence (AI) and accessibility capabilities for Android and the Chrome browser. The Mountain View-based IT behemoth unveiled these enhancements on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which falls on the third Thursday of May. The business has added Gemini features to the alt text description function and is now extending the Expressive Captions feature, which was previously exclusively accessible in the United States. In addition, the Google Chrome browser will acquire two new accessibility features to aid folks with limited vision.
Google introduces new accessibility features
In a blog post, the tech behemoth said that it is releasing new improvements to Android and Chrome to provide personalised visual and hearing experiences. Google is also providing additional resources for developers creating voice recognition software.
Starting with Android, the tech behemoth is launching a new feature while expanding another to more people. Last year, the business added Gemini-powered features to TalkBack, Android's screen reader, allowing it to produce informative captions for photos without alternate text. This tool is now being enhanced so that users may ask questions regarding the photographs themselves, in addition to hearing alt text explanations. Additionally, the functionality would allow users to ask inquiries regarding their screen.
In December 2024, Google added Expressive Captions to Android in the United States. This AI-powered feature, which is part of Live Captions, introduces a new method for conveying the information behind the noises. The business stated that these subtitles will be able to express tone, loudness, ambient signals, and human sounds.
For example, if the speaker says "no" loudly, the feature will type "noooooo" instead of "no," implying displeasure. When a commentator gets pleased at a brilliant play in a game of cricket or football, it will write "amaaazing shot". Expressive Captions is now available in English in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States for Android smartphones running version 15 or later.
Google Chrome is also receiving a few new accessibility features. Previously, the desktop version of the browser did not allow screen readers for scanned PDFs. The business is altering that by incorporating optical character recognition (OCR). Chrome will now be able to detect, highlight, copy, and search scanned PDFs, as well as read them using screen readers.
The second feature is called Page Zoom. It may raise the size of text on web pages in Chrome on Android without changing the page layout. This function is intended for those with limited eyesight who like to read in bigger fonts without having to shift the page left and right repeatedly.
