Here at Accessible.org Labs, we’re working on AI integration for new products as well as new apps within the Accessibility Tracker platform. One concept that has organically come up multiple times during development and creation is hybrid automation.
What is Hybrid Automation?
Hybrid automation in accessibility is where we can automate some or all of a process through AI or coded rulesets, but the resulting output must be thoroughly reviewed and/or supplemented manually before the output is able to be used in a commercial or professional setting.
Key insight: we are not combining manual and automation together. Rather, we are using automated production as an initial layer and then human review as a final layer. This human review process includes a 2-step validation — technical review followed by usability verification — often by different experts.
| Process Layer | How It Works in Practice |
|---|---|
| Layer 1: AI Scanning | AI-powered “super scans” automatically evaluate digital assets for accessibility issues. By 2026-2027, these scans will reliably detect approximately 70% of WCAG success criteria with 98% accuracy, significantly outperforming current automated tools. |
| Layer 2: Human Review | Accessibility experts thoroughly review all AI-generated results to verify accuracy, catch false positives, and ensure the automated findings are correctly interpreted within the specific context of your digital asset. |
| Layer 3: Manual Supplementation | Humans evaluate the remaining 30% of success criteria that AI cannot yet reliably assess, such as complex interactions, contextual appropriateness, and nuanced user experience considerations that require human judgment. |
| Layer 4: Integrated Output | The AI findings and human evaluations are combined into a comprehensive accessibility audit report that provides complete WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2 AA conformance assessment, ready for professional use. |
The Efficienc
How It Works in PracticeLet’s imagine that AI is able to automate remediation of snippets of code with 80% accuracy and completeness. After AI is finished remediating the snippets, a technical accessibility expert manually reviews each snippet to ensure it is WCAG conformant and commercially viable. This type of multi-layered 1-2 punch with automation and AI and human reviews already happens with content accessibility like alt text descriptions and closed captions, but we’re imagining the advancement into more advanced aspects of digital accessibility. Additionally, hybrid automation doesn’t have to be WCAG conformant code or content, this could simply be for AI documentation creation or another practical aspect of accessibility and compliance. Why This Approach WorksAutomation excels at speed, consistency, and processing large volumes of repetitive work. Human experts excel at nuanced judgment, catching edge cases, and ensuring real-world usability. This sequential approach maximizes both strengths. You get the efficiency of automation with the quality assurance that only human expertise can provide. The result is faster processing without sacrificing standards. The Production-Review PipelineProduction Layer: AI or rules-based systems complete the initial work with measurable but imperfect accuracy. Review Layer: Human accessibility experts validate, correct, refine, and/or add to the automated output. Technical experts verify WCAG compliance while usability experts ensure real-world effectiveness. This isn’t about perfection from automation. It’s about substantial, consistent progress that human reviewers can efficiently validate and improve. Moving ForwardHybrid automation embraces current AI capabilities while maintaining the quality standards that users with disabilities depend on. By structuring work as sequential layers rather than parallel workflows, we can scale accessibility efforts without compromising the expertise that governs final quality. At Accessible.org Labs, hybrid automation with AI will be integrated into our products moving forward, enabling clients to automate more of their accessibility work while ensuring every output meets professional standards. This methodology represents a practical path for organizations wanting to increase their accessibility output without sacrificing quality. Related Posts
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