International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Our commitment to a better screen reader experience

Hi, Insiders! I’m Clint Covington, Group Product Manager for Microsoft 365 Apps Accessibility. Today is the United Nations-sponsored International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where we reaffirm our commitment to fostering disability-inclusive societies. In honor of this important goal, I wanted to recap several major enhancements we’ve made to Narrator, Microsoft Word, and the Microsoft 365 experience to build a better experience for all, and in particular those who are blind or have low vision.

Our ambition: Building a fantastic screen reader experience with Microsoft 365 apps

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. In the era of AI, we also believe that a strong foundation of accessibility is essential to make Copilot and other AI-powered tools truly useful and impactful.

To realize this mission, we have an internal program called the Inclusive Product Accelerator that is designed to help product makers build experiences that address the unique needs of traditionally underserved communities. In this program, executives and internal employee resource groups work together to identify and prioritize a list of imperatives that receive special attention. About 18 months ago, executives and the blind and low vision community prioritized making Narrator a better experience across Microsoft 365 apps.  

We started by identifying gaps in the current Narrator experience in Microsoft Word and identified ways we could improve both tools. We reached out to members in the community for feedback and formed partnerships with the Blind Information Technology Specialists (BITS) and the DAISY Consortium to help prioritize and validate progress. Below is just a taste of the substantial progress we’ve made – as well as a look at what’s to come.

What’s new in Narrator essentials

To make the Narrator experience seamless, we’ve recently introduced a number of new capabilities:

• Performance improvements: We’ve made significant improvements to Narrator to address overall speed and responsiveness, especially in long-running sessions.
• New scan mode shortcuts: In scan mode, you can now use keyboard shortcuts to skim and digest content more easily:
• n to skip past links
• comma (,) to jump to the start of a table or list
• period (.) to jump to the end of an element
• I to jump to the next list item
• G to jump to the next image
• Learn more about scan mode shortcuts
• New copy shortcut: The keyboard shortcut Narrator key + Ctrl + X copies what Narrator last spoke to the clipboard. This makes working with content faster and more efficient. Learn more about the Narrator keyboard shortcut.
• Speech recap and live transcription: Speech recap (Narrator key + Alt + X) allows you to quickly access spoken content, follow along with live transcription, and copy what Narrator last said. Learn more about speech recap.
• AI-powered image descriptions: When you use the keyboard shortcut Narrator key + Ctrl + D on Copilot+ PC machines, Narrator reads out a richer, more contextual description of an image, describing people, objects, colors, text, and numbers. This uses local AI models, so data isn’t sent to the cloud or stored. Learn more about AI-powered image descriptions.
• Screen Curtain: Screen Curtain (Narrator key + Ctrl + C) blacks out the screen while Narrator is active, enhancing privacy and focus for users who rely on screen reading and are working on sensitive content in public spaces or shared environments. Learn more about Screen Curtain.
• Braille viewer: Braille viewer (Narrator key + Alt + B) allows you to see on-screen textual and Braille representation. It’s a particularly helpful tool for sighted teachers, AT trainers, developers, and testers who cannot read Braille or who have limited access to a Braille display. Learn more about Braille viewer.
• High-definition voices: Narrator now provides two new HD English (US) high-quality, human-like voices. You can also adjust the speed, pitch, and volume for a natural and tailored experience (learn more about natural voices). We are also working to make Magnifier more inclusive with new HD voices and the introduction of Ctrl + Alt + minus sign (-) to toggle between the set magnification level and 1x magnification (learn more about natural voices in Magnifier).

To learn about more of our latest Narrator updates, check out our Complete guide to Narrator.

Better together: Word and Narrator

To improve how people read, write, edit, and collaborate in documents, we made several updates to Microsoft Word specifically addressing accessibility:

• Natural reading experiences: Improvements to natural voice feedback, footnote navigation, and comment and list reading, as well as a more reliable and continuous reading experience, better handling of punctuation and phrasing, and enhanced support for complex tables ensure that screen reader users can read, write, and edit more efficiently and with fewer distractions and hurdles. Learn more about improvements to reading.
• Efficient comment experience: Accessing and reading comments is more efficient and less verbose, and Narrator workflows and shortcut logic have been improved to act more in-line with how screen reader users navigate comments. Learn more about improvements to comment navigation.
• Audio feedback: Expanded support for 60+ additional keyboard shortcuts ensures you receive clear aural feedback about the outcome of your actions. Learn more about audio feedback for shortcuts.
• Math improvements: Narrator can now read math in Word in a structured way that reflects how formulas are meant to be understood, while features like AutoCorrect make typing complex math faster. We also introduced improved copy and paste of MathML for interoperability with Copilot. Learn more about Narrator math support.

Making it easier to create accessible content for everyone

To further enhance the experience for all screen reader and low vision customers, we’ve launched features aimed at producing richer and more accessible content, whether you’re creating a document, presentation, email, or spreadsheet:

• Alt text powered by generative AI: Leveraging generative AI, you can write richer, more descriptive, and more context-aware image descriptions. Learn more about alt text powered by generative AI.
• Upgrades to Accessibility Assistant: Accessibility Assistant can better recognize valid row headers, merged cells, and empty shapes, reducing false positives and helping content authors prioritize addressing truly impactful issues. Learn more about Accessibility Assistant updates.
• Better handling of floating images: Thanks to changes in how images are connected or anchored to surrounding text, Narrator and other screen readers can now detect and navigate floating images effectively. Learn more about floating images.
• Updates to standard red font: Our new standard red font color now meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines color contrast requirements, making red text easier to read for more people. Learn more about updates to standard red.
• Faster video captions: In PowerPoint for Mac, you can generate captions in seconds using speech recognition, review and edit them for accuracy, clarity, or emphasis, and translate them into additional languages. Learn more about video captions in PowerPoint.

To learn more about the Windows Accessibility team’s progress this year, read: 2025 – A year in recap – Windows Accessibility.

What’s next

We’re thrilled by the feedback we’ve received from Microsoft employees and the broader community about these changes:

True empowerment happens when the voices of blind and low vision professionals help guide the future of technology. The improvements in Narrator and Microsoft 365 demonstrate the power of designing with the community, ensuring that accessibility is not an upgrade but a foundation for how everyone works and learns – Jeff Bishop, President of the Blind Information Technology Specialists

However, our work is never done, and we’re eager to continue to build upon our progress to make Microsoft 365 products as accessible as possible! Upcoming initiatives include:

• Expanding Narrator and screen reader capabilities beyond Word to Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and other Microsoft 365 apps.
• Making improvements to Word spelling and list reading.
• Making improvements to reading navigation in Word using the up and down arrow keys.
• Adding custom settings and additional languages for the Narrator math speech experience.
• Improved Narrator support for Braille devices and verbosity.
• Building an even more fantastic experience with Copilot for people who are blind or have low vision.

Feedback

Your feedback is crucial to advancing our mission! To provide feedback on Narrator, type Narrator key + Alt + F. If you have thoughts or suggestions on a screen reader experience in a specific app, select Help > Feedback or type Alt + Y1 + K.

Learn about the Microsoft 365 Insider program and sign up for the Microsoft 365 Insider newsletter to get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!