Hello, Insiders! I’m Shireen Salma, a Product Manager on the Office Accessibility team. I’m excited to share that rich alt text is automatically generated when you insert an image in Word and PowerPoint on a Copilot+ PC device.
Automatic alt text generation in Word and PowerPoint on Copilot+ PCs
This new experience is designed to make documents and presentations more accessible from the moment images are added, while also prioritizing performance, privacy, and user control.
Copilot+ PCs are equipped with NPUs capable of over 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second), enabling high-quality AI experiences to run directly on the device. By leveraging the NPU, Word and PowerPoint can now generate descriptive, context-specific, and meaningful alt text without relying on the cloud, leading to:
- Faster, on-device processing
- Enhanced privacy, with no data ever leaving the device
- More energy-efficient AI workloads
For more information, visit Learn more about Copilot+ PCs and Windows 11 PCs from Surface.
How it works
To add alt text when inserting an image
- Insert an image in a Word document or PowerPoint presentation on your Copilot+ PC, and notice that alt text is automatically added as an option at the bottom of the image.
- To apply the alt text as is, select Approve, or select Edit to open the Alt Text pane, review the description, and make changes.
To add alt text to existing images
- In Word or PowerPoint on your Copilot+ PC, select an image, and then select Picture Format > Alt Text. NOTE: You can also select Review > Check Accessibility > Missing Alt Text.
- Select Generate alt text for me, and notice that the alt text is rich, contextual, and meaningful.
Tips and tricks
- You can turn off this feature by selecting File > Options > Accessibility, and then unchecking Enable the option to generate alt text using AI.
- For more information, read Richer alt text in Word and PowerPoint, powered by generative AI.
Availability
This update is available to Word and PowerPoint for Windows users with a Microsoft 365 subscription and running Version 2512 (Build 19530.20006) or later on a Copilot+ PC.
Feedback
We’d love to hear your thoughts on how this update is working! Open Accessibility Assistant in Word or PowerPoint, then select Give Feedback to provide feedback. Alternatively, you can select Give feedback on this alt text in the Alt Text pane for specific feedback on alt text.
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