Hasn’t that come around quickly?
2026 is soon upon us and we’ve got in touch with two of our resident media accessibility and localisation experts, Head of VoiceBox Sophie Muller and Senior Project Manager Mohanned Khallof, to discuss what trends to look out for in 2026.
Because when we know, you know. And then you can make the most informed decisions with the information you have.
So, let’s look at some of the trends that could shape the future of the industry as we know it.
Here is a quick outline of our 2026 predicted trends:
- Website accessibility
- Audio description on adverts
- Increase in accessible documents
- Live captions
- AI audio interpretation
- AI voiceover
- AI voiceover lip sync
Website accessibility
Given the increase in demand for screen readers that Sophie says she’s seen, it’s likely more companies are going to prioritise website accessibility.
And in France, we’ve recently seen the first notable legal case where multiple large retailers have been collectively targeted for digital accessibility failings with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) now in place.
In this case, two disability-rights associations filed emergency injunctions against four French grocery retailers.
The EAA isn’t going away anytime soon, and nor is the need for website accessibility.
Sophie has only seen this increase this year, especially around the festive period.
She said: “We’ve worked on some audio description projects for national Christmas campaigns, including for top retailers and supermarkets. So, I can say from experience that I think audio description on adverts will only increase, especially those heading to a big audience like Christmas.”
“You only have to look at the range of Christmas adverts this year with accessibility at the forefront, such as Matalan, Aldi and Waitrose.
“The responses I saw to them were very positive across social media and from the people I have spoken to,” continued Sophie.
“Most of the brands on TV are global, so they’re saying, ‘we might as well do the UK while we’re doing others’.”
Increase in accessible documents
We’ve seen an increase in clients looking for more accessible documents this year. And we predict it to continue as accessibility continues to form part of the conversation.
Accessible documents cover Easy Read, large print and Braille.
Ultimately, accessibility starts with understanding and comprehension. It’s pointless bringing in all these accessible features if some people who may need them can’t read about them in various ways in the first place.
How is this done? We translate your documents into Easy Read format, combining plain language, structured layouts, simple design and supportive imagery.
Easy Read caters for a variety of readers including people with a learning disability or low literacy.
Live captions
Given that more than 18 million adults in the UK are deaf, hard of hearing or have tinnitus, according to RNID, live captions at events or concerts are a great solution for helping the audience can understand the lyrics or spoken words.
That’s because we can’t just assume that if you’re deaf, you know British Sign Language (BSL). Captions still have importance. But remember, there are still around 150,000 BSL users in the UK.
For what it’s worth, live captions is the media accessibility service that we’ve seen the biggest interest in across 2025, and so we predict that demand will continue and rise.
AI audio interpretation
This is more of a new thing. So, it’s worth us explaining it.
Imagine you have an event on Zoom for example and the speakers speak in English, and you have an audience who only speaks French, AI audio interpretation comes in useful here.
AI audio transcription > AI transcription translation > AI audio generation of the translation text, so it speaks the translation in French, and the audience can now hear the translation in French.
You may think the steps would indicate a delay, but no — it’s nothing beyond the norm. There is a one to four-second delay, but this is very normal and aligned with human interpreters.
AI is cheaper and scalable, so you can have many translated languages for accessibility. It’s quick and reliable.
The main downside here is accuracy, which isn’t as good as humans, (obviously)!
The accuracy level depends on two things:
- Audio clarity
- Specialisation (for example, medical vs. general)
AI accuracy is between 70 and 85% in general.
It’s worth noting that the client can impact the AI accuracy level for specialised industries. If they can’t provide a glossary, raw AI will be used which may lessen the accuracy. However, if a glossary of terms is provided, the AI quality rises notably.
Given that information, we would advise using AI audio interpretation based on the situation. For example, if accuracy isn’t vital and it’s more so the general feeling and context that is important, AI suits this.
However, if it’s an event related to an industry where accuracy is respected and relied upon (such as medical or legal), professional and creative human interpreters are always best here.
AI voiceover (VO)
While this isn’t a new service, our very own Senior Project Manager, Mohanned Khallof, has seen the technologies surrounding AI voiceovers improve a lot.
And therefore, VO quality has risen a lot, so it can be really hard to tell between AI and human with some voices.
If you want a cheaper and faster option, we would recommend AI voiceovers.
That being said, we will always advise where we feel human voiceovers would be more suited. Ultimately, voice artists will always sound more passionate and be better suited to creative project.
Also, in high-stakes content or when emotional impacts or stronger accents are needed, humans suit this role better.
And, while we’re on this topic, it’s worth knowing about the EU AI Act, which will be coming into play on 2 August 2026.
It will impact creatives and media, as ‘transparency obligations’ will need to be fulfilled. Therefore, companies will need to be clear about whether the audio is artificially generated or manipulated.
AI voiceover lip sync
We believe this is a rock-solid service because it’s trusted in the accessibility game a lot.
It works in two ways:
- Literal AI voiceover and lip sync
- Rather than having a written script, you can create an avatar to read the script with natural lip-sync movement.
And Mohanned predicts its usage to rise more in 2026 with advancements in technology and the availability of the service.
It will be coming to VoiceBox in 2026, so keep your eyes peeled.
Analysis
Given all the above accessibility trends, this should only contribute to greater acceptance of accessibility (physical, digital and in media) in society, which is only a positive thing.
Sophie feels like there has been a change over recent years.
“I’ve seen a slight shift of blame from a disabled person now to the companies that may not be providing the ramps, or making X, Y and Z accessible,” said Sophie. “So, more organisations are being held to account as the standards have gotten higher.
“Cancel culture is real. Some companies are scared about being called out, and that has helped bring the standards higher, too.
“And of course, there are some companies that have acted on accessibility to simply be more inclusive, which we love.
“But companies can certainly leverage accessibility as a differentiator for the business and in marketing. Creating content is easier than ever, and so is standing out. There are countless benefits to being accessibility friendly.
“2025 has been a year of growth in the accessibility space overall, and there is no reason why the bar can’t be raised again in 2026.”
Contact us today for a free accessibility consultation to explore accessibility in 2026.