How to Meet WCAG Accessibility Standards with Captionizer for Confluence
When it comes to collaboration, Confluence has become the heartbeat of many organisations from digital-first companies to public sector teams managing essential services. But as more of our content moves online, so does the responsibility to make sure everyone can access and understand it.
That’s where Captionizer for Confluence comes in. Built by AppFox, Captionizer uses AI to automatically generate clear, accurate captions for images and diagrams on your Confluence pages, helping your organisation take meaningful steps toward WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliance, and creating a more inclusive experience for every user.
Let’s explore how Captionizer supports accessibility goals and why it’s becoming an essential part of compliance strategies in Confluence.
Why WCAG matters and what it means in practice
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) contain a range of practical recommendations to make web content more accessible. These guidelines underpin global accessibility laws and standards, including the UK Government’s Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which reference WCAG 2.2.
For public sector bodies and, increasingly, private organisations being WCAG-compliant isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s a customer-focused, operational one. If you use Confluence to publish information, document processes, or share visual content, then you need to make sure that material is accessible to everyone, including people who rely on screen readers or alternative text descriptions.
That’s where Captionizer bridges the gap between great content and accessible content.
The accessibility challenge in Confluence
Teams may not have the time to publish images, screenshots or diagrams with clear captions, which can make them inaccessible to people using assistive technology. Over time, this creates a barrier – pages become less inclusive, and teams face a growing challenge to meet WCAG criteria such as:
- 1.1.1 Non-text Content – All meaningful images must have text alternatives.
- 1.3.1 Info and Relationships – Information conveyed visually should also be available textually.
- 3.1.5 Reading Level – Text alternatives should be written in clear, simple language where possible.
For teams with hundreds (or thousands) of pages, manually writing captions that meet these standards can be time-consuming and easy to overlook. Captionizer removes that friction.
How Captionizer helps teams achieve WCAG compliance
“Captionizer makes the difference between content that looks good and content that works for everyone.” – Sourcesense International
Captionizer for Confluence is designed to simplify accessibility. Using an AI-powered Rovo Agent, Captionizer automatically scans your Confluence pages for images and visual content, then generates suggested captions that you can review, edit, or approve.
Here’s how that functionality supports WCAG-aligned accessibility:
1. Ensuring every image has a meaningful text equivalent
Captionizer helps fulfil WCAG 1.1.1 by generating clear, context-aware captions for visual elements. Each caption provides a textual summary of what’s in the image giving screen readers something meaningful to interpret.
2. Reducing manual effort and human error
Manual captioning is easy to miss, especially across large Confluence spaces. Captionizer’s automation ensures consistent coverage, helping organisations keep their content accessible by default.
3. Improving comprehension for all readers
Even for users who don’t rely on assistive tools, captions make visual content clearer. They provide context, clarify intent, and make diagrams or screenshots easier to understand, supporting WCAG’s goals of understandable and robust content.
4. Supporting continuous accessibility improvement
Accessibility isn’t a one-time project; it’s an ongoing commitment. Captionizer helps teams embed that mindset into daily content creation, making compliance part of the publishing workflow rather than an afterthought.
Spotlight on the Public Sector
Public sector organisations or companies interacting with the public sector are often required to meet WCAG 2.2 AA as a baseline. For teams publishing guidance, process documentation, or reports in Confluence, Captionizer provides a practical way to meet these obligations without adding to workload.
Instead of manually captioning hundreds of visuals, users can rely on AI-generated captions as a starting point and then edit or approve them to ensure accuracy and tone.
The result: faster compliance, reduced administrative overhead, and more accessible content for citizens, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Accessibility and clarity go hand in hand, with Captionizer
Accessibility isn’t only about meeting standards, it’s about keeping communication inclusive. When your diagrams, screenshots, and visuals include clear captions, you’re not just ticking a compliance box; you’re creating content that’s easier to understand, search, and reuse.
That means:
- Improved inclusivity for all readers.
- Greater clarity in internal documentation.
- Better knowledge retention across diverse teams.
If your organisation is one of many committing to improving accessibility in Confluence, or looking to work closely with those in the public sector space, Captionizer is the free-to-use value-add tool for you.
Available free on the Atlassian Marketplace for Confluence Cloud (when Rovo is enabled), you can learn more or get started here: Captionizer for Confluence – AppFox Documentation.
