How to Fix PDF Accessibility with AI in Minutes

If you work with reports, forms, or learning materials, you already know that inaccessible PDFs are a real concern. They frustrate readers who rely on screen readers and can cause problems with internal policies, legal standards, and public trust.

With Smallpdf AI, you can review accessibility issues, improve structure, and generate better text for assistive technologies in a fraction of the time a manual review would take.

What is Smallpdf AI?

Smallpdf AI is your intelligent PDF assistant that uses artificial intelligence to simplify document workflows. Our AI-powered tools help you chat with PDFs, summarize content, translate documents, and fix accessibility issues—all through natural language commands.

The AI toolkit includes:

• Chat with PDF - Ask questions and get instant answers from your documents.
• AI PDF Summarizer - Generate concise summaries in seconds.
• Translate PDF - Convert documents to 100+ languages.
• AI Question Generator - Create study questions from any PDF.

4 Common PDF Accessibility Issues (With AI Fixes)

1. Improperly Tagged Headings

Screen readers rely on heading tags (H1, H2, H3) to announce structure and let users jump through sections. Many PDFs only “look” like they have headings, but they are just styled text.

With AI PDF, you can ask the document directly about its structure. AI can highlight where headings seem missing or inconsistent and help you plan the correct hierarchy before you update tags with your preferred editor.

2. Lists Without Proper Tags

Visually, a list may look fine, but if the underlying tagging is wrong, screen readers read it like a single block of text. That makes step-by-step instructions very hard to follow.

You can use Chat with PDF to ask AI to locate lists, confirm their content, and point out places where steps or bullet groups might need real list structure. This speeds up manual tagging and reduces missed items.

3. Missing or Poor Alt Text on Images

Images and charts without alt text are invisible to people who cannot see them. Even when alt text exists, it is often too vague to be useful.

Smallpdf AI PDF can help you:

• Identify which images carry important information.
• Suggest clear, concise descriptions for those images.
• Refine long or unclear alt text into something more useful.

You still decide what goes into the document, but AI gives you a strong starting point in seconds.

4. Links, Tables, and Reading Order Problems

Links that are hard to reach, tables that read in the wrong sequence, or content that jumps around are common accessibility issues.

You can ask AI questions such as:

• ‘List all links in this PDF with their visible text.’
• ‘Are there complex tables that might be hard for screen readers?’
• ‘Describe the reading order problems you can detect.’

This is much faster than hunting through a long file manually.

How to Use Smallpdf AI to Fix PDF Accessibility

Smallpdf does more than just fix PDF accessibility with AI. It simplifies the entire process. Here’s how to use Smallpdf’s AI tools to remediate your PDFs effectively:

Step 1: Upload Your PDF to AI PDF

• Open Smallpdf AI PDF in your browser.
• Click “Choose Files” or drag and drop your PDF.
• You can upload from your device, Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

Smallpdf supports large files and can also work with password-protected documents once you unlock them.

Step 2: Check Accessibility With Chat with PDF

1. Once the file loads, open Chat with PDF.
2. Use prompts like:

• ‘Check this PDF for main accessibility issues.’
• ‘Are headings, lists, and links likely to be accessible?’

3. AI will outline problem areas and suggest what needs review or tagging.

This gives you a targeted checklist rather than a vague sense that “something is wrong.”

Step 3: Auto-Suggest Alt Text For Images

1. Ask AI: ‘Identify all important images and suggest alt text.’
2. Review its proposals and adjust sensitive or technical descriptions.
3. Use your PDF editor to apply the final alt text to each tag.
4. You keep control over tone and accuracy, and AI speeds up the creative part.

Step 4: Improve Headings, Lists, and Tables

1. Ask AI to outline the logical heading structure of the document.
2. Compare the outline with how your PDF is currently tagged.
3. Use this as a guide to retag headings, lists, and tables correctly in your editing workflow.

AI becomes your structure “map,” so you do not miss sections or level jumps.

Step 5: Run OCR and Final Edits Where Needed

If your PDF is scanned or has non-selectable text: 1. Use PDF OCR to turn images into real text. 2. Fix any text recognition errors the AI points out. 3. Use Edit PDF or your desktop editor to finalize tagging, layout, and reading order.

Once you are done, export or share the updated file with your usual tools. Smallpdf makes it easy to create an accessible PDF with AI, so your documents are clear, inclusive, and professional.

Manual vs. Smallpdf AI PDF Accessibility Remediation

Traditional accessibility work often looks like this:

• Manually scanning every page
• Guessing where headings and lists should be
• Writing alt text from scratch
• Checking links one by one

This is slow, repetitive, and easy to get wrong in long documents.

With AI-assisted remediation, you:

• Get a quick overview of likely issues.
• Receive structured suggestions for headings, lists, and images.
• Use targeted prompts to validate tables and links.
• Spend your time on decisions, not pure discovery.

You still need a final human review to meet strict compliance standards, but AI significantly cuts the time spent finding and drafting fixes.

Smallpdf AI Features You’ll Use Most

Beyond accessibility fixes, Smallpdf AI provides a comprehensive toolkit for all your document needs. Each feature integrates seamlessly with our accessibility tools.

Chat with PDF

Chat with PDF lets you have conversations with your documents using natural language. Ask questions, request summaries, or get specific information without scrolling through pages.

AI PDF Summarizer

The AI PDF Summarizer creates concise overviews of lengthy documents. Perfect for research papers, reports, contracts, and academic materials that need quick comprehension.

Translate PDF

Translate PDF converts your documents into 100+ languages while maintaining formatting and accessibility features. Essential for global teams and multilingual compliance.

OCR for Scanned PDFs

Our OCR technology extracts text from images and scanned documents with high accuracy. This makes previously inaccessible content readable by screen readers and searchable for all users.

Edit PDF and eSign

Traditional PDF editing enhanced by AI suggestions. Make changes, add signatures, and maintain accessibility standards throughout your document workflow.

Real-World Scenarios for AI Accessibility Fixes

1. Higher education and course materials

Universities need lecture notes, syllabi, and reading packs to be accessible to all students. AI helps staff review large bundles of PDFs, find the worst issues, and produce better alt text and headings before the term starts.

2. Businesses and client documents

Companies send reports, proposals, and contracts to diverse audiences. AI-guided checks make it easier to ensure important documents are readable with screen readers and support internal accessibility policies.

3. Public sector and citizen forms

Public bodies provide forms, guides, and notices that must be accessible to everyone. AI can highlight complex tables, missing descriptions, and unclear structure so teams can improve public PDFs faster.

Accessibility Standards and How Smallpdf Helps

Most organizations work with some combination of:

• WCAG 2.1 or later for web and document accessibility
• ADA requirements for equal access in the United States
• Section 508 for US federal agencies and vendors

Smallpdf AI supports your path toward these standards by helping you:

• Identify where structure, text alternatives, and labels may be missing.
• Improve the clarity of alt text, link text, and headings.
• Convert scanned PDFs into readable, searchable text for assistive tech.

You should still run dedicated accessibility checkers and, when required, have specialist reviews. AI gives you a faster, more informed starting point and reduces the number of issues left for manual checking.

Is Smallpdf AI Safe for Sensitive PDFs?

Encryption and secure handling

All uploads use TLS encryption during transfer. Files are processed on secure infrastructure with controls similar to those used in banking and cloud services.

Automatic file deletion

Files are automatically removed from our servers after a short retention period—about one hour after processing, unless you choose to share or store them for longer. You stay in control of what you keep, share, or delete.

Compliance and certifications

Smallpdf is GDPR compliant and ISO/IEC 27001 certified, which means our security management and processes are audited and held to recognized standards.

Start Fixing PDF Accessibility with AI

Accessible PDFs help every reader, reduce risk, and show that you take inclusion seriously. With Smallpdf’s range of AI PDF features:

• Chat with PDF
• AI PDF Summarizer
• Translate PDF

You can review issues, improve structure, and draft better alt text in minutes instead of hours.

Open Smallpdf AI, upload a PDF, ask it to check accessibility, and start applying the improvements it suggests. From there, you can edit, compress, translate, and share—all in one place.

FAQs: Fixing PDF Accessibility

Can AI make my PDF fully accessible on its own?

AI can highlight issues, suggest structure, and help with text, but it does not replace a full accessibility audit. You should still run checks with dedicated tools and, for high-risk documents, have an expert review the final result.

How do I know if my PDF is screen reader friendly after using AI?

After applying AI suggestions, test the PDF with a screen reader or run it through a PDF accessibility checker. Check headings, reading order, links, tables, and images to confirm that navigation and content make sense.

Can AI fix accessibility issues in scanned PDFs?

Yes, as long as OCR is used. Smallpdf AI can convert scanned pages into text, then help you find structure problems and missing descriptions. You will still need to tag the final document properly in your editor.

Does Smallpdf AI change my PDF, or just give suggestions?

AI works on a copy of your file for analysis and gives you guidance in chat and summaries. You then apply changes yourself using Edit PDF, your desktop editor, or other tools in your workflow.

What kinds of accessibility issues are hardest for AI to detect?

Very complex layouts, interactive forms, or unusual visual structures can be harder to analyze. In these cases, AI is still helpful as a guide, but human testing with assistive technology is important before you rely on the document.