Microsoft makes significant accessibility improvement in Word

Microsoft's software is used by billions of people around the world, and many don't realize that it's also heavily used by differently abled people with accessibility needs. In fact, one of the reasons the company recently announced behind reverting the functionality of the controversial Copilot key (find out how to do it yourself right now!) is that it breaks accessibility workflows. Prior to that, Microsoft has also made several accessibility enhancements to Word and Teams. Now, it is back again with an accessibility improvement for its popular word processing software.

Although Word already offers a native Editor experience that informs you of writing errors by underlining words with squiggly lines, it is important to understand that those with sight-related constraints may not be able to leverage this UX as they rely on screen readers and Narrator instead.

Up until now, the accessibility experience in Narrator was very overwhelming as it would bombard you with information about errors, labels, and rectification steps, often at a very fast speed, making it difficult to focus on what mattered most and how to fix it. So, even though it was "complete" in the sense that it provided all relevant information, it didn't do so in a digestible format. Microsoft's recent enhancement streamlines this process by presenting these details in a more "intentional" order:

• The type of issue (for example, spelling or grammar).
• The problematic word or phrase.
• The sentence context, so you understand how the error appears in your writing.
• Available suggestions to fix the issue.
• For spelling errors, Narrator will also slow down temporarily when spelling out the incorrect word, making it easier to understand, even if you normally use a fast speech rate. This approach reduces unnecessary repetition while ensuring you still get the information you need to decide what to do next.

That's not all, though. Microsoft is also improving the efficiency of the keyboard experience so that fewer keystrokes are required. For example, you can press 1 to activate the first suggestion, 2 for the second, and so on. Additionally, press i for Ignore Once, g for Ignore All, and a for Add to Dictionary. Navigation via the tab and arrow keys has been refined as well.

These changes are available right now for Word customers running Version 2601 (Build 19725.20126) or later on Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1.