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Mastering the Word Assistant

SimpleAccess.io Office Series

✨ Native Feature

Accessibility shouldn't be an afterthought.

The new Accessibility Assistant in Microsoft Word stays with you as you write, acting as a real-time partner for inclusive design. It helps you identify and fix potential barriers as they occur, ensuring your documents follow international standards from the first sentence.

How to wake up the Assistant

The Assistant is built into the Microsoft 365 environment. You can access its guidance via three primary paths:

  • The Accessibility icon located in the bottom status bar.
  • The Review tab on your Ribbon menu.
  • Real-time Check Accessibility flags that appear during active drafting.

The "Big Four" standard checks

The Assistant evaluates your document structure to ensure compliance with critical WCAG criteria:

1. Heading Hierarchies

It flags skipped heading levels to maintain a logical outline for WCAG SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

2. Alternative Text

It prompts for alt-text on images, fulfilling WCAG SC 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).

3. Color Contrast

It identifies low-contrast text to meet the 4.5:1 ratio required by WCAG SC 1.4.3 (Contrast).

4. Table Headers

It ensures tables have programmatic headers, also supporting WCAG SC 1.3.1.

Fixing in the flow

The Assistant doesn't just find problems; it provides **Actionable Suggestions** to resolve them instantly:

  • Apply Styles: Convert plain bold text into semantic headings with one click.
  • Decorative Toggle: Mark purely visual images as decorative to satisfy WCAG SC 1.1.1.
  • The Review Panel: A prioritized list of all outstanding issues sorted by severity for easy cleanup.

SimpleAccess Insight: Native Power

When you resolve issues using the Accessibility Assistant, those structural "tags" are baked into the document. This means when you export to Tagged PDF or Clean HTML, your accessible foundation travels with your content automatically.