<description>&lt;p&gt;In Episode 5 of the Intentional AI series, Cole, Virgil, and Seth shift into another part of the content lifecycle. This time, they focus on accessibility and how AI fits into that work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Accessibility is more than code checks. It is making sure people can actually use and understand what you create. The team walks through what happened when they ran the High Monkey website through an AI accessibility review, where the tool gave helpful guidance, and where it completely misread the page.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;They also talk about the pieces of accessibility that AI handles surprisingly well, especially language, metaphors, and readability, and why these areas are often missed by standard scanners.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the second half of the episode, they continue the ongoing experiment from earlier episodes. Using the same AI written article from before, they test how three tools handle rewriting it to an adult eighth grade reading level, then compare the results with a readability checker. The differences across models show why simple writing, clear prompts, and human review are still necessary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode, they explore:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;How AI evaluates accessibility on a real website&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Where AI tools give useful insights and where they misinterpret content&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why conversational explanations can help non technical teams&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How to prompt AI to look for the issues you actually care about&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The importance of plain language and readable writing in accessibility&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;A readability comparison using Copilot, Perplexity, and Grammarly&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why simple content supports both accessibility and AI performance&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;A downloadable Episode Companion Guide is available below. It includes key takeaways, tool notes, prompt examples, and practical advice for using AI in accessibility work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://links.discussingstupid.com/s3e5companion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;DS-S3-E5-CompanionDoc.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Upcoming episodes in the Intentional AI series:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Dec 16, 2025 - SEO / AEO / GEO&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Jan 6, 2026 - Content Personalization&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Jan 20, 2026 - Front End Development and Wireframing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Feb 3, 2026 - Design and Media&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Feb 17, 2026 - Back End Development&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mar 3, 2026 - Conversational Search (with special guest)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mar 17, 2026 - Chatbots and Agentic AI&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mar 31, 2026 - Series Finale and Tool Review&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether you work on websites, content workflows, or internal digital tools, this conversation is about using AI with care. The goal is to work smarter, keep content readable, and avoid handing all of your judgment over to automation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;New episodes every other Tuesday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;For more conversations about AI, digital strategy, and all the ways we get it wrong (and how to get it right), visit &lt;a href="https://www.discussingstupid.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;www.discussingstupid.com&lt;/a&gt; and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chapters&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(0:00) - Intro &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(0:46) - Today’s focus: Accessibility with AI&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(1:20) - We let AI audit HighMonkey.com&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(4:00) - Finding the human value in AI feedback&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(6:25) - The power of strategic prompting&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(12:33) - We tested 3 AI tools for accessibility&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(14:49) - AI Tool findings&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(18:17) - Keep all your readers in mind&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(20:50) - Next episode preview&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Subscribe for email updates on our website:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://links.discussingstupid.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.discussingstupid.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Watch us on YouTube:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://links.discussingstupid.com/youtube" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/@discussingstupid&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Soundcloud:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://links.discussingstupid.com/applepodcasts" rel="noopener...</description>

Discussing Stupid: A byte-sized podcast on stupid UX

High Monkey

S3E5 - Intentional AI: How much can you trust AI for accessibility?

DEC 2, 202523 MIN
Discussing Stupid: A byte-sized podcast on stupid UX

S3E5 - Intentional AI: How much can you trust AI for accessibility?

DEC 2, 202523 MIN

Description

In Episode 5 of the Intentional AI series, Cole, Virgil, and Seth shift into another part of the content lifecycle. This time, they focus on accessibility and how AI fits into that work.

Accessibility is more than code checks. It is making sure people can actually use and understand what you create. The team walks through what happened when they ran the High Monkey website through an AI accessibility review, where the tool gave helpful guidance, and where it completely misread the page.


They also talk about the pieces of accessibility that AI handles surprisingly well, especially language, metaphors, and readability, and why these areas are often missed by standard scanners.


In the second half of the episode, they continue the ongoing experiment from earlier episodes. Using the same AI written article from before, they test how three tools handle rewriting it to an adult eighth grade reading level, then compare the results with a readability checker. The differences across models show why simple writing, clear prompts, and human review are still necessary.


In this episode, they explore:

  • How AI evaluates accessibility on a real website
  • Where AI tools give useful insights and where they misinterpret content
  • Why conversational explanations can help non technical teams
  • How to prompt AI to look for the issues you actually care about
  • The importance of plain language and readable writing in accessibility
  • A readability comparison using Copilot, Perplexity, and Grammarly
  • Why simple content supports both accessibility and AI performance


A downloadable Episode Companion Guide is available below. It includes key takeaways, tool notes, prompt examples, and practical advice for using AI in accessibility work.


DS-S3-E5-CompanionDoc.pdf


Upcoming episodes in the Intentional AI series:

  • Dec 16, 2025 - SEO / AEO / GEO
  • Jan 6, 2026 - Content Personalization
  • Jan 20, 2026 - Front End Development and Wireframing
  • Feb 3, 2026 - Design and Media
  • Feb 17, 2026 - Back End Development
  • Mar 3, 2026 - Conversational Search (with special guest)
  • Mar 17, 2026 - Chatbots and Agentic AI
  • Mar 31, 2026 - Series Finale and Tool Review


Whether you work on websites, content workflows, or internal digital tools, this conversation is about using AI with care. The goal is to work smarter, keep content readable, and avoid handing all of your judgment over to automation.


New episodes every other Tuesday.


For more conversations about AI, digital strategy, and all the ways we get it wrong (and how to get it right), visit www.discussingstupid.com and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.


Chapters

(0:00) - Intro

(0:46) - Today’s focus: Accessibility with AI

(1:20) - We let AI audit HighMonkey.com

(4:00) - Finding the human value in AI feedback

(6:25) - The power of strategic prompting

(12:33) - We tested 3 AI tools for accessibility

(14:49) - AI Tool findings

(18:17) - Keep all your readers in mind

(20:50) - Next episode preview


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