As we commemorate innovation in accessibility at Microsoft’s Ability Summit 2025, we invite you to discover the potential of Azure AI in enhancing accessibility within your products and services. The future is not just about eliminating obstacles, but about creating a world where everyone can move forward together.

My perspective on the world changed when my wife and I had our first child. As I navigated our neighborhood with a stroller, I realized how much I had taken for granted – sidewalks that abruptly ended, intersections without curb cuts, and pathways that were technically walkable but not designed for wheels.

It was more than a minor inconvenience; it made me think about my elderly grandmother, who relied on a walker, and my parents, who are active now but won’t always be as mobile. Mobility and accessibility are deeply connected, and for the first time, I saw how infrastructure shapes our daily experiences – whether we notice it or not.

However, physical mobility is only one part of the equation. In the digital world, there are just as many barriers that need to be addressed. Websites that don’t work with screen readers, captions that lag behind real-time speech, and AI models that fail to understand diverse voices – these barriers may be invisible to many, but they create real limitations for millions of people.

And just like curb cuts in sidewalks, digital accessibility doesn’t just benefit one group – it makes technology better for everyone. That’s where Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI Service, and the latest innovations in multimodal AI and Responsible AI (RAI) come in – helping organizations build a world that works for all.

As we recognize the impact of accessibility innovation at Microsoft’s Ability Summit 2025, we encourage you to explore how AI can drive greater inclusion in your products and services.

The goal isn’t just to eliminate obstacles – it’s to design a world where everyone moves forward together. Here are some real-world examples that illustrate the power of AI in enhancing accessibility.

Real-world impact: How Azure AI is cutting digital curbs

The journey towards digital accessibility didn’t start with generative AI – Microsoft has been building inclusive technologies for decades. From early screen readers to speech-to-text innovations, AI has long played a pivotal role in expanding access. But now, we’re going even further.

Bridging the mental health gap with AI-powered conversations

Technology: Azure AI

Mental health support is a growing necessity worldwide, but in Kenya, where there are only about 100 psychiatrists for a population of 50 million, access to professional care is extremely limited. Financial and cultural barriers often keep people from seeking the help they need.

The Kenya Red Cross saw an opportunity to bridge this gap using Azure AI-powered chatbots. In partnership with Pathways Technologies, they developed Chat Care, an AI-based mental health assistant that provides guidance, emotional support, and referrals – all in English and Swahili.

This isn’t just a chatbot – it’s a lifeline for people who may otherwise suffer in silence. Chat Care allows users to start conversations about their mental health in a low-pressure, anonymous way, reducing stigma and offering resources that are accessible 24/7.

And for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or unable to speak on the phone, Chat Care offers text-based support, ensuring mental health services are available to everyone, regardless of ability or circumstance.

Improving AI speech recognition for non-standard speech

Technology: Azure AI Speech x UIUC Partnership

Voice recognition technology often struggles to understand people with non-standard speech patterns, making it harder for individuals with conditions like cerebral palsy or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to interact with AI-powered experiences.

To solve this, Microsoft partnered with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and fellow tech leaders to build the Speech Accessibility Project – a research initiative to train AI models that recognize diverse speech patterns.

By integrating this breakthrough into Azure AI Speech, Microsoft is ensuring that AI-powered voice technology works for everyone, making digital experiences more inclusive across industries.

Making AI more accessible from the ground up

Technology: Azure AI Foundry

With Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft has embedded accessibility into the AI development lifecycle itself. By partnering with EY, the Azure AI Foundry now empowers neurodivergent customers and features improved usability, reducing cognitive overload and improving navigation for all people.

In 2024, Azure AI Foundry reached a milestone for usability, reflecting feedback from people with disabilities that helped improve the platform. The updates included:

• Grouping notifications and deployment errors to reduce cognitive overload.

• Ensuring screen! readers provide structured, easy-to-follow AI workflows.

• Enhancing keyboard navigation for people who rely on shortcuts over mouse input.

This is a prime example of why accessibility is about building better, more intuitive technology for everyone.

Making accessible AI work for agents

Technology: Computer-Using Agent (CUA)

Microsoft’s Computer-Using Agent (CUA) in Azure AI Foundry enables AI-powered automation of digital interactions, making software more accessible for people with limited mobility or dexterity. By allowing CUA to navigate interfaces, complete multi-step tasks, and execute actions through natural language commands, it reduces reliance on traditional keyboard and mouse inputs.

This breakthrough enhances digital accessibility, empowering people who use any kind of assistive technology. As CUA dynamically interprets UI elements, it makes it easier to navigate applications and workflows.

Hope, action, and moving forward together with Azure AI

There are days when it feels like progress is slow. That accessibility, whether physical or digital, takes too long to improve. But then I think about something as simple as the sidewalks at my cross streets.

Not that long ago, they were completely inaccessible. But after making a call, filing a report, and pushing the issue, those sidewalks finally got curb cuts just in time for the birth of


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