Video is one of the most powerful ways organizations communicate – from online learning and employee training to marketing, media, and public information. But for millions of people who are blind or have low vision, critical information in video often lives only on screen. Audio description helps close that gap.
This beginner’s guide explains what audio description is, why it matters, how it works, and how organizations are using both traditional audio description and AI audio description to meet growing accessibility expectations and regulatory requirements.
What is Audio Description?
Audio description is a form of accessibility that provides spoken narration of important visual elements in video content. These descriptions are inserted during natural pauses in dialogue and explain visual information that would otherwise be missed.
If you’ve ever wondered “what is audio description?” or “what does audio description mean?”, the answer is simple: it turns visuals into understanding. It uses audible descriptive narration to communicate what is taking place on-screen.
The audio description you have generated may include:
- On-screen text and graphics
- Actions, gestures, and facial expressions
- Scene changes and settings
- Charts, diagrams, or visual demonstrations
This description of audio ensures that people who are blind or have low vision receive equal access to video content – whether it’s a lecture, training video, film, or public announcement.
Why Audio Description Matters
Audio description plays a critical role in video accessibility, inclusion, and equal access to information.
Globally, billions of people experience some form of vision loss, and that number is expected to rise significantly in the coming years due to aging populations and chronic health conditions. Without audio description, essential context in video is often lost.
Beyond inclusion, audio description also:
- Supports clearer understanding for all viewers
- Improves usability in low-visual or multitasking environments
- Enhances the overall accessibility of digital media
Today, audio description is no longer optional for many organizations – it is becoming a core accessibility requirement, including for public institutions which must now meet updated ADA Title II guidelines.
Audio Description and Accessibility Requirements
Audio description is recognized more and more as a required component of accessible video under major accessibility standards and regulations.
In the US, ADA Title II expands accessibility obligations for public institutions, including colleges, universities, and government entities. These requirements reference widely adopted accessibility standards that include audio description for prerecorded video when visual information is essential to understanding the content.
As a result, organizations are being asked not only if they provide audio description, but how consistently they do so across large volumes of video.
This shift is driving renewed interest in scalable audio description solutions that can support compliance, reduce risk, and improve access.
How Audio Description Works
Audio description is delivered as an additional audio track that plays alongside a video’s original sound. Viewers who need it can turn audio description on or off, just like captions.
A typical workflow involves:
- Identifying key visual elements that need explanation
- Writing concise, neutral descriptions
- Timing narration to fit naturally between dialogue
- Delivering the description in clear, English audio description
Historically, this process relied entirely on human experts to ensure quality, but it limited organizations’ abilities to produce audio description quickly and at scale.
Traditional Audio Description vs. AI Audio Description
Traditional (Human-Created) Audio Description
Human audio description is created by trained professionals who watch a video and manually script and record descriptions. This approach is often preferred for:
- Film and television
- High-stakes or narrative content
- Emotionally nuanced material
However, traditional audio description can be time-intensive and costly, making it difficult to scale across large content libraries.
AI Audio Description
AI audio description uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to automatically generate natural, time-synced descriptions of visual content.
With AI to help with audio description, organizations can:
- Scale accessibility across thousands of videos
- Reduce turnaround time from days to hours
- Deliver consistent descriptions across departments and teams
Many now use AI audio description alone or as part of a hybrid model, combining AI efficiency with optional human review for high-visibility content.
When to Use AI Audio Description
AI audio description is especially effective for:
- Higher education lecture libraries
- Employee training and onboarding videos
- Government communications and public information
- Marketing, internal, and archived video content
As video volumes continue to grow, AI audio description enables organizations to move beyond accommodation-only approaches and toward proactive, organization-wide accessibility.
Professionals Use Audio Description Across Industries
A wide range of industries use audio description, including:
- Education and eLearning for recorded lectures & supporting video materials
- Government and public sector communications
- Corporate training and HR content
- Media, streaming, and OTT platforms
- Marketing and customer support videos
- Libraries, archives, and cultural institutions
As accessibility expectations rise, audio description is becoming a standard part of how organizations create and distribute video.
Providing Audio Description for Movies
When a movie has audio description, it means a viewer can turn on a real-time descriptive narration track. The narration plays over the existing content, describing visual elements that audiences need to understand to follow the plot.
Here is an audio description example from the opening scene of Disney’s The Lion King:
“Hundreds of animals gather at the bottom of Pride Rock – a tall, flat ledge that towers over the rest of the savanna.”
This audio narration plays over the opening number “The Circle of Life.” It is important to include this because the existing audio track doesn’t explicitly describe the scenario portrayed on-screen. Without this description, viewers who are blind or have low vision would likely miss out on important plot elements.
The Importance of Audio Description for TV
Audio description functions the same way for television content as it does for long-form films. TV viewers can enable or disable the audio description function on their device at will, usually via an on-screen accessibility menu. TV shows often rely on visual imagery in the same ways that films do, so it’s important to provide audio description of these visual elements for viewers who need them.
Audio description is primarily a tool for supporting individuals with vision or eye disorders. However, you may wonder, “What does audio description mean for viewers with other disabilities?” Descriptive video is proving capable of supporting the needs of other audience members. For example, some viewers with autism spectrum disorder benefit from viewing videos with audio descriptions. Having the AD track can help these individuals clarify the meaning of certain visual cues like body language and facial expressions they may not readily pick up on.
Getting Started with Audio Description Technology
Adding audio description doesn’t have to be complex.
Organizations today can choose from:
- Traditional expert-created audio description
- AI audio description for speed and scale
- Hybrid models that combine both approaches
The right solution depends on content type, volume, audience, and accessibility goals, but the expectation to provide audio description is clear and growing. A professional audio description service like Verbit can help.
Verbit’s professionally trained describers and AI Audio Description technology carefully analyze video content to craft comprehensive descriptions of pertinent visual elements. Also, quality audio descriptions don’t interrupt or detract from the video’s overall messaging. It takes training and skill to achieve the balance between giving enough information and not causing distractions.
Verbit makes it easy to get high-quality, professional audio descriptions. Users can simply submit an MP4 file to Verbit’s platform for narration. Once ready, users can add the audio description file to videos on various media hosting sites, applications, and more. Professional audio description vendors like Verbit also offer built-in software integrations. Integrations are helpful because they allow users to request items like YouTube audio descriptions more easily without third-party intervention or additional resources.
Verbit’s Accessible Video Solutions
In addition to audio description, Verbit is a leading provider of accessibility technology solutions like captioning, transcription, translation, and dubbing. Verbit’s platform is designed to help content creators and distributors, media, businesses, universities, and other leaders resources reach audience members with equity. For more information on how to expand your reach and support the diverse needs of your viewers, reach out to Verbit today.