How to Add Alternative Text in Excel

Do not repeat the surrounding textual content as alt text or use phrases referring to images, such as, "a graphic of" or "an image of." In the example below, the alt text refers to the image but does not sufficiently describe its content.

The alt text pane showing an example of a bad alt text.

You can also add alt text as an argument to the IMAGE function either by using text in quotes or by using a cell reference that contains the text. For example, IMAGE("www.contoso.com/logo.jpg", "Contoso logo").

Diagrams, Flow Charts, and Simple Charts

When dealing with objects that convey detailed information, such as an infographic, use alt text to convey the information in the object. Describing a chart as ‘A bar chart showing sales over time,' for example, would not be useful to a blind person. Try to convey the insight; for example, ‘A bar chart showing sales over time. In July, sales for brand A surpassed sales for brand B and kept increasing throughout the year.' Alt text should also clearly describe the beginning point, progress, and conclusion of flow charts.

Videos

Videos that don't explain their content require alt text to describe the visual experience, even if the user hears music, background sounds, and speech. Alt text should describe the content and purpose of the video.

Ideally, a video should contain a second audio track with a description of the video elements that are purely visual and not accessible to people with a visual disability.

Tables

The Accessibility Checker does not flag if a table is missing alt text. However, it is always a good practice to write a clear, descriptive, and concise alt text for a table.

When to not use Alt Text?

Decorative visual objects

Decorative objects add visual interest but aren't informative (for example, stylistic borders). People using screen readers hear these are decorative so they know they aren't missing any important information. To mark a visual as decorative, select Mark as decorative in the Alt Text pane. The text entry field becomes grayed out.

Image marked as decorative in the Alt text pane.

Tip: If you export your document as a PDF, any visuals you have marked as decorative are automatically tagged as artifacts. They are then ignored by screen readers when navigating through PDFs.

Slicers

If the Accessibility Checker doesn't flag an object when it's missing alt text, you don't have to write alt text for it. A slicer is an example of such an object.

How to Add Alt Text to an Object

For instructions on how to add alt text in Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, go to Add alternative text to a shape, picture, chart, SmartArt graphic, or other object.

Tips for using alt text in Microsoft 365

Remember to use the Accessibility Checker during your review process. It checks that all relevant visual content has alt text and also gives you other suggestions for improving the accessibility of your content, such as checking contrast ratios. To run the Accessibility Checker, on the Review tab, select Check Accessibility. For more info on the Accessibility Checker, see Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker.
Do not use a file name, duplicate text, or URLs as alt text. The Accessibility Checker flags these since they are not useful to someone with a visual disability. For more info, see Rules for the Accessibility Checker.
If there is a group of objects that forms a semantic group, such as a group of photos that all show dogs, assign alt text for the whole group. If objects have been grouped together for formatting reasons, ungroup the objects and assign appropriate alt text for each object.

Note: If you have used Microsoft 365 for a while, you might have noticed that the Alt Text pane used to have two fields, Title and Description. Now we use a single Description field in most of our apps—it has been found that having a single field is easier and less confusing for both you as the author and also anyone using a screen reader to consume the content.

Automatic alt text

In Microsoft 365, alt text can be generated automatically. When you insert a picture, you might see a bar show up at the bottom of the picture with automatically generated alt text.

If you checked Enable the option to generate alt text using AI, Microsoft 365 attempts to generate alt text for inserted pictures. Depending on the content of the image, sometimes the feature gives you descriptive tags and sometimes you get full sentences.

If automatic alt text is generated or you want to change it, you can review and edit it in the Alt Text pane. You can also manually select Generate alt text for me to get additional possibilities. Remember to review and edit it in the Alt Text pane and remove any comments added there such as "Description generated with high confidence."

An image with automatically generated alt text at the bottom edge of the image in Word for Windows.

Turn automatic alt text on

On the File tab, select Options and choose Accessibility.
Select or clear the Enable the option to generate alt text using AI checkbox under Alt Text.

Approve automatic alt text

In the Microsoft 365 app, right-click the item to review and select View Alt Text. The Alt Text pane opens.
If the alt text is satisfactory, select the Approve alt text checkbox.

Automatic alt text shown in the Alt Text pane with the Approve alt text checkbox selected.

Turn automatic alt text off

On the File tab, select Options and choose Accessibility.
Clear Automatically generate alt text for me under Automatic Alt Text.

Where to find Alt Text Guidelines?

Get additional resources to help you write effective alt text:

Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker
Rules for the Accessibility Checker
Make your content accessible to everyone
Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities
Make your Excel documents accessible to people with disabilities
Make your OneNote notebooks accessible to people with disabilities
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
Make your Project Online sites and projects accessible to people with disabilities
Make your SharePoint site accessible to people with disabilities
Make your Sway design accessible to people with disabilities
Make your Visio diagram accessible to people with disabilities
For more information on how to ensure that Microsoft 365 products and user experiences meet the requirements for accessibility, visit our accessibility sites An inclusive, accessible Microsoft 365 and Make your content accessible to everyone with the Accessibility Checker.

How to Add Alternative Text in Excel (Section508 Instructions)

Assistive Technology cannot infer meaning from images and other objects, such as pictures, images of text, images of tables, shapes, and icons with hyperlinks. Learn how to apply “alt text” to objects to ensure equal access to the information.

Source: Section 508 — Training: Spreadsheets.

Assistive technology (such as screen readers) cannot automatically infer the meaning or purpose of visual elements. To ensure your Excel worksheets are Section 508 conformant, you must provide alternative text (alt text) for all non-text elements.

Key Concepts

Why Alt Text Matters

Purpose over Appearance: Alt text should focus on the purpose of the image rather than what it looks like.
Meaningful Content: The text must fully convey the meaning of the image.
The Replacement Test: If you removed the image and replaced it with your alt text, no key information should be lost.

The Excel "Floating Element" Challenge

In Microsoft Excel, images, shapes, charts, and icons are "floating elements" that cannot be anchored or embedded directly into a specific cell.
Screen reader users often cannot access the standard alt text fields of these floating elements in Excel.

How to Properly Provide Descriptions

Because of the technical limitations of Excel floating elements, you must use one of the following two methods to be accessible:

Surrounding Cells: Add descriptive text in a cell immediately near the object.

Appendix: Create a separate appendix that lists all non-text elements along with their full descriptions.

Practical Checklist for Accessibility

To pass a Section 508 accessibility test, your worksheet must meet these criteria:

Does every image, shape, chart, or icon have a description?
Is the description located in a nearby cell or a dedicated appendix?
Does the description convey the meaning of the object rather than just a physical description?

Check for Understanding

Question: If you have a bar chart showing "Annual Sales Growth" floating over cells B2 to D10, what is the most accessible way to provide alt text in Excel?

Right-click the image and type "Bar chart of sales" in the Alt Text field.
Place a detailed summary of the chart's data and purpose in cell A1 or E1 (adjacent to the chart).
Leave it blank because the chart is self-explanatory.

Correct Answer: B. Because screen readers struggle with floating alt text in Excel, descriptive text must be placed in a nearby cell or an appendix.

Alt Text Additional Resources

For more information on federal accessibility standards, visit Section508.

Alt text for charts/images helps users understand visuals. Provide clear descriptions; mark decorative images as decorative.

Special Notes for Images and Charts

While images can be given alternative text in the same way as other Office tools (see other cheatsheets), they can sometimes introduce reading order issues and should typically not be added to spreadsheets.
Charts cannot be given alternative text. Ensure the data used to create the chart is available and clearly structured, and preferably precedes the chart.

Creating Descriptive Hyperlinks

Refer to Work With Links in Excel for more instructions on creating descriptive hyperlinks in Excel.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in Communities.

Creating Links with Descriptive Titles

Course: Microsoft Excel Accessibility (Section 508)

Link Lesson Overview

Links are a primary way users navigate digital content. For an Excel worksheet to be Section 508 conformant, every link must have a unique and descriptive name that clearly identifies its destination or purpose.

Links: Key Concepts

1. Why Meaningful Names Matter

Assistive Technology: Users of screen readers and other assistive technologies rely on meaningful names to understand where a link will take them.
Avoid "Click Here": Using generic text like "Click Here" for multiple links is confusing because the names are identical even if the destinations are different.
Context is Key: The purpose of a link should be easy to figure out by reading the surrounding content or the link text itself.

2. Handling Raw URLs

Excel often creates a hyperlink automatically when you paste a full URL.
Accessibility Issue: Raw URLs can be long, complex, and may not make sense when read aloud by a screen reader.
Best Practice: Always change a raw URL into descriptive link text.

3. How to Create and Edit Links in Excel

To Insert a Link: Select the text, right-click (or Shift + F10), select Link, and paste the URL into the Address field.
To Edit Link Text: Right-click the existing link and select Edit Hyperlink.
To Update Display Text: Enter your descriptive name in the Text to Display field at the top of the dialog box.
Warning: Be careful when editing; deleting the very last character of a link name will remove the hyperlink entirely.

Links: Testing For Accessibility

To verify your worksheet passes the Section 508 test for hyperlinks, ask the following:

Is the name meaningful? Does it describe the destination, function, or purpose?
Is it unique? If there are multiple links, can they be distinguished from one another?
Is there context? If the link itself is a URL (e.g., www.section508.gov), is its purpose clear from the surrounding text?

Failure Example: A link titled "Click Here" with no surrounding context. Pass Example: A link titled "Get My Section 508 Questions Answered".

Links: Checking for Accessibility

Scenario: You have a list of three different monthly reports. You name the links "June," "July," and "August." Does this pass the accessibility test?

Answer: Yes. These are unique and descriptive names that allow a user to determine the destination of each specific link.

Links: Additional Resources

For more information on federal accessibility standards, visit Section508.

Other Principles

Spell check is not automatic as it is in Word/PowerPoint. Make sure to spell check each sheet.
Do not use color alone to convey information.

screenshot of innaccessible doc that uses the color red to show overdue books

Inaccessible

screenshot of accessible doc that shows overdue books in own column, not just relying on color

Accessible

Sources

Secton508.Gov. "Module 6: Adding Alternative Text to Images and Other Objects." Training. Accessed May 22, 2024. Section508

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National Center on Disability and Access to Education. “Creating Accessible Microsoft Excel Documents (Windows and Mac).” NCDAE Cheatsheets. Accessed February 2, 2026. NCDAE Resources.

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