Generative AI - Alt Text and other AI Features
These features should be turned off by default. Most users do not want generated content being automatically inserted into production documents without review or approval. If users do want AI assistance, it should be opt-in, with clear choices such as:
Generate descriptions for all images
Generate descriptions for selected images only
Approve descriptions on a case-by-case basis
I do not think automatically inserting generated content into live production files is a good approach.
In real-world workflows especially regulated, accessibility, publishing, legal, pharmaceutical, or corporate environments every word often needs to be reviewed, approved, and sometimes audited. AI-generated alt text can absolutely be useful as a starting point, but it should never silently become part of the document unless the user explicitly accepts it.
There is also the risk of inaccurate, inappropriate, misleading, or non-compliant content being introduced into documents without the user immediately noticing. That could create serious problems for regulated workflows, accessibility compliance, approvals, translations, and version-controlled production environments.
AI should assist the user, not bypass existing review and sign-off processes.
See the current thread.
Eugene Tyson
shared this idea
Gen Alt Text is turned ON by default. Users are informed the first time an image is placed to turn it off with a clear CTA.
Closing this as As Designed.
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Adobe InDesign team
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Jess Telmanik
commented
This issue is not resolved for any user. A one time CTA alert for a business threatening feature no one asked to have turned on by default is just as effective as a post it note already thrown away in the trash can.
A bad design is a bad design is a bad design. Intentionally designed or not.
As users have clearly stated and Eugene shared from the beginning, this is a massive red flag to have this turned on by default. Especially with the horrifying results already reported by many users in the community forum.
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Graphics
commented
Definitely not resolved.
This feature is poorly designed and even more poorly thought out; there is no process of informing the user when AI text is added to every image in an old document they opened. There is also no process to revert that.
What an expected yet still disappointing response. The entire point of this thread is that feature that is "as designed" sucks and can harm users and businesses.
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Klaas Posselt
commented
I agree, this is not resolved.
Adobe should NEVER change customer data by default. -
This is not resolved.
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Rainer
commented
Thanks for this great example how to not communicate with the community, especially with power users who are wholehearted fans of the software.
Even the category »Resolved for user« is a punch in the face.
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Monika Gause
commented
The feature needs to be turned OFF.
The reasons for that have already been mentioned by Eugene Tyson. -
Dominic
commented
I agree with all the comments: The Ravi's response is disrespectful to a well argued suggestion, and disregards the fact that this automatically generated material is generated on older documents as they are opened, before any image is placed.
The response ignores some of the undeniable problems with this approach and
makes the term "uservoice" sound ironic. -
That’s a tone deaf reply. The issue isn’t whether there was a checkbox or a CTA once during onboarding. The issue is that AI-generated content is being automatically injected into professional production documents by default — including regulated, government, accessibility, legal, and corporate workflows — and it has already been shown generating NSFW and wildly inaccurate descriptions.
“Users were informed once” is not really an adequate defence when the feature can create reputational or compliance risks months later inside files people may never manually review line by line.
AI alt text as an assistive starting point? Fine. AI silently writing production content by default? That’s the part people are objecting to.
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Anonymous commented
Yes. As designed. That is exactly the problem: BAD designed! Turn it off by default should be the design 😡😡
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sean.coffey@berkeley.edu
commented
As somebody who does research reports and just discovered that Adobe is inserting completely inaccurate alt text to describe our figures (without our consent), I could not agree more with this. What a terrible user experience, terrible use of AI, terrible for accessibility. Please, please, please make this all Opt-In. The worst part is the place where I'm supposedly able to disable it doesn't exist for me in InDesign. UGGGGGG
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dave.d.richardson@btopenworld.com
commented
100% agree. Text should never be changed without agreement and opt in. Default should be opt out.
Dave
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Dave Courtemanche commented
Unwanted feature turned on by default is a critical miss by Adobe. Do better Adobe. There are those who have no need for these AI features.
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Graphics
commented
Fully agreed, I am in a corporate design position (non-legal) and unwanted AI alt-tags would cause big issues in our approval process and even bigger if they got published unknowingly.
I can see the benefit here, but it is only positive when prompted by the user/toggled off by default. Otherwise it feels like a rogue tool with potential to add hours to my workflow due to fixing its' mistakes.
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100% agree!
(There is no need by the way for any of this AI slop, but at least it should be off by default!)