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
Hi all,
Thanks for the detailed feedback on this thread. Reopening it, because we're still actively working on the issue. A few updates:
Relinking: the case where manually entered alt text was overwritten by generated alt text on relink was fixed in 21.4. If you're still seeing manual alt text get overwritten after relinking, reply here with a sample file and your InDesign version and we'll investigate directly.
Remove all generated alt text: an option to remove all generated alt text from a document in a single action is on the way.
We hear the wider feedback here too, and we're keeping this open while we work through it.
Best regards,
Sunny
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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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Anonymous commented
100% agree!
(There is no need by the way for any of this AI slop, but at least it should be off by default!)
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Mason Sklar
commented
Just remove the "feature", no need to figure out spell check then!
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Naina Bhandari
commented
Hi All,
Thank you for reporting this issue. Our team is currently looking into it and assessing it internally.
Thanks,
Naina
(Adobe Team) -
David Mackay
commented
Turn off AI alt-text by default - it produces inappropriate and embarrassing results.
Add spell check to Alt Text
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Paul
commented
Also, at the moment if you have it disabled and another designer works on your file (who still has it enabled) any manually entered alt-text will be overwritten by InDesign's AI alt-text!!!
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Tricia
commented
OMG this. I have to go through a 300 page book now and delete it from each image so that it exports correctly to the interactive pdf version. I'm so tired of unwanted AI features being added and then Adobe charging us more for those unwanted AI features.
Added bonus. This feedback forum uses a separate login from my Adobe account? WTF Adobe. Fix your UX.
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Mason Sklar
commented
Gross decision to have this "feature" on by default. Good thing I didn't miss the popup on startup, I NEVER want any AI features at all ever, let alone to have to OPT OUT? Madness. Also ridiculous is the option to turn off the the "AI generated content" tag on this "feature" at all. Why would you allow that? I guess it's in line with all of the untagged AI on Adobe Stock lol.