# Turn on accessibility by default - URL: https://m365playbooks.com/playbooks/turn-on-accessibility-by-default/ - Topic: Accessibility in Microsoft 365 (Program) - Product: Microsoft 365 apps, Teams, SharePoint - Stage: Deploy - Last reviewed: October 15, 2026 - Version: 1 - Written by: Sev Derghazarian ## 1. Purpose Make accessible the default way content is created, so people don't need to remember to do it. The Accessibility Checker running while people write, automatic alt text, caption-ready meetings and accessible templates mean most content starts accessible, and authors fix the rest while the document is still open. ## 2. Overview Checker and alt text policies, caption-ready Teams defaults and accessible templates, rolled out in waves with authors who create the most content. - Effort: About 10 to 15 person-days - Duration: 6 to 8 weeks - Complexity: Low - Who's in the room: Microsoft 365 Apps admin, Teams admin, SharePoint admin, accessibility lead, communications lead, pilot authors - Beyond E5: Nothing beyond Microsoft 365 E5 - Risk of not doing it: Without defaults, accessibility depends on what each author remembers, and most content is published without a check. ## 3. Key activities ### Prerequisites 1. **Start from the approved standard** Deploy builds on the one-page standard from Plan: the checker and alt text settings, caption and transcription defaults, and the feedback channel. If the connected experiences decision is still open, settle it first; it determines whether automatic alt text can be on. Who: Accessibility lead. Produces: The approved standard in hand. 2. **Prepare accessible templates** Authors who start from a good template have little to fix. Prepare accessible Word and PowerPoint templates with built-in heading styles, sufficient contrast, real tables and placeholders for alt text, and check each one with the Accessibility Checker and people who use assistive technology. Make the templates the default in Office so people find them without searching, and retire older templates that aren't accessible, or people will keep using what they know. Who: Communications lead with the accessibility lead. Produces: Tested accessible templates. ### Decisions 3. **Decision: Which update channel for authors?** Microsoft recommends Current Channel so people get new accessibility features as soon as they're released. If most devices are on a slower channel, consider Current Channel at least for people who produce the most external content. Options: Keep everyone on Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel; Current Channel, at least for heavy authors. Recommended default: Current Channel, at least for heavy authors. Who: Microsoft 365 Apps admin. Produces: A channel decision for authors. 4. **Decision: Who goes first?** Starting with the people who publish the most, such as communications, HR and teams that write for customers, puts the defaults where they help most and surfaces friction from experienced authors. Options: Everyone at once; Heavy and external authors first, then everyone. Recommended default: Heavy and external authors first, then everyone. Who: Accessibility lead. Produces: A wave plan. ### Pilot configuration 5. **Apply the Office policies to the pilot** In Cloud Policy (or Group Policy), apply the accessibility baseline for the pilot: the checker runs while people edit in Word, Excel and PowerPoint on Windows and can't be turned off, issues are more visible, and automatic alt text is on if the Plan decision allows it. Outlook has no policy but already checks when it matters, for example for large audiences or external recipients. Individual checker rules can be switched off by policy; resist doing that, because each rule you turn off is a barrier that stops being flagged. Who: Microsoft 365 Apps admin. Produces: Office policies live for the pilot. 6. **Set Teams defaults** In Teams meeting policies, make live captions available and allow transcription as decided. Real-time text is on by default in meeting and calling policies; keep it. Check that Immersive Reader stays available in messaging policies, and that guest access and lobby settings let interpreters and captioners join. Write down which settings you changed and why, so the Maintain review can compare them with new options as they appear. Who: Teams admin. Produces: Teams caption and accessibility defaults set for the pilot. 7. **Publish templates and a quick guide** Give the pilot the templates and a one-page guide: use headings, write alt text, use meaningful link text, check before sharing. Ask them to report anything the checker flags that they don't understand. Who: Communications lead. Produces: Templates and guide in use by the pilot. ### Production configuration 8. **Widen in waves** Extend policies, templates and the guide to each wave. Policy changes reach apps on their own schedule, so allow time before each wave's briefing. Brief each wave with the quick guide and a short demonstration, and ask champions to answer the first questions. Who: Microsoft 365 Apps admin with the communications lead. Produces: Defaults in place for everyone. 9. **Confirm video captions are on** Automatic transcripts and captions for video uploaded to SharePoint, including Stream, are on by default as a tenant setting and can't be changed per site. Confirm they haven't been turned off, and that meeting recordings have transcription so captions can be shown on playback. Tell video owners they can correct automatic captions or upload their own caption files, because automatic captions make mistakes with names and specialist terms. Who: SharePoint admin. Produces: Video captions confirmed. 10. **Hand over to Maintain** Document the policies, templates and Teams settings, and agree who samples content, who handles barrier reports and how often settings are reviewed. Include the list of templates and where they live. Who: Accessibility lead. Produces: Documentation and a review rhythm. 11. **Make it enforceable** Cloud Policy keeps the Accessibility Checker running in Word, Excel and PowerPoint and, where approved, automatic alt text on; people can't turn them off. Teams policies set caption and transcription defaults. A check before sending can't be required, so the checker informs rather than blocks. _Partly enforced. The gaps are a risk until a mechanism covers them._ ## 4. Pilot to production **Rollout approach:** By workload (Pilot size: 20 to 50 authors, including people who write for external audiences and people who use assistive technology). Office policies, Teams settings and templates reach people differently. Rolling them out one at a time, starting with heavy authors, keeps changes visible and feedback specific. 1. **Brief the pilot** (Change: Inform) What will change in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Teams, and why. Move on when: Pilot authors know what to expect. 2. **Office policies and templates** (Change: Explain) Checker, alt text and templates for the pilot, two to three weeks. Ask pilot authors to keep a note of any warning they didn't understand; those become examples in the guide. Move on when: Authors understand and fix what the checker flags. 3. **Teams defaults** (Change: Explain) Captions, transcription and real-time text for the pilot. Include at least one meeting with an attendee who relies on captions or real-time text, and ask what worked. Move on when: Meetings run normally with captions available. 4. **Widen in waves** (Change: Explain) Heavy authors, then everyone. Start with heavy and external authors, then extend to everyone once questions settle. Move on when: Each wave settles without a rise in questions. 5. **Hand over** (Change: Sustain) Maintain rhythm begins. Move on when: Sampling and feedback handling are owned. ## 5. Common challenges - **If you** Turn the checker on without templates or guidance. What tends to happen: People see a list of warnings they don't understand and ignore it.. A better approach: Ship templates and a one-page guide with the policy. - **If you** Keep authors on a slow update channel. What tends to happen: New accessibility features arrive months later than they could.. A better approach: Move heavy authors to Current Channel where possible. - **If you** Forget interpreters and captioners. What tends to happen: Guest or lobby settings keep human support out of meetings.. A better approach: Check guest access and lobby settings with the people who arrange support. - **If you** Turn off checker rules that generate the most warnings. What tends to happen: The warnings stop, and so does the signal that content excludes someone.. A better approach: Fix the templates that cause the warnings instead of switching the rules off. ## 6. Checkpoints **Pilot:** - [ ] Does the checker run in Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the pilot? - [ ] Are captions available in pilot meetings? - [ ] Have assistive technology users tried the templates? **Production:** - [ ] Do policies apply to everyone? - [ ] Are video captions confirmed on? - [ ] Is the Maintain rhythm agreed? - [ ] Have older, inaccessible templates been retired? ## 7. Success measures Capture a baseline before you start, or you won't be able to show the change. - Devices with the checker policy applied (Where you see it: Cloud Policy; Good direction: Up) - Authors using accessible templates (Where you see it: Template usage and spot checks; Good direction: Up) - Accessibility questions to the service desk (Where you see it: Service desk; Good direction: Steady) **Ready-to-use text: Quick guide for authors** > 1. Start from the accessible template. 2. Use the built-in heading styles. 3. Add or review alt text for every image. 4. Use link text that says where it goes. 5. Fix what the Accessibility Checker shows before you share. 6. In meetings, turn on captions if anyone might need them. ## 8. Additional reading **Plan:** - [Accessibility guide for Microsoft 365 Apps](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/deploy/accessibility-guide) **Configure:** - [Overview of Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/admin-center/overview-cloud-policy) - [Accessibility guide for Microsoft Teams admins](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/accessibility-guide-admin) - [Manage transcription and captions for Teams meetings](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/meeting-transcription-captions) - [Manage real-time text (RTT) in Teams](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-real-time-text) **Monitor:** - [Check accessibility while you work in Office apps](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/office-accessibility/check-accessibility-while-you-work-in-office-apps) ## Changelog - Version 1, 2026-10-15, Sev Derghazarian: First version. Facts checked against Microsoft Learn on 2026-10-15.