M365 PlaybooksMicrosoft 365 apps · Teams · SharePoint· Deploy
Turn on accessibility by default
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.
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
Risk of not doing it
Without defaults, accessibility depends on what each author remembers, and most content is published without a check.
Key activities
The plan in order: what must be true first, what to decide, then how to configure the pilot and production.
Prerequisites
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.
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.
Decisions
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
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
Pilot configuration
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.
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.
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.
Production configuration
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pilot to production
Rollout approachBy 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.
Make your pilot representative
- Every major role, not only IT and enthusiasts
- More than one location or time zone
- Heavy users of the workload you are changing
- People who handle sensitive information
- At least one team you expect to be sceptical
Brief the pilotChange: Inform
What will change in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Teams, and why.
Move on when: Pilot authors know what to expect
Office policies and templatesChange: 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
Teams defaultsChange: 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
Widen in wavesChange: 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
Hand overChange: Sustain
Maintain rhythm begins.
Move on when: Sampling and feedback handling are owned
Common challenges
If youTurn the checker on without templates or guidance
What tends to happenPeople see a list of warnings they don't understand and ignore it.
A better approachShip templates and a one-page guide with the policy.
If youKeep authors on a slow update channel
What tends to happenNew accessibility features arrive months later than they could.
A better approachMove heavy authors to Current Channel where possible.
If youForget interpreters and captioners
What tends to happenGuest or lobby settings keep human support out of meetings.
A better approachCheck guest access and lobby settings with the people who arrange support.
If youTurn off checker rules that generate the most warnings
What tends to happenThe warnings stop, and so does the signal that content excludes someone.
A better approachFix the templates that cause the warnings instead of switching the rules off.
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?
Success measures
Capture a baseline before you start, or you won't be able to show the change.
| Measure | Where you see it | Good direction |
|---|---|---|
| Devices with the checker policy applied | Cloud Policy | Up |
| Authors using accessible templates | Template usage and spot checks | Up |
| Accessibility questions to the service desk | Service desk | 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.
Additional reading
Changelog
Changelog (1 version)
| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sev Derghazarian | First version. Facts checked against Microsoft Learn on 2026-10-15. |