Digital accessibility progress since EAA: What the 2025 data shows
Annie Mannion | 10 Nov 2025
Among the headline results from AbilityNet's Attitudes to Digital Accessibility survey 2025, responses indicate the European Accessibility Act (EAA) has had little impact on the accessibility measures so far, of businesses that are within scope of the legislation.
Other results include that legal risks continue to be the biggest motivator for delivering digital accessibility, and that staff at all levels still need mandatory digital accessibility training to aid successful delivery.
What did the survey ask about?
During July, August and September 2025, 507 digital professionals from across the globe completed AbilityNet's fifth annual global Attitudes to Digital Accessibility survey.
Their responses help all organisations to understand the digital accessibility landscape and their position within it, and how digital accessibility is changing across sectors.
The survey questions highlighted five key topics:
- Confidence in, understanding of, and prioritising digital accessibility
- Delivering digital accessibility – motivations, barriers, and approaches
- Impact of the European Accessibility Act (EAA)
- Careers and training
- Artificial Intelligence
Get your copy of this year's Attitudes to Digital Accessibility report (summary PDF and detailed Word versions available):
Analysis of the results uncovered 8 headline findings:
1. Individual accessibility confidence is high, but doubt lingers over organisational ability
One of the key results the survey outlined is that individuals are overwhelmingly confident with their digital accessibility knowledge, but do not believe their organisations have the same confidence.
Over 7 in 10 of respondents felt they were either extremely or quite confident, compared to just over 1 in 4 who believe the same for their organisation.
The more senior respondents were, the more they felt their organisation was confident in its understanding of digital accessibility. 71% of executive-level respondents felt their organisation was ‘extremely’ or ‘quite confident’ in its understanding of digital accessibility. This dropped to 34% for senior leaders, 21% for managers, and 21% for non-managerial roles.
The bar chart shown here outlines individual confidence in understanding of digital accessibility, and respondent's perception of their organisation's confidence. The pattern shows that individual confidence is much higher than how those same individuals perceive their organisation's confidence.
2. Legal risk is top driver for action
Meeting legal requirements remains the most significant motivator for delivering digital accessibility at 73% (72% in 2024).
Inclusivity and improving client experience were the next most significant motivators.
3. EAA has so far had little impact
For those who believe the European Accessibility Act affects them, the act coming into force had little impact. When asked what impact the implementation had, the most popular response at 45% was ‘nothing has changed’.
The other potential positive impacts were much lower in response rate. This is despite 78% reporting preparing for the implementation in some way.
This could imply that the EAA is not currently an effective enough piece of legislation, or that the enforcement of the act is not clear enough to appropriately motivate. It could be that, as a newly enforced act, without the creation of practical examples through case law, the EAA is currently not effective.
At the time of the survey the EAA has only been in force for 1-3 months, and there is no case law to set precedent that would help clarify the practical requirements of the act. Responses from next year’s 2026 survey responses will hopefully illuminate how effective is the EAA, with case law to contextualise its practical applications.
4. Competing priorities are affecting accessibility progress
For 1 in 2 respondents (53%), 'competing priorities' is a barrier to delivering digital accessibility, making it the most prominent barrier to delivering digital accessibility. Overwhelmingly, respondents are telling us that organisations do not understand and therefore value and prioritise digital accessibility work.
Senior roles perceive digital accessibility as a higher priority for leadership than less senior roles. Non-managerial roles and managers mostly think digital accessibility is ‘neither high nor low priority’ for leadership. Whereas senior leaders, executives, and board members mostly think digital accessibility is a ‘high priority’.
5. AI is both helping and hindering
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creating and solving the same digital accessibility problems.
The 2025 findings show that some respondents note that AI helps with creating accessible content, checking accessibility, and gaining knowledge about accessibility.
Other respondents told us AI creates inaccessible content, is not accurate in checking for accessibility, and provides false information around digital accessibility.
- 54%: digital accessibility is central to their role.
- 47% in non-managerial roles,
- Top three sectors represented: higher or further education (17%), government or public administration (16%), and Information and communications including media (13%).
- 36% came from public bodies, 35% from businesses, and 20% from charity and voluntary, with larger organisations more represented in the responses.
6. Accessibility is not being embedded enough
Digital accessibility is still not being embedded enough into work streams, processes, and company cultures.
The report shows that 55% of respondents have accessibility embedded into the development process – which is positive.
However, lack of knowledge on delivering digital accessibility was the third biggest barrier to delivery and embedding digital inclusion was a leading wish for respondents when asked what would improve accessibility within their organisation.
7. Mandatory accessibility training is needed
Staff at all levels still need mandatory training and knowledge development to support successful delivery. Despite digital accessibility training being one of the most common learning opportunities, lack of internal skills or experience was the third most prominent barrier to digital accessibility delivery.
Mandatory training and training during onboarding were frequently cited as needed to improve digital accessibility within organisations.
- “Senior leadership really saw the benefits that prioritising accessibility could have for all and invested in taking it forward.”
- “If accessibility became the invisible thread running through everything we design and deliver.”
- “If accessibility wasn't a badge but part of the rich fabric of life and business”
- “If everyone's job description included a statement about accessibility; everyone's appraisal had an accessibility objective; and accessibility training were mandatory”
- “All senior leaders had to undertake proper and robust accessibility understanding training"
8. Accessibility career top 3 enablers identified
Training, senior support, and accreditations were the top three enablers respondents felt were most valuable to progress into a digital accessibility career.
Reflecting this, training and senior buy in were the top changes respondents felt they needed to improve digital accessibility delivery in their organisations.
Alladin Elteira from JP Morgan provided his commentary on the findings about best practices for careers in accessibility. Also included in the report are reactions to the findings from leading digital accessibility professionals from Aviva, NatWest and Edge Hill University.
Read the full 2025 report
Get your copy of this year's Attitudes to Digital Accessibility report (summary PDF and detailed Word versions available):
Get started with embedding digital accessibility best practices:
- Download a Digital Accessibility Services brochure to discover how to address your accessibility pain points.
- Download your free Digital Accessibility Maturity Model
- Build your staff skills in accessibility and inclusive design: Download a training catalogue of all courses.
- Explore eLearning modules about accessibility and inclusion training or request a quote for your team training needs.
