Empowering Accessibility: The 2025 Microsoft Ability Summit in the Age of AI

Today marked the 15th annual Microsoft Ability Summit, a virtual gathering that drew over 20,000 participants from 164 countries to explore the future of AI and accessibility. This summit underscores Microsoft’s enduring dedication to accessibility, a commitment that began over three decades ago with the first accessibility features in Windows 95 and has evolved into today’s AI-powered innovations in hardware and software. With innovation accelerating at an unprecedented pace, individuals with disabilities continue to spearhead these advancements.

Accessibility is not just a necessity for people with disabilities; it enhances technology usability for everyone. This philosophy is evident in how users worldwide engage with Microsoft technologies. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is revolutionizing workplace productivity, Edge’s Read Aloud feature serves over 10 million users monthly, while Immersive Reader aids over a million in reading web pages more easily. Partners such as Tobii Dynavox and Special Olympics are leveraging AI to reach people with disabilities globally, and these are just a few highlights from the summit!

Let’s delve into the exciting new products, features, and programs unveiled at the 2025 Ability Summit.

What’s fresh in 2025? The Xbox Adaptive Joystick, now available exclusively at the Microsoft Store, caters to the vast community of over 429 million gamers with disabilities. Recognizing each player has unique needs, this wired joystick is tailored for gamers with limited mobility, seamlessly integrating into diverse gaming setups. It was developed with insight from the Gaming and Disability community, complementing our lineup of adaptive accessories that include a mouse, pen, adaptive kit, and the Xbox Adaptive Controller. For further information, check out Xbox Support.

Additionally, all Microsoft hardware now comes in accessible and sustainable packaging—goodbye plastic clamshells! To promote accessible packaging further, we introduced the Accessible Packaging Design Guide at the summit. Created by Microsoft’s Packaging and Content Team, this guide provides practical advice, best practices, and strategies to enhance customers’ experiences.

The summit also highlighted collaborative efforts towards advancing accessibility through technology:

Tobii Dynavox is incorporating Microsoft Neural Voice, a feature of Azure AI Speech, into their assistive communication tools. This AI-driven addition enables more personalized options for individuals using eye gaze technology for communication. Neural Voices support over 50 languages within their TD Talk and TD Phone apps.

Microsoft Teams is set to enhance Sign Language View. By the end of this year, Teams will automatically spotlight users signing during meetings, part of our continuous effort to ensure clear and accessible communication.

Copilot is proving invaluable for neurodiverse talents. A study by EY reported that Copilot improved 76% of neurodiverse employees’ performance by boosting communication, memory recall, and focus. At the summit, we showcased new features like Team Reflow and PowerPoint Designer aiding users in their daily tasks, with testimonials from early adopters in New York.

Coming soon to Narrator are AI-driven rich image descriptions, set to release in Windows Insider Preview this spring. Alongside, Azure AI Foundry announced UI enhancements aimed at minimizing cognitive load.

Our Accessibility Skilling program has reached over 5 million learners globally, thanks to the support of partners like Teach Access, Computacenter UK, and the City of New York. This free virtual training, focusing on the latest in AI, is designed for integration into organizational learning systems.

We have witnessed a remarkable 60% improvement in speech recognition. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Speech Accessibility Project has achieved breakthroughs in accuracy for non-standard speech, and Azure demonstrated how developers can employ GitHub Copilot for writing accessible code.

Special Olympics has benefitted greatly from Copilot, which has become an essential training aid for their coaches and athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities competing in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

This progress is a testament to those designing technology with accessibility at heart. By doing so, technology serves everyone, fostering a more productive and efficient workplace. This was exemplified in the inspiring profile of Dave Dame, Senior Director of Accessibility and Human Factors at Microsoft, who detailed how accessible tech empowers him as a leader.

Microsoft’s focus on accessibility spans over 30 years, enhancing our tools and technologies to spur innovation universally. From introducing Sticky Keys and speech recognition in Windows 95 to launching Seeing AI in 2016, accessibility innovations have delivered benefits beyond our original intentions. Consider, for instance, how closed captions are now indispensable for everyone watching videos and calls.

AI holds transformative potential for industries and society. We remain committed to responsibly advancing technology to maximize its benefits for those who need it most.

Whether you’re attending your first or fifteenth Ability Summit, thank you for joining us. We hope you discovered a new feature or skill to support your community or organization in harnessing technology effectively. All summit content will be available for viewing post-event.

Let’s continue this journey together.

Tags: accessibility, AI, AI for Accessibility, Azure, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Ability Summit, Microsoft Teams, Xbox