ChatGPT for Alt Text: 12 Prompts for Accessible Images

ChatGPT for alt text works best when you tell it what each image is for on the page, not just what it shows. The 12 prompts below help you sort images by role, write short descriptions, handle linked and decorative images, and turn charts into text a screen reader can use. Always check the final alt text against the real image before you publish.

Good alt text meets WCAG 1.1.1: it gives screen reader users the same information or function the image gives sighted users. Google's image guidance asks for useful, information-rich alt text in context and warns against keyword stuffing. Decorative images get an empty alt attribute.

Sort your images first

1. Image role check

Here are the images on my [page type] page with a short description of each [list]. Label each one informative, functional, decorative, or complex, and explain why in one line.

2. Context first

This page is for [goal]. The text next to each image is [paste]. Tell me which images add information the text does not already give.

Write the alt text

3. Product photo alt

Write one-sentence alt text for this product photo [describe or upload] on a page selling [product]. Mention what a shopper would notice, such as color, material, or size cues. Do not start with "image of".

4. People and team photos

Write alt text for this team photo [describe]. The caption already says [caption], so do not repeat it. Describe the activity, not guesses about anyone's age or background.

5. Blog post images

My article is about [topic]. Write alt text for each image [list] that says what the image shows that matters to the article.

6. Linked image or button

This image links to [destination]. Write alt text that describes the action or destination, not the picture.

7. Decorative image check

Which of these images [list] are purely decorative? For each, confirm it should use an empty alt attribute and say why.

Charts, infographics, and screenshots

8. Chart summary

This chart shows [data you paste]. Write a short alt naming the chart and its main takeaway, plus a longer text version for the page, using only my data.

9. Infographic to text

Turn this infographic [paste its text and numbers] into a short alt and an HTML list I can place under it.

10. Screenshot in a tutorial

This screenshot shows step [number] of [task]. Write alt text that tells the reader what the screen lets them do at this step, in one sentence.

Image SEO without stuffing

11. Keyword fit check

My page targets [topic]. Here are my alt texts [paste]. Show where the topic fits naturally in one or two of them and where it would be stuffing.

12. File names and captions

Suggest clear file names in lowercase with hyphens for these images [list], and say which images would benefit from a visible caption.

Do a whole page in one prompt

The flagship Alt Text Prompt: Image Descriptions for Web Pages and SEO takes your page context, images, linked images, nearby text, chart data, and page topic. It returns an image role table, alt text for each image, empty alt for decorative ones, a text version for charts, an image SEO pass, open questions, and a ready HTML snippet. Its bakery example moves opening hours out of a graphic and onto the page.

Tips for better alt text

Write for someone who cannot see the image: what would they miss? Keep alt short and put long detail in visible text. Linked images describe where the link goes. Images that only decorate get an empty alt so screen readers skip them. Use your page topic only where it describes the image honestly; Google reads alt text to understand images, and stuffing keywords helps no one.

Related prompts

For interface icons and buttons, use the alt text bank for UI components. App developers can try the app store screenshot alt text prompt. For a wider check, use the WCAG audit notes prompt or read ChatGPT prompts for SEO optimization.

For the rest of the page, see the on-page SEO audit and rewrite plan, ChatGPT prompts for schema markup, and ChatGPT prompts for internal linking.

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