AI Search Drives Users to Least Accessible Web Pages, New Index Finds

AudioEye’s 2026 Digital Accessibility Index analyzed over 165,000 web pages across thousands of domains in the U.S. and Europe to understand how accessibility issues are distributed and how users reach them.

The report highlights a shift in web traffic patterns as AI search tools increasingly route users away from homepages and toward interior pages.

These deeper pages were found to contain more accessibility issues than homepages, averaging about 10% higher error rates, and now account for a large share of accessibility-related claims.

The study also notes that many organizations still prioritize homepage optimization while overlooking these high-traffic interior pages where users are increasingly landing.

The findings matter because they show a growing mismatch between where accessibility efforts are focused and where users actually experience barriers, particularly for people using assistive technologies. It also points to rising legal and compliance exposure as more interactions begin on less accessible pages.

As AI continues to reshape how users navigate the web, the report suggests accessibility risk is becoming more distributed across entire sites rather than concentrated on entry points.

Read the full story at PR Newswire →