Use Copilot to Create Accessible Instructional Materials

Last updated on June 15, 2026

Creating accessible learning materials for your course helps remove barriers and ensures that all students have the best possible chance for success. While tools such as accessibility checkers can aid in this process, it can still be challenging at times to review and edit content to meet accessibility standards. Microsoft Copilot is a Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tool available to all faculty, staff, and students at MSU Denver that can help convert learning materials into accessible versions.

This tutorial will go over how you can use Copilot to convert content into accessible Canvas Pages, generate alt text or long descriptions for images, and review materials based on accessibility guidelines. For each section, there will be ready-to-use prompts that you can copy and paste directly into your Copilot chat. 

This tutorial requires a basic knowledge of how to access and use Microsoft Copilot. See our tutorial, Use Microsoft Copilot, for more guidance.

This tutorial uses accessibility standards, guidelines, and suggestions from the CTLD’s Instructional Accessibility Group. For additional accessibility resources, see the MSU CTLD’s Instructional Accessibility Group’s Home Page.

For more tutorials and spotlights on GenAI, check out the Generative AI catalogue.

Best Practices

Copilot Limitations and Considerations

• Copilot can sometimes miss important accessibility requirements or change the wording of the text more than desired, so it is important to be as specific as possible in your prompts and engage in a feedback loop when necessary.
• The formatting of text, tables, or images in Copilot can sometimes change when pasted into Canvas Pages, so always double check accessibility by using the Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor (RCE).
  • See our tutorial, Use the Canvas Accessibility Checker, for more guidance.
• There are many privacy concerns regarding Gen AI tools, so it is important to never input any personally identifiable information, such as names, grades, IEP details, etc., into Copilot.
• Be transparent with your students by providing disclosure statements detailing where and how AI was used to help with course creation.

Directions

Convert Content into Accessible Canvas Pages

Canvas pages are a great way to present visual and written content that is structured in accessible ways for all students. Copilot can take existing content, such as OER, and reformat it to meet accessibility standards. It can create clear sections, apply a logical heading hierarchy, and convert paragraphs into lists when appropriate. You can paste the text directly in the chat, or upload a file into Copilot to scan and rewrite in a Canvas-ready, accessible format.

• Copilot can help convert documents and PDF files into accessible pages, but there are some limitations.
  • Copilot cannot access files through online links, so you must first download it to your computer or OneDrive, and then upload it to Copilot as a file.
  • Copilot may struggle with scanned PDFs (images) if text quality is poor, so always double check its work to ensure content accuracy.
  • Copilot can only reformat text and tables. Images are often not included or come through as broken placeholders, and any existing alt text is usually lost.
    • You will need to manually insert the images and add alt text into the Canvas page if you would like them to carry over. See below for ways that Copilot can help generate alt Text.
• To ensure all formatting copies over correctly, it is recommended to ask Copilot to create HTML code that you can copy and paste into the HTML Editor in Canvas.
  • See our tutorial, Use HTML to Edit Content in Canvas, for guidance on how to use and access the HTML editor from the RCE.

Prompt Copilot to Convert Content into an Accessible Canvas Page

1. Open Microsoft Copilot.
2. Click the + icon to upload a file.
   • Alternatively, paste your text into the text box.
3. Select Upload images and files to upload a file from your computer, or select Attach cloud files to upload a file from OneDrive.
4. Click the name of your file. 
5. Click Open (for computer files) or select (for OneDrive files).
6. Enter your prompt into the text box.
   • For ready-to-use prompts you can copy/paste, scroll to the Prompt Examples Header below.
     • Click the desired prompt.
       1. Note: To ensure all formatting copies over correctly, these prompts have Copilot provide the HTML code. See the steps below for how to use the provided code in Canvas.
     • Click the copy button to copy the entire prompt.
     • Return to your Copilot Chat.
     • Paste the prompt by right clicking your mouse and selecting paste.
7. Click the arrow button at the far right of the text box to send your message.
8. Wait for Copilot to finish generating the output.
9. Click the Copy Code icon (Clipboard with symbol) in the top right of the provided code block.
   • Follow the steps below to copy this code into your Canvas Course.

Use Generated HTML Code in a Canvas Page

1. Log in to your Canvas Account.
2. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
3. Click Modules in the left-hand course navigation menu.
4. Click on the Canvas Page you want to edit.
   • For guidance on creating a Canvas Page, see our tutorial, Create and Edit a Canvas Page.
5. Click Edit in the top right corner.
6. Click the </> icon in the bottom right of the RCE.
7. Paste the HTML Code by right clicking your mouse and selecting paste.
8. Click the HTML icon again to return to the RCE.
9. Check the content to ensure everything is correct.
   • Note: Images will not copy over. The prompt below has Copilot make a note of where images were, provide any captions that existed, and provide Alt text suggestions. 
   • For guidance on how to insert an image in the RCE, see our tutorial, Insert Images with alt Text in the Rich Content Editor.
10. Click the Accessibility Checker icon (person in a circle) at the bottom of the RCE to ensure your page meets accessibility requirements.
11. Make any changes/edits.
    • Note: If you notice any large mistakes, inform Copilot of the mistakes, ask it to generate the code for you again, and correct those mistakes.
12. Click Save at the bottom right of the page.

Prompt Examples – Convert Content into an Accessible Canvas Page

Generate Alternative Text (Alt Text) or Long Descriptions for Figures

Any images you provide to your students must have alt text or be marked as decorative to meet accessibility standards. The alt text should convey the educational value of the image so students using screen readers can understand the context. For more complex figures, such as charts or diagrams, a long description may be necessary to capture all the important information. You can use Copilot to help generate alt text and or long description suggestions for images.

When prompting Copilot to provide alt text suggestions, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• Check Copilot’s work by reading through the suggestions thoroughly and revising them as needed. Do not just copy and paste without checking accuracy and relevance.
• Provide Copilot the context for the image by including the surrounding text and the image so it knows what the students have already learned, and can better understand the educational purpose of the image.
• Ask it to provide multiple suggestions, so you have multiple ideas to move forward with.
• If the image in need of alt text is part of an exam, inform Copilot to provide alt text without giving the answer away and include both the question and answer choices within the prompt. 

Prompt Copilot to Generate Alt Text or a Long Description

Note: For more guidance on alt text or long descriptions, see the Accessibility Groups page, Make Images Accessible.

1. Open Microsoft Copilot.
2. Click the + icon to upload the image/figure.
3. Select Upload images and files to upload an image file from your computer or select Attach cloud files to upload a file from OneDrive.
4. Click the name of your file. 
5. Click Open (for computer files) or select (for OneDrive files).
6. Enter your prompt into the text box.
   • For ready-to-use prompts you can copy/paste, scroll to the Prompt Examples Header below.
     • Click the desired prompt.
     • Click the copy button to copy the entire prompt.
     • Return to your Copilot Chat.
     • Paste the prompt by right clicking your mouse and selecting paste.
7. Enter any context text that will surround the image/figure at the bottom of the prompt.
   • To add a paragraph break in your prompt, hold the shift button on your keyboard, and hit enter.
8. Click the arrow button at the far right of the text box to send your message.
9. Wait for Copilot to finish generating the output.
10. Check Copilot’s response and enter follow-up prompts if necessary.
11. Click the Copy Response icon (rectangle) at the bottom left of the response.
    • Alternatively, highlight a section of the response, right click your mouse, and select copy to copy only a portion of the response.
12. Paste the Response in the alt text box within Canvas.
    • See our tutorial, Insert Images with Alt Text in the Rich Content Editor, for more guidance.
    • For how to add a long description to an image, see the Accessibility Groups page, How to Write Long Descriptions.
13. Edit/Revise the alt text or long description as needed.

Prompt Examples – Generate Alt text or Long Descriptions

Review Materials for Accessibility Issues

You can also use Copilot to review any documents/files for accessibility issues and provide steps on how to fix them. While most platforms, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe have built-in accessibility checkers, they can often miss things. Copilot can be more thorough, look for specific accessibility standards, and walk you through any changes step-by-step.

• Copilot can review files for document structure and tags, text accessibility, images and graphics, tables, links and navigation, tab order, color contrast, and common screen reader issues.
  • It may struggle with precisely measuring color contrast in files, but can flag likely issues.
• Copilot cannot make changes for you, but it can provide a clear report of issues with steps on how to make the exact fixes in the program you are using.
• Copilot can create or make copies of Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. However, it struggles with design aspects, color contrast, and meaningful alt text. It is recommended to ask Copilot to review your documents and walk you through fixing them yourself, rather than having Copilot fix them for you.
• It is good practice to still double check the document yourself and with the program’s built-in accessibility checker.
  • See the Accessibility Groups page, Remediate PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro or Using the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Office, for more guidance.

Prompt Copilot to Review Materials for Accessibility Issues

1. Open Microsoft Copilot.
2. Click the + icon to upload the document/file.
3. Select Upload images and files to upload an image file from your computer or select Attach cloud files to upload a file from OneDrive.
4. Click the name of your file. 
5. Click Open (for computer files) or select (for OneDrive files).
6. Enter your prompt into the text box.
   • For ready-to-use prompts you can copy/paste, scroll to the Prompt Examples Header below.
   • Click the desired prompt.
   • Click the copy button to copy the entire prompt.
   • Return to your Copilot Chat.
   • Paste the prompt by right clicking your mouse and selecting paste.
7. Click the arrow button at the far right of the text box to send your message.
8. Review Copilot’s Response and follow the recommended steps for fixes.
9. Ask Copilot follow-up questions if needed.

Prompt Examples – Review Materials for Accessibility Issues

Disclosure Statement

Copilot was used to help determine strengths and limitations in its ability to create accessible materials, as well as to test and refine the prompts provided in this tutorial. All final content, decisions, and edits were made by the Instructional Design Support Team.

Have questions?

Need additional support on this or other teaching and learning topics? Please visit us for drop-in support (10am-3pm, M-F) or try one of our self-help tutorials. 

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