"Allyable creates software to make digital accessibility easier and faster for site owners. Our award-winning technology reduces the cost and complexity typically associated with making websites compliant with accessibility laws and guidelines." (https://www.facebook.com/allyablesoftware/)
Address: 1410 N 31st St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Website: https://allyable.com
The company claims to "fix" accessibility violations in real time:
The company's FAQ claims that their product offers, "immediate remediation, continuous compliance, and built-in accessibility for existing digital content and assets in development,":
Allyable claims to be trusted by some big-name clients such as KPMG and Microsoft, but no evidence of this partnership appears to exist on the alleged clients ' web presence, or the company uses another widget (i.e., Olo).
On their Twitter profile, allyable claims it is, "[t]he fastest way to reach your digital accessibility goals." (https://twitter.com/allyable), which is an easy boast when you also claim that you are the "only digital accessibility provider that gives an end-to-end solution":
The company promises the "easiest and fastest solution to make your digital assets ADA compliant":
In this tweet, Allyable touts that its solution is "truly accessible" and "beyond just a toolbar":
Finally, the company promises that its AllyFix™product uses "advanced AI…to consistently correct most identified eros [sic] automatically":
Address: 6 Hachilazon, RAMAT GAN, 5252270 Israel
Website: http://accessibe.com
"By using AI and automation, we can make thousands of websites accessible in the amount of time it used to make just one - and at a fraction of the cost. Our AI is taught to go beyond basic requirements and create an exceptional digital experience for people with disabilities." (https://accessibe.com/company)
The claims begin before the fold, so to speak, as one visits the accessiBe homepage, with claims of a "2-minute installation for 24/7 automatic accessibility":
The company's website makes strong claims that their product will almost magically make any website accessible with only "a single line of JavaScript code":
And (in our opinion), the most egregious claim is about using accessiBe can "stop any lawsuit in its tracks." :
The following is a marketing email from accessiBe received on March 23, 2021, wherein they claim to "remediate websites according to ADA and WCAG guidelines…within 48 hours."
The company's tweets often boast about how they can "make websites #ADA compliant":
https://www.facebook.com/accessibe
The company also actively uses Facebook as a marketing tool, often touting its ability to allow websites to "meet ADA compliance without spending an arm and a leg":
The company also likes to publicize its how AI is "a better way" than manually fixing errors:
Facebook is also a place where they post videos declaring how their solution "solves web accessibility issues on every website":
Finally, we find this example to be the most gauche, as it preys on a fear of people with disabilities:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/
In a comment on LinkedIn, CEO Shir Ekerling claimed that no company has ever been sued because of accessiBe. That may have been correct at the time of the post, but as we 've shown, that's not true anymore:
accessiBe spends an estimated $16,531 on CPC ads per month.
40% of the accessiBe website traffic comes from CPC ads
The company's advertising on Google suggests one can avoid being sued by using their product:
When using an automated accessibility tool such as WAVE, accessiBe's overlay blocks a proper scan of the site:
The captions that accessiBe automatically generates are poor even by auto-caption standards. The audio for the below was, "…collaborated with lead developers from the JAWS team…":
Address: 102 West Pennsylvania Avenue Suite 401, Towson, MD 21204, United States
Website: https://accessus.ai/
"The Accessus.ai mission is to contribute towards making the entire internet completely accessible so that everyone, with or without disabilities, can enjoy the universe of content it has to offer.
In today's legal environment, ALL businesses are now challenged with meeting the current technical and compliance standards in addition to the potential threat of expensive litigation defense and settlement costs.
The Accessus.ai solution is designed with your complete technical and legal situation taken into consideration on a long-term basis."
The company promises "Fully Automated WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance" in "less than 48 hours":
When one schedules a demo, they are told once again that compliance can be achieved in "less than 48 hours" using the company's "Artificial Intelligence":
In addition to the familiar claims of "a single line of JavaScript code" to achieve "fully compliant and certified" status, Accessus.ai takes the low road by throwing some of its named clients (e.g., AudioEye, User1st, UserWay, WP Access) under the proverbial bus, claiming they cannot deliver the same scope of compliance (e.g., WCAG 2.1, ADA, s508) in a similar 48-hour time frame. They also claim that their solution has the "[i]ndustry highest success rate" while others only meet 5% to 50% of the requirements within 6 months without providing a source for this data:
Much like other overlay companies, Accessus claims that its product can "[p]rotect and defend" against "costlylitigation[sic]":
The company's answer to how they provide protection from litigation makes the same bold and spurious claims as many of its competitors, including offering a worthless "Certificate of Performance":
The company claims that their solution "provide[s] and maintain[s] 100% WCAG compliance standards."
Relatively unique among their peers, Accessus.ai also claims that their solution can offer CCPA and GDPR Compliance:
The company claims that their product will protect their customers from accessibility-related litigation and that the product covers all (emphasis mine) WCAG 2.1 AA (and some AAA) guidelines:
Website: https://theactiveintent.com/
Active Intent makes your website voice activated on mobile and desktop.
Users can click on the generated microphone icon and start conversationally interacting with your website. (https://theactiveintent.com/)
The company claims that voice activated websites, "ensure American with Disabilities Act compliance."
Address: 5210 E Williams Circle, Suite 750, Tucson, Arizona 85711, US
Website: https://www.audioeye.com/
"AudioEye's industry-defining digital accessibility platform delivers website compliance efficiently and affordably for organizations of all sizes. Our platform leverages a decade of investment in advanced technology supported and informed by our team of dedicated IAAP-certified professionals to help deliver improved access to the web." (https://www.audioeye.com/about-us)
AudioEye claims several high- profile customers, at least one of whom, WebMD does not reciprocate the claim on their respective websites:
https://twitter.com/audioeyeinc
The company claims its product will, "get you compliant on day one."
AudioEye spends an estimated $24,786 on CPC ads per month.
62% of the AudioEye website traffic comes from CPC ads.
The company Google Ads make promises of compliance with accessibility laws and standards "on Day 1."
Some of the company's ads use the scare tactic of an impending lawsuit and suggest one not "wait to be served":
AudioEye also offers "Certified ADA Compliance" even though such a certification does not exist:
Finally, like many of its competitors, the company claims to be the only solution out there:
Address: 447 Broadway, 2nd FL #239 New York, NY 10013
Website: https://www.equalweb.com/
"EqualWeb is a development company that specializes in accessibility and advanced internet applications.
With more than two decades of experience, working closely with the blind and disabled, we have gained the confidence and support of many global customers. Our inspired and highly-experienced team of IT, accessibility experts, designers, programmers, and marketing experts are committed to one common goal - effectively offering an accessibility solution for your websites via an extremely simple and cost-effective process." (http://www.equalweb.com)
The company claims its widget "provides full ADA and WCAG 2.1 compliance" with, "no code changes required."
EqualWeb claims its solution is "over 100 million web pages" and that they provide their clients with "1,00,000$ [sic] in digital accessibility warranty":
Instead of providing names of its marquee clients, the company claims that their solution is installed on over 100 million web pages in a bogus attempt to conflate pages with clients and confuse prospective customers about its market penetration:
EqualWeb maintains that, aside from it's supposed unique $1,000,000 warranty, it also uniquely provides compliance with accessibility standards while "all others" only promise a portion of that compliance goal and that "all others" do not offer on-going maintenance:
Out of the proverbial gate, EqualWeb touts its solution as "instantly applicable" that meets "International Accessibility Standards":
EqualWeb claims that its widget will "automatically adjust" a website to fix keyboard navigation issues:
In this tweet, the company makes the claim that 20 years of experience specializing in web accessibility has allowed them to offer a "simple and cost-effective solution," suggesting that they 've been offering an overlay widget for that length of time:
By way of promising increased traffic to one's website, EqualWeb claims to offer "100% ADA WCAG 2.1 AA" compliance. Curiously, they do not give a link in this tweet but instruct the user to go all the way back to the bio on their Twitter account to access a link:
The company claims that its "AI-powered accessibility solution" will assist in gaining brand recognition:
In this tweet, the company talks up its "premium #accessibility solution" that offers a "fully compliant" website as way to bring up its alleged $1 million warranty:
https://www.facebook.com/EqualWebDotCom
In the About section of their Facebook page, EqualWeb claims it provides "digital accessibility solutions making websites 100% compliant":
EqualWeb spends an estimated $4239 on CPC ads per month.
22% of the EqualWeb website traffic comes from CPC ads
As with many of their peers, EqualWeb uses scare tactics in their marketing by saying that their solution will help their customers "avoid lawsuits":
The company also uses Google Ads to claim it is the "Only 100% Web Accessibility Solution" with "more than 10,000 installations":
Address: 207 E 5th Ave. Ste 240, Eugene, OR 97401
Website: https://maxaccess.io/
"Since 2014 Online ADA has been the leading innovator in digital accessibility, providing the highest quality tools for developers to make the internet accessible to everyone.
After years of constant innovation and development we bring you the most elegant and robust solution for digital accessibility.
– Max Access – "
On their website, Max Access claims it can get a website "accessible in minutes and…will stay accessible even as you add new content":
The company's website offers "automatic code fixes" and a "WCAG/AODA/ADA/Section 508 Compliant" solution:
The company's website also engages in some scare tactics claiming that their product can help a client avoid lawsuits and "Maintain the Highest Level of Compliance 24/7":
Like most of their peers, MaxAccess promises that by installing "just 1 single line of code" your website can be made compliant and stay compliant due to the product re-scanning for new content every 24 hours:
https://www.facebook.com/digitalaccessibilityonline/
The company claims that "Certification is the Only Accessibility Solution You 'll Ever Need," although there is no recognized certification standard:
OnlineADA/ MaxAccess spends an estimated $2736 on CPC ads per month.
86% of the MaxAccess.io website traffic comes from CPC ads
The company's Google ads claim that their product offers, "Accessibility in 1 Click," and can get your website, "Accessible in Minutes":
MaxAccess uses the familiar lawsuit scare tactics in its ads:
In addition to using the now all-too-familiar tactic of "protect[ing] your business from lawsuits," this particular ad demonstrates the company's unfamiliarity with actual accessibility by using the incorrect term "Alt-Tag":
Address: Tel Aviv, Israel
Website: https://purple-lens.com
"We are a team of entrepreneurs, web-developers, UX/UI designers and physicians based in Israel. We are dedicated to finding a solution that makes websites more usable for 20% of online users in order to create equal opportunities.
For years, web accessibility has been an issue for almost any type of online business that struggled to gain new visitors and customers. A majority of sites work on WordPress and since the Israeli legal requirements for website inclusivity are particularly strict, we set a goal to make all WordPress sites accessible, whatever it takes.
We invested a huge amount of time and energy, eventually creating today's most advanced solution. Our assistive technology has been implemented in numerous projects for the Israeli Government and multiple local businesses. Today, thousands of Israeli websites use our assistive technology and now we are ready to go global."
The company claims that its product will allow a personalized UX for "EVERY user" (emphasis theirs) and promises "AA accessibility compliance":
For less than $16 per month, Purple-Lens claims that their product can "Achieve 100% AA Compliance":
Address: 1007 North Orange St. 10th Floor Wilmington, DE, 1980, USA
Website: https://userway.org/
"UserWay creates advanced website accessibility solutions that help ensure ADA compliance without refactoring your website's existing code.
With UserWay's RaaS™ (Remediation as a Service™) technology you can effortlessly increase compliance with WCAG 2.1, ADA, ATAG 2.0, EN 301-549, and Section 508 regulations as required by US & international governmental & regulatory bodies." (https://userway.org/about/)
On its website, UserWay claims its solutions "provide full WCAG & ADA compliance from day one" and protects its clients from "accessibility-related lawsuits":
The company claims its customers can "avoid lawsuits with only a single line of code" and that their solution is "[t]rusted by more than 1,421,130 websites" and is backed by a $1 million guarantee:
UserWay's website also uses the familiar legal scare tactics:
The FAQ section of the website also claims the product "provides full ADA and WCAG 2.1 compliance":
The FAQ also claims that using UserWay's widget, a client will "luckily" not need their assistance with demand letters or lawsuits (which itself seems to undermine its claims to protect against them), but in the case a client does receive such a legal challenge, UserWay will provide what we consider a legally useless "Statement of Compliance" as proof of a site's accessibility:
In their direct marketing emails, UserWay promises that their widget gives "full (emphasis theirs) WCAG coverage" and can make a site "completely ADA-compliant":
UserWay makes the bold claim that its screen reader is better than "standard screen readers" because it "is engineered specifically for websites":
https://www.facebook.com/UserWay
On Facebook, the company claims that it can magically make all sites compliant "in a flash":
UserWay continues to push the "one line of code" solution as a viable one:
For e-commerce platforms, the company claims that its product will make their sale prices "automatically…accessible". Ironically, the linked video does not have an audio description so is, itself, inaccessible to screen reader users:
The company claims its product will make "all the [color contrast] customization options" with one click:
The company also claims its product can be beneficial to Shopify store owners and "ensure their shops are inclusive":
UserWay spends an estimated $6057 on CPC ads per month.
15% of the UserWay website traffic comes from CPC ads
On its Google Ads, UserWay claims that "ADA & WCAG 2.1 Compliance" can be achieved with "No Changes to Your Website's Code."
These ads continue peddles the lie that "ADA & WCAG compliance" can be achieved with "[n]o changes to your website's code":
The company also touts that its "powerful AI" can fix inaccessible sites automatically:
UserWay claims its solution can protect its clients ' "business from lawsuit[sic]" make a website "Lawsuit-Free" with the familiar "no changes to your website's code" line:
UserWay's widget interferes with automated web accessibility tools such as WAVE, even pointing the user to using the company's own "UserWay Inspector" instead of whichever tool the user chooses: