Presented by AudioEye
While most organizations recognize the importance of accessibility from a theoretical perspective, a large gap exists between that awareness and actual execution. Companies can’t just take accessibility for granted – and it can’t just be a nice-to-have feature either. The gap between knowing and doing is not only exposing businesses to significant legal risk, it is also causing them to miss out on real business and growth opportunities.
According to AudioEye’s recently released 2026 Accessibility Advantage Report, 59% of business leaders say their organization would face legal risk due to an accessibility failure if audited today, and more than half have already faced accessibility-related lawsuits or threats. This isn’t surprising, as the average web page today has 297 accessibility issues, based on an analysis of over 15,000 websites in AudioEye’s 2025 Digital Accessibility Index.
The report, which surveyed more than 400 business leaders from the C-suite, VPs and directors, shows that organizations understand accessibility matters, but most lack the systems, expertise and operational infrastructure to deliver it consistently, says Chad Solis, CMO of AudioEye.
“The data makes it clear that access hasn’t stopped because people don’t care,” Solis says. “It’s stalling because fragmented ownership and reactive workflows make it hard to maintain as the digital experience evolves. Leaders know accessibility matters, but their organizations aren’t prepared to deliver it consistently.”
Why does digital accessibility deliver a measurable business benefit?
With regulations like the European Accessibility Act now in effect and enforcement stepped up globally, the benefits go beyond avoiding lawsuits. More than half of leaders now see accessibility as an opportunity for business growth, believing that accessible digital experiences drive better user outcomes across the board.
“Organizations that treat accessibility solely as a compliance exercise miss the opportunity to improve performance, reach new audiences, and create stronger digital experiences for everyone,” Solis says. “Accessibility is a development lever hiding in plain sight.”
In fact, accessible design doesn’t just serve users with disabilities; This makes for a faster, more seamless experience for everyone. Organizations leading in accessibility are seeing it as a performance multiplier:
• Improves site searchability through better structure and cleaner code
• Reduces friction in the customer journey
• Strengthens brand loyalty by demonstrating inclusion in action
“Leaders making the smartest decisions aren’t asking, ‘What’s the fastest solution?'” Solis says. “They’re asking, ‘What do we get sustainable security while improving the experience?'”
Where digital access breaks down in execution
Despite widespread recognition of the importance of accessibility, implementation remains inconsistent. The report identifies what AudioEye called “still a problem” or the gap between good intentions and actual execution.
While many business leaders say they actively support accessibility, the same percentage cite low budgets and limited expertise as barriers. Developers, designers, and content creators want to create accessible experiences. But when accessibility is not integrated into their everyday tools and processes, it creates additional complexity – with extra steps, extra time and extra costs added to the already heavy workload and tight deadlines.
The result is what the report calls “patchwork accessibility,” or programs that appear to be compliant on paper but fail users in practice. Many organizations treat accessibility as a project to complete rather than a maintainable, maintainable exercise without meeting compliance milestones or a quick fix without building sustainable systems.
“Accessibility doesn’t fail because companies aren’t trying; it fails because it’s treated as a single-layer problem,” Solis says. “Real reach extends to code, content, design, and ongoing change.”
This pattern highlights a fundamental truth: accessibility is failing because the systems that support it were not built for people who do the work. Until accessibility becomes easier to design, build, and track along with other priorities, it will continue to be de-prioritized.
Limitations of completely in-house digital accessibility programs
Even when leaders secure better equipment and larger budgets, progress often stalls because of the misconception that access must be tackled solely in-house. AudioEye calls this the “intrinsic fallacy”, or the assumption that internal responsibility automatically translates into organizational capability.
“The gap between ownership and capability is widening,” explains Solis. “Managing access within a company can create the illusion of control, but without the right expertise and support, progress often grinds to a halt.”
In fact, while nearly half of organizations manage access with their own teams, 50% admit that those teams lack internal access expertise, and 43% cite competing priorities as major barriers. Only 47% describe their programs as proactive, while the rest work reactively or only meet minimum needs.
The confusion persists because many organizations equate ownership with control and control equals efficiency. In fact, accessibility is a distinct, growing discipline.
Without cross-functional expertise and external guidance, well-intentioned teams end up doing more work with less impact and more cost. True ownership doesn’t mean doing everything yourself, but knowing where to partner, automate, and where to delegate.
Fast-moving organizations are completely rethinking ownership, treating access as a system to manage rather than a silo to control.
Building a sustainable digital access program
The report’s findings point to a clear path forward: Organizations must move accessibility from an aspiration to an operational habit. This requires giving teams everything they need to efficiently implement, maintain, and measure access.
Leading companies are building scalable systems that make accessibility part of everyday work. At the same time, they are turning this from a compliance cost to a growth opportunity to secure adequate budget and internal resources. And they’re measuring the impact of the work, to demonstrate that improving reach increases traffic, reduces abandonment, and expands the total addressable market.
Most importantly, they are recognizing that sustainability often requires partnerships.
“The organizations making the most progress are those that treat accessibility as an always-on system rather than a one-time project,” Solis says. “This means using automation to handle scale, combining it with expert review for complex, high-risk issues, and backing it all with security that actually holds up when legal claims arise.”
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