We hear almost daily about rapidly expanding AI capabilities and new assistive tech gadgets that can provide impressive visual interpretation. With all of the new tech advancements, does labeling still have a place in your accessibility toolbox?

Don’t underestimate the importance of accessible labels, especially talking labels that allow you to add detailed information. There are several important reasons why the accessible label is here to stay.

1. Labeling Gives You Control

When you add an accessible label, you have complete control over what goes on that label. If you’re tagging something like your electrical fuse box or a sentimental item, you’re going to be able to put exactly the information that’s important to you onto that label. Whether it’s a family story or something that only you would know, a label lets you get it outside of your head, so you don’t have to rely on your memory. Once the information is on a label, it’s available and accessible for you anytime you need it.

2. Labeling Is Fast

Being blind can be time-consuming. Identifying items by feel, getting the correct angle and lighting for optical recognition, and triple-checking so that you don’t make a potentially dangerous mistake takes time. Many AI solutions are fast and getting faster, but they still take several seconds. And that can add up. Plus, sometimes they don’t work correctly.

Tom Babinszki writes, “Now with all the scanning solutions out there, especially with AI being able to give me more information than just reading the text, you may wonder why would I want to tag things? Because it is fast. Each time I am trying to read the text on a bottle with a character recognition app I need to make sure there is enough lighting, I am holding it up the right way, and often the results are not too accurate.”

Labeling gives you instant access to the information you need. Since WayAround doesn’t rely on the device’s camera, you can scan a WayTag in complete darkness.

3. Labeling Makes Things Permanently Accessible

Once you label an item, it becomes permanently accessible. This is one of the reasons why people who are committed to labeling love it so much. If you set up a label well, it’s very quick to access exactly the information you need.

It can take a little bit of time to actually put your information onto a label and add details to a template. Sometimes you may need sighted assistance to fully identify an item. But here’s the flip side: so many people who have vision loss say that they are tired of asking their sighted friends and family members, “What’s this?”

Labeling is your answer! Once you label something, from that moment forward that item is accessible to you forever and ever. You’ll never again have to ask, “What’s this?”

Even as AI and other technology continue to advance, there will always be the place for the humble label to make everyday items accessible.