More and more people are using AI to help them with their websites. (I do it too!) To prepare myself to best help my clients answer their questions about AI, I decided to ask Claude, one of my favorite AI tools, exactly how it reads and analyzes a webpage.

Claude’s answer covered several things, but one comment gave me an aha moment:

“Alt text tells me what images are present even if I can’t see them.”

It was a simple statement that hit home that this is how AI can “see’ my website. And this means that alt text isn’t just for screen readers or search engines anymore. AI tools are now reading your website and we need to take that into consideration too.

That conversation inspired this post. Because if you’ve been treating alt text as an afterthought, or as just another place to put keywords, it’s time to rethink your approach.

So, What Is Alt Text?

Alt text, short for alternative text, is a written description that you add to an image on your website. It lives in the backend of your site, invisible to most visitors but visible to tools, like screen readers, and technologies, that help people navigate and understand your content.

If you’ve heard of alt text before, you may have been told it’s primarily an SEO tool. And while it does play a role in search engine optimization, that’s not its primary purpose, and treating it like it is just another spot for keywords is one of the most common mistakes I see on websites.

The Misconception About Keywords and Alt Text

A lot of business owners have been told to put their keywords in their alt text. So they end up with something like this for an image of themselves at their desk:

“faith-based web designer Tennessee Christian business website design”

That’s not good alt text. That’s keyword stuffing.

Good alt text describes what is happening in the image. For that same photo the correct alt text could be:

“Paula Hickey, Christian web designer, working at her desk in her Tennessee home office”

See the difference? The first is just a bunch of keywords you what you want to rank for. The second one tells anyone who can’t see the image exactly what is in the image.

And here’s the thing, the second version actually performs better for SEO, because search engines have evolved to prioritize helpful, descriptive content over keyword lists. And the second version still includes keywords but in natural way.

And of course if you have text on your image this should be included in your alt text too.

Think about a Pinterest pin, a promotional graphic, or a quote image. If that image says “5 Ways to Build Trust on Your Website” then that phrase needs to be in your alt text. Why? Because if someone can’t see the image, they need to know what it said. The text is part of the content and we don’t want to leave it out.

The Three Audiences Alt Text Helps Understand Your Website

Here is what really clicked for me in that conversation with Claude. Alt text isn’t serving one audience. It’s serving three!

Humans who are using screen readers. And with this one, you may be thinking, “Duh, Paula!” But even though it may seem obvious I want to put some emphasis on the most important visitor your website has – humans.

Screen readers are tools used by people with visual impairments to navigate the web. When a screen reader encounters an image on your website it reads the alt text aloud. If your alt text says “web designer Tennessee” that’s what a visually impaired visitor hears. It doesn’t make sense, does it? Are they seeing a picture of Tennessee? What is the web designer doing in Tennessee?

This creates a frustrating experience for someone who deserves to fully access your content. Accessibility matters and not just for compliance reasons. It matters because every person who lands on your website deserves a good experience.

With every decision you make on your website, you should be taking your human visitor’s experience into consideration. When you do that, you are also doing what you need to do, to help the next two audiences understand your website.

Search engines use alt text to understand what your images are about since they can’t see images the way humans do. Descriptive, accurate alt text helps Google index your images correctly and can contribute to your overall SEO. But again, the description comes first, keywords second.

The third audience? AI tools. Most people aren’t yet thinking of AI as part of their website’s audience. But AI is increasingly being used to read, analyze, and evaluate websites. In 2026, this includes potential clients using AI to research service providers, business owners using AI to audit their own sites, and tools like Claude being used to give feedback on website content and structure.

When I asked Claude how it reads a webpage it told me directly that alt text is one of the primary ways it understands images. That means every image on your website without good alt text is essentially invisible to AI. And if you’re asking AI to help you with your website, don’t you want it to “see” and understand all of it?

Also, the better AI can read and understand your website (which should be telling AI who you are, who you serve and how, among other things) the more likely it will recommend you.

What Good Alt Text Actually Looks Like

Writing good alt text doesn’t have to be complicated. And I don’t want you to stress about it so here are a few simple guidelines to follow:

• Describe what is actually in the image.
• Include relevant context. If you’re a web designer and the image shows you working, mention that.
• Keep it short and simple. One to two sentences is usually enough.
• If the image contains text, include that text in your alt text.
• If an image is purely decorative and adds no informational value, it’s okay to leave the alt text empty but be intentional about that decision.

Here are a few quick before and after examples:

Bad: “faith business Tennessee” Good: “Paula Hickey, Christian web designer from Tennessee, reviewing a client website on her laptop”

Bad (for a Pinterest pin): “web design tips” Good: “Pinterest pin with text reading: 5 Signs Your Website Needs a Refresh”

Why This Matters More Than Ever in 2026

Think about how you are using the internet now. You are probably using AI more often to get answers to your questions when before you went to Google or YouTube. So it stands to reason that your potential clients are doing the same.

A recent example from my business is a client who books cruises who had AI go through his website and create a checklist of updates we needed to do. Things like updating the ship and cabin names, cruise dates and so on. So if it hasn’t happened to you yet, just know, your clients using AI is coming.

And now AI could be recommending your business to people.

When someone uses an AI tool to look into your business and your website images have no accurate alt text, those images aren’t doing their job. Your images should support the story you’re telling about who you are and what you do and that is a story you want clearly communicated to the 3 audiences mentioned above.

And for faith-based business owners, where so much of your brand is built on personal connection, having your images misunderstood or overlooked by the tools your potential clients are using is a missed opportunity.

There are so many things on the back end of your website that contribute to creating a good user experience. And here’s the thing about user experience, when everything is working correctly, visitors aren’t thinking “wow, what a great user experience I’m having!” Instead, they’re just happily browsing and consuming your content, finding exactly what they need. All the links are working, checkouts are smooth. It all just flows.

But when something is off or not working, they don’t think, “Wow I’m having a terrible user experience.” They are getting frustrated or annoyed because whatever is broken or missing is now pulling their attention away from your content and onto the problem. And eventually they leave. And they probably won’t come back.

Alt text is one of those foundational back end pieces that when used correctly keeps the focus exactly where it belongs which is on your content. And when a visitor can move through your website with ease, something important happens, you start building trust. Maybe not consciously. But subconsciously. And all because they are experiencing a website that works correctly, that feels thoughtful, and is easy to use.

This is a trust signal. And trust is what makes people invest. But it’s not just your visitors who need to trust you. Search engines and AI tools are evaluating your website’s trustworthiness too. And the foundational pieces like proper alt text, accessible design, legal policies, a smooth user experience, are part of what signals to them that your website is credible and reliable which makes these tools more likely to recommend you.

What you should do next

Take a few minutes this week and check the alt text on the images on your homepage. Do they accurately represent what’s in the image? Do any of them contain text that isn’t reflected in the alt text?

If the answer is no, don’t be discouraged. No website is perfect! Now you know what to fix and why it matters.

I’d love to hear what you find! Drop a comment below and let me know if you’re team “I’ve been doing this right all along” or team “I have some updating to do”? And again no shame if you have updating to do.

Need help making sure your website is built with accessibility, SEO, and trust-building best practices baked in from the start? That’s exactly what I do. Book a discovery call and let’s talk about your project.