How to Add Alt Text to Your Images Using AI
Updated 4 months ago
What is alt text?
Alt text (alternative text) is a description associated with an image.
Its main purpose is to improve accessibility, allowing people who use screen readers to understand the visual content.
On social networks like Instagram, alt text is part of the information associated with the image and may be used by the platform to better interpret the published content. For this reason, adding alt text not only improves accessibility but also provides additional information about the image.
AI-generated alt text in Metricool
Metricool can automatically generate alt text for your images using artificial intelligence.
The AI analyzes the image and creates a clear, social-media-friendly description, saving you time and helping improve content quality.
📱This feature is also available in the mobile app from Metricool.
Which social networks support this feature?
You can add Alt Text to your images for Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and X.
Which plans include this feature?
Advanced or Custom plans: feature included with no limits.
Starter and Free plans: available using AI credits.
How to add Alt Text
To add alt text, follow these steps:
Go to Planning and click on 'Create post' or select a time slot in the calendar.
Choose the network(s) you want to post to.
Attach the image (you can upload it from your device, a URL, or use the image bank).
Click the three dots on the image and select “Generate alt text with AI”.
Review and edit if needed. If you prefer to write your own alt text instead, click “Stop generating” to cancel the AI generation and enter your text manually.
Click Accept to finish.
Done! You'll see "Alt" on the image thumbnail. You can delete or edit the alt text by clicking the three dots again.
Images from the image bank include default alt text.
💡 You can also rate the result using the 👍 or 👎 icons to let us know if the generated text was helpful. Your feedback helps us keep improving the results.
Need to generate the alt text in another language?
Once the alt text has been generated, you can easily translate it into another language.
Click on the robot icon 🤖 next to the text and select "Generate text in another language".
A dropdown will appear with several available languages and a search bar to help you find the one you need. Select the language, click Accept, and the translated version will be generated automatically.
❓FAQs
Can I add alt text manually without using AI?
Yes. When you generate alt text with AI, you can click "Stop generating" to cancel the process and enter your own text manually. You can also edit the generated text afterward by clicking the three dots on the image and selecting "Edit alt text."
Why can't I see the alt text on my Instagram or Facebook post?
Alt text isn't visually displayed on your profile or post. Its purpose is to make your content accessible to people using screen readers and to improve SEO.
You can only check it using assistive technologies or by inspecting the post's source code. The "ALT" label you see in Metricool's preview is just an indicator that the image has alt text assigned.
Does alt text work in carousels, stories, or reels?
You can add alt text to images in your reels. For carousels, you can generate alt text for each image individually.
Alt text is not supported in Stories.
Can I add alt text from Autolists?
No. At the moment, it's not possible to add alt text when scheduling content through Autolists.
What happens to alt text if I edit, reschedule, or duplicate a post?
Alt text stays linked to the image. If you edit a scheduled post, the alt text is kept. If you duplicate a post, the alt text is also copied to the new one.