AI-Powered Automatic Alt Text for WordPress Images

I enjoy publishing articles that incorporate numerous screenshots and images.

Consequently, creating each article requires considerable time dedicated to writing alt text.

Personally, I find writing alt text a monotonous chore, frequently delaying it despite recognizing its importance for both SEO and accessibility.

Therefore, I have invested significant time evaluating various AI-driven alt text generators designed for WordPress websites.

This guide will demonstrate the optimal method for automatically creating alt text with AI. I have undertaken the extensive work of evaluating accuracy, comparing outputs, and pinpointing the premier options to facilitate your selection of the ideal solution for your website.

The Advantages of Employing AI to Generate Image Alt Text

The addition of alt text to all images featured on your website may appear to be a perpetual undertaking. Even when employing tools such as ChatGPT for alt text composition, manual content replication and insertion remain necessary.

Fortunately, AI-driven instruments can automate this entire procedure, affording you complete command from your WordPress interface.

Here’s why using AI for alt text generation can be helpful:

• Saves Time – Eliminate the need to manually compose alt text for each image. AI is capable of generating descriptions in mere seconds, thereby freeing up your time for more crucial activities.
• Boosts SEO – AI facilitates the creation of descriptive alt text incorporating pertinent keywords, which are favored by search engines. This can elevate your images’ ranking within search results.
• Improves Accessibility – AI-generated alt text enhances the inclusivity of your site by offering meaningful descriptions for users with visual impairments.
• Handles Large Image Libraries – If you have hundreds (or thousands) of images, AI can process them in bulk, making optimization much easier.
• Maintains Consistency – AI follows a structured approach, ensuring all images have clear and uniform descriptions across your website.

By using AI tools for alt text generation, you can improve your website’s accessibility, SEO, and overall efficiency, all without the extra manual work.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to easily generate alt text for images with AI.

Method 1: Use AltText.AI to Generate Alt Text for Images (Premium Plugin + Free Trial)

If you are looking for high-quality alt text for your images and have the budget to invest in a premium plugin, then I recommend this method.

AltText.ai is a powerful AI image alt text generator built for bloggers, small business owners, and website owners. It works in up to 130 languages and generates alt text in just seconds.

It comes with a free trial that lets you generate alt text for up to 25 images. After that, you can continue with a paid plan starting at just $5 for 100 image credits, where generating alt text for 1 image uses 1 credit. This makes it an affordable option for anyone managing a media-rich website.

First, you need to visit the AltText.ai website and click the ‘Start Free Trial’ button.

This will take you to a new screen, where you can create your free account by giving your email address, name, and password.

Once you do that, just click the ‘Sign up’ button.

AltText.ai will now create your free account and take you to your dashboard.

From here, head to the ‘Account’ page from the top and switch to the ‘API Keys’ section. Go ahead and click the ‘+ New API Key’ button.

Next, you have to type a name for the API key you plan to create. This name won’t be available publicly and is only for your identification.

Then, click the ‘Create’ button.

The tool will automatically create an API key for you. For now, click the ‘Copy’ button next to the key and store it somewhere safe.

You’ll need it later to use the tool.

Next, head to your WordPress dashboard to install and activate the Alt Text AI plugin. It is a free connector plugin that integrates the AI tool with WordPress seamlessly.

For step-by-step instructions, see this tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon plugin activation, visit the AltText.ai » Settings page and add your API key in the ‘API Key’ field. You can also choose your preferred language for alt text generation.

After that, pick a writing style for your alt text from the dropdown menu. You can choose between elaborate, concise, matter-of-fact, standard, and terse.

You can also use AltText.ai to generate image titles, captions, and descriptions. To do this, just check these options in the ‘When alt text is generated for an image’ section.

After that, check the ‘Automatically generate alt text with AltText.ai’ option so the tool will automatically generate alt text whenever you upload an image to the media library.

Next, you have to scroll down and check the ‘Generate alt text using focus keyphrases, if present’ option if you want the AI tool to use SEO phrases in alt text.

Keep in mind that you’ll also need to add a focus keyword using an SEO plugin for this feature to work. For details, you can check out this guide on how to use a focus keyphrase in WordPress.

Similarly, check the ‘Use post title as keywords if SEO keywords not found from plugins’ box so the tool will use post titles in alt text if you haven’t set a focus keyword.

You can then configure the rest of the settings according to your liking. Once you are done, just click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Now, you need to open the block editor and upload an image using the ‘Image’ block.

This will open the ‘Select or Upload Media’ prompt, where you have to click the ‘Update Alt Text’ button. You can also check the ‘Add SEO Keywords’ option to add them to your alt text.

You can also generate alt text for already uploaded images by visiting the Media » Library page and clicking on an image.

After the ‘Attachment details’ screen appears, select ‘Add SEO Keywords’ and input the keywords for tool prioritization.

Next, select ‘Update Alt Text’ to generate alt text for the selected image.

Repeat this process to add alt text to all images requiring it.

To save time, the plugin offers bulk alt text generation. Navigate toAltText.ai » Bulk Generatefrom your WordPress admin area.

The page displays the total image count, noting how many lack alt text. Scroll to view options.

To replace current alt text, enable ‘Include images that already have alt text.’ This ensures AI descriptions overwrite previous entries.

To process images in posts, enable ‘Only process images that are attached to posts.’ This focuses plugin optimization.

Once preferences are set, select ‘Generate Alt Text’ to initiate the process.

The AI will generate alt text; the duration is about 3-5 minutes based on image count. A success notification appears upon completion.

Then select ‘Done’ to return to the Bulk Generate page. The process is complete!

Method 2: Use a Free AI Plugin to Generate Alt Text, Title, and Caption for Images

If you are looking for a free AI image alt text generator that can also create image titles and captions, then I recommend this method instead.

The free AI for SEO plugin offers a built-in way to improve your image SEO without leaving your site or paying for additional tools.

Important: The plugin only provides 5 free AI credits every day. If you go over that limit, then you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to continue using the AI features.

First, you need to install and activate the AI for SEO plugin. For details, see this step-by-step tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, visit the AI for SEO page from the WordPress dashboard and switch to the ‘Settings’ tab from the left column. Then, scroll down to the ‘Media attributes’ section.

Here, you can choose whether you want the AI to generate alt text, captions, titles, and descriptions for your images. If you prefer not to use a specific feature, then simply uncheck the box next to it.

For instance, if you don’t want the AI to generate captions, then just uncheck that box.

After that, you can also choose a language for your media attributes from the dropdown menu. This will allow the plugin to generate text in the language used on your website.

You can then configure the rest of the settings according to your liking. Finally, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store them.

Now, head over to the Media » Library page from the WordPress dashboard and choose an image you like.

This will open the ‘Attachment Details’ prompt, where you can click the ‘Generate With AI’ button under the title, caption, alt text, and description fields.

After this step, the plugin uses artificial intelligence to create relevant alt text, captions, titles, and descriptions.

If the initial AI-generated results are unsatisfactory, click ‘Generate with AI’ again for new suggestions, allowing you to iterate until you find a suitable option.

You can now repeat the process to generate alt text with AI for all your images.

Bonus: Optimize Your Image Alt Text with AIOSEO

Automatically generating alt text with AI is just one way to improve the images on your website. I also recommend using an SEO plugin with built-in tools for image SEO.

For example, All in One SEO for WordPress (AIOSEO) can optimize the format of alt text on your images. Its Alt Tag feature pulls the existing alt text from your media library and allows you to control its formatting with your website title or other metadata.

Keep in mind that AIOSEO does not generate the alt text; however, this feature can help with branding and SEO by making your images more relevant to search engines.

Another great feature is AIOSEO’s image sitemap generation, which includes XML sitemaps.

This ensures proper indexing by search engines, improving the likelihood of your images appearing in Google Image Search results.

To begin, refer to CanadaCreate’s comprehensive guide on WordPress image SEO.

I hope this article helped you learn how to generate alt text for images using AI. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide on how to make money using AI and our top picks for the best AI website builders to create your site in a few minutes.

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