Microsoft’s AI Narration App Expands to Android for Blind Users

Microsoft launched the Seeing AI app on Android devices Monday, expanding the free app that narrates the world to millions more blind and low-vision users. Seeing AI is now available for free in 18 languages on the Google Play Store with plans to expand to 36 languages next year.

Seeing AI first launched for IOS in 2017 allowing users to point their camera and hear a description of what it sees. The app identifies currency, reads books, spots products, and scans barcodes. It can also recognize and save friend’s faces and provide an estimate of their age, gender and expression.

The new Android version will have all the latest updates, including generative AI capabilities to summarize articles and ask detailed questions about your surroundings. There are 3 billion Android users globally, and the Seeing AI technology will now help more users than ever.

Seeing AI is one of many accessibility products that utilize the power of generative AI. Google released Magnifier in October, helping low-vision users to zoom in on the smallest details of the world around them. Magnifier also lets users add color filters to increase contrast, improving the visibility of minute details.

Generative AI has the extreme potential to increase accessibility for people with disabilities. The Harvard Business Review found that 386 million working-age people around the world have disabilities, and unemployment among that group is roughly 80%. Generative AI, if deployed correctly, could dramatically level the playing field for folks with disabilities. Artificial intelligence offers an outsized impact on this community compared to the rest of the world, and apps like Seeing AI are paving the way.