Accessibility automation is often seen as the silver bullet for building inclusive digital products. With tools like axe, Lighthouse, and continuous integration (CI)-integrated scanners becoming standard in modern development workflows, many teams assume that automated testing ensures accessibility compliance. The reality, however, is more complex.

In this session, Daniel Angelov explores the true capabilities and limitations of accessibility automation. He explains what automated tools can reliably detect, where they fall short, and why a significant portion of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) success criteria still require human judgment.

Through practical examples, he highlights the critical gap between rule-based validation and real user experience - particularly for screen reader users, keyboard-only users, and people with cognitive disabilities.