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How to write alt text in Google Docs and Slides (with examples)

Short answer

In Google Docs and Google Slides, select the image and click Image options → Alt text (or press Ctrl+Alt+Y), then describe what the image shows or does. Write what someone who can't see the image needs to know, in a sentence or two; for a chart, give the main finding; for a logo, the organisation's name; for a purely decorative image, say it is decorative. Source: Google Docs Editors Help and WCAG 2.1 1.1.1.

WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 asks for a text alternative for every image that carries meaning. In Google Docs and Slides that is the Alt text field of each image. Here is where it is and what to put in it.

Quick steps

  1. Find images without alt text. Run an accessibility check, or go through the document image by image.
  2. Open the alt text field. Select the image → Image options → Alt text, or press Ctrl+Alt+Y.
  3. Describe the purpose. Write what the image shows or does in context, not its file name.
  4. Handle charts and decorative images. Charts: state the main finding and put the numbers in the text or a table. Decorative: say so.

Examples

  • Photo in a newsletter: "Volunteers planting trees along Main Street at the October clean-up day."
  • Chart: "Bar chart: library visits rose from 41,000 in 2024 to 52,000 in 2026." Put the figures in a table too.
  • Logo next to the title: "City of Example Parks Department."
  • Screenshot in a how-to: describe the step, e.g. "The Submit button at the bottom right of the form."
  • Divider line or background flourish: "decorative".

Floating images in Docs

Images set to Wrap text or Break text are 'positioned' images. Google's add-on API does not expose their alt text, so add-ons cannot tell whether it is filled in. Check those by hand, or set the image to In line and check again.

Common mistakes

  • Starting with "image of" — screen readers already announce it is an image.
  • Using the file name (IMG_2041.jpg) as the description.
  • Repeating the caption word for word.
  • Leaving text that appears only inside a picture without a text version.

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Sources: Google Docs Editors Help: make your document, presentation, sheets & videos more accessible · W3C WCAG 2.1. Not legal advice — disclaimer.

FAQ

How long should alt text be?

Usually one or two sentences. If an image needs more (a complex chart), give the short description in alt text and the detail in the document body.

Does Google add alt text automatically?

Some images come with alt text already. Google's help recommends checking that it is correct — you know why the image is there.

Do shapes and text boxes in Slides need alt text?

Shapes that hold text are read as text. Pictures, icons and shapes used as images need alt text.

Updated 2026-10-27.

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