Alt-text (alternative text) is a native accessibility field in Canto for image assets. It allows teams to add descriptive text that conveys the content of an image to screen readers, search engines, and publishing platforms — so assets remain accessible wherever they're used.
Canto can also generate an alt-text draft for you. See “Generate alt-text with AI” below.
Alt-text is available to all customers and is activated by default. No setup is required to start using the field.
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Please note: Alt-text is supported for image assets only. |
How to add or edit alt-text
The Alt-Text field is available on the Information Page, Preview Page, and in the upload and bulk metadata editors. Click the field, enter a description, and save your changes.
Generate alt-text with AI
Instead of writing a description from scratch, you can have Canto generate a draft that you review and edit. Canto uses the image together with the asset’s existing metadata, so descriptions can reflect specific product names and categories instead of describing a generic scene.
To generate alt-text:
Open an image asset in the asset detail panel or the edit metadata modal.
With the alt-text field empty, click Generate Alt-Text. The button shows a loading indicator and is disabled until generation completes.
The generated text appears in the field and can be edited immediately.
Leave the field to save. The text saves automatically, and an AI icon stays on the field, including after you edit the text.
If the field already contains alt-text, Canto shows a warning before generating. Confirm to replace the existing value, or cancel to keep it. If you navigate away after generating, the text is retained.
Requirements
- You need edit metadata permission to see the Generate Alt-Text button.
- Generation is available for image assets only.
- Generation is available only when your active language is English (en-US). The restriction follows your personal language setting, not the tenant default. Users in other languages don’t see the button.
What to expect
- Output quality depends on how complete the asset’s metadata is. Assets with sparse metadata produce descriptions closer to what the image alone would give.
- Canto aims for concise descriptions, but the text is saved exactly as generated, with no truncation. Check the length when you review each suggestion.
- Generated text is saved against the en-US locale.
Not included
- Generation during upload. The asset must be in the library before you can generate alt-text with AI. You can still enter alt-text manually during upload.
- Bulk generation for multiple assets.
- Video, document, and audio assets.
- Generation in languages other than English.
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Please note: AI-generated alt-text is a starting point. Review each suggestion for accuracy and fit before relying on it. You remain responsible for the final text. |
Translation
The alt text field can be translated. From the Preview page, click on the globe icon to add required language variations.
AI-generated alt-text is saved in English (en-US). To provide other language versions, add them manually using the globe icon as described above.
How to make alt-text required in upload workflows
Administrators can mark the alt-text field as required so that it must be completed before an upload can proceed.
Navigation: User Menu > Settings > Configuration Options > Upload Settings
In the Upload Settings, locate the Alt-Text field and check the box to mark it as required.
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Please note: When at least one field in the metadata editor is set as required, the Skip button is replaced with a Cancel button. Closing the metadata window will also cancel the upload. |
For more information on configuring the upload metadata editor, see the article "Custom Configuration - Overview".
How to make alt-text required in Upload Links
Administrators can also require alt-text when configuring an Upload Link, ensuring external contributors provide a description at the point of submission.
- Open or create an Upload Link (App Switcher > Upload Links).
- Go to the Settings tab.
- In the metadata section, add the Alt-Text field and mark it as required.
For more information on Upload Links, see the article "Create an Upload Link".
How alt-text behaves
Downloaded files
Alt-text is stored in Canto and is not embedded in the downloaded file. It is not written to EXIF, IPTC, or XMP metadata. Systems that need to use alt-text should retrieve it via the Canto API.
New versions
Alt-text is retained when a new version of an asset is uploaded. There is a single alt-text value shared across all versions of an asset — it persists unless explicitly updated.
Portals & Share Links
Alt-text renders as the HTML attribute on the image assets embedded in Portals and Share Links.
API access
The alt-text field is returned as part of the asset metadata response via the Canto API, including locale-specific values where applicable. For more information, see api.canto.com
AI-generated alt-text is returned in the asset metadata like any other alt-text value. Generation itself can’t be triggered through the API.
Third-party integrations
Third-party connector integrations do not currently read the alt-text field from Canto. If your publishing workflow relies on a connector, alt-text will need to be applied in the destination system. Support for connector-based alt-text delivery is planned for a future release.
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Please note: This applies to the Canto WordPress Integration, Canto Wrike Integration, and Canto TYPO3 Integration, among others. |