Aaron Preece
This article aims to serve two purposes: to bring you information on the current state of appliance accessibility for people who are blind or have low vision, and to provide helpful tips and tricks for using AI to search for information and ensure that information is accurate. For this piece, I used the web-search feature of ChatGPT to locate and provide an overview of the information I will be detailing. With the increasing sophistication of AI-based web searches, using an AI search and then confirming its information can sometimes be more efficient than trying to find all the information manually with a traditional search engine. The key factor is to confirm the AI’s information.
To demonstrate this in practice, we will go over the information the AI provided me on the currently available accessibility features for large appliances and how I confirmed the data was accurate. The first part of your search will be your prompt, and you will want to be quite detailed here to avoid confusion from the start. You will specifically want to mention that you want the AI to perform a web search and preferably a deep web search, which increases the chances of gathering complete information and producing detailed feedback. This also ensures that the AI references documents directly and provides links to its sources, allowing you to double check what it is saying. If it relies only on its internal knowledge from training, hallucinations are far more likely and verifying where the information comes from becomes harder.
For this particular piece, instead of saying something broad like “please tell me about appliance accessibility,” I specifically asked the AI to search for “the latest information on cutting edge appliance accessibility as of 2025” and requested a deep web search. This resulted in a thorough search and return of information. The AI took almost two minutes to process, which is quite long for an AI search and gave me some confidence in the depth of the results. At this point, fact checking the AI is straightforward. I was presented with a sizable document containing detailed information on appliance accessibility, sometimes even straying further than I expected, such as discussing the accessibility of smart TVs. A TV is arguably a large appliance, though not the main focus of what I was looking for. Since the information came from a web search, anything it provided was either directly quoted or interpreted from a linked page. This meant I could immediately follow each link and verify the accuracy myself.
In some cases the AI had to interpret ambiguous material. For example, when discussing tactile stickers in relation to Whirlpool, it referenced this Forbes article. My reading of the same article suggested the author was speaking generally about tactile stickers rather than confirming Whirlpool produces them directly. The AI noted the uncertainty and included a qualifier which prompted me to verify. Because hallucinations remain a general concern, I am cautious about relying entirely on AI-generated information. However, when the AI provides direct links to each reference, it allows me to essentially perform my own research by reviewing primary sources, but with the advantage of having those sources gathered and summarized in one place.
The main takeaways from the search regarding accessibility features for large appliances are as follows.
GE offers a set of tactile stickers created in partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind. The product is called the GE Appliances Access Kit, and it includes more than 400 labels that combine Braille and tactile icons for people who do not read Braille.
For broader accessibility, many appliances rely on smartphone apps or smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo. Samsung provides accessibility information for its home appliances through the SmartThings app, and Samsung specifically mentions TalkBack accessibility within its documentation for using SmartThings with screen readers.
The Bosch website includes accessibility information and an “Accessibility for blind people who use screen readers” option on certain pages related to pairing and account setup, this appears to refer to the accessibility of the website itself rather than the Home Connect app. I did not find clear information stating that the app interface is fully accessible for screen readers such as TalkBack or VoiceOver. Because of this, you may want to test the app directly or search for information from other blind or low vision users of the app.
LG uses its ThinQ platform to offer a similar app-based control experience while integrating with home smart speakers.
On the hardware side, LG offers a product called the Comfort Kit, designed to attach to appliances to make them easier for people with multiple disabilities to use. This includes tactile differentiation that can help blind or low vision users. Samsung approaches accessibility through consistent design principles in its Inclusive Essentials program, which standardizes control layouts so that functions can be identified through multiple senses, such as touch and sound.
Beyond company-provided solutions, there are aftermarket tools for making appliances more accessible. Some retrofit speech feedback modules exist for washers and dryers in the European market, though it is unclear whether they are available in the United States. Tactile sticker options, such as HALOS markers, are available through specialty retailers like Independent Living stores and can be especially useful for users who do not read Braille. Additionally, many blind users continue to rely on analog or partially analog appliances, which can be marked with bump dots and easily memorized. This remains a reliable approach because such appliances cannot lose accessibility due to an app update or a connectivity failure.
It has been quite a while since our last appliance review, and I was hoping to find more accessibility advancements. However, it is encouraging to see app-controlled devices gaining traction and companies now acknowledging accessibility within their official documentation. The increased visibility of accessibility considerations in these apps makes it far more likely that blind screen reader or magnification users will be able to operate these appliances effectively. Smart speaker support adds another layer of convenience, especially for tasks that can be handled through voice commands alone.
