Choose alt text from the image’s job

Write the alternative for the information or action the image contributes on this page, not for the tool that generated it. An AI-generated model image might explain a product detail, decorate a campaign, or act as a link. Those roles need different treatment. Alt text is an accessibility decision; it is not a substitute for a visible AI disclosure or a product-accuracy review.

The W3C WAI image tutorials distinguish informative, decorative, and functional images. Their decision tree is a useful starting point, but context still matters. Review the image together with its caption, surrounding copy, and link destination before choosing the alternative.

Three cases to decide before writing

• Informative image: State the relevant information a reader would miss without the image. For a product detail, that may be a visible neckline, fastening, or view. Keep it concise and do not add material, comfort, sizing, or performance claims that the approved product information does not establish.

• Decorative image: Use an empty alt attribute when the image adds no information beyond the surrounding content and is not an actionable control. Empty alt is a deliberate choice; omitting the attribute is not the same implementation.

• Functional image: If the image is the only content of a link or button, describe its destination or action. If descriptive text already appears in the same link, avoid making the image repeat that label unnecessarily.

Read the WAI decision tree, informative-image guidance, and functional-image guidance for the underlying distinctions.

An original product-image review example

The following examples are hypothetical editorial exercises, not descriptions of a 404 Models customer campaign. Assume an approved product record identifies a navy jacket, and the reviewed image visibly shows its front and zip fastening.

On a product page where the image supplies that missing view, a draft alternative could be: “Front view of the navy jacket with zip fastening.” A reviewer should remove any detail that is not actually visible. “Premium breathable jacket with a perfect fit” would be a poor alternative: it makes claims the image alone cannot support and leaves the visible information unclear.

If the same image is the sole link to the jacket collection, use a destination-oriented label such as “Explore the jacket collection.” If it sits beside that exact text inside the same link, an empty image alternative may avoid repetition. If it is only a decorative background behind a heading that conveys the entire message, treat it as decoration rather than squeezing campaign keywords into alt text.

Generation can create details that do not match the item being sold. A visible zip in a synthetic image is not evidence that the real garment has that zip. Resolve that mismatch with the product owner; do not make the alt text conceal it. This is a separate approval decision from choosing an accessible text alternative.

Keep AI disclosure and product evidence separate

Mention that an image is synthetic in its alternative when that fact is part of the information the image communicates in context—for example, when the page compares a generated concept with a product photograph. Do not apply a universal “AI-generated” prefix without considering what the reader needs to understand.

Keep any required visible disclosure available to all readers in the page’s normal content. Accessibility guidance does not decide which legal, contractual, or platform disclosure rules apply to a campaign. Route those decisions through the campaign’s approval process, and use the existing AI influencer disclosure guide for that separate workflow.

A compact approval record for each placement

Record the page, image placement, purpose, approved product source, proposed alternative, and reviewer decision. A useful review asks:

• What information or action disappears if this image is unavailable?

• Is that information already supplied by text in the same context?

• Does the alternative describe only relevant, supported information?

• Does an image-only link have a meaningful accessible name?

• Is a decorative image deliberately empty, without suppressing information elsewhere?

• Has the generated image itself passed the product-accuracy and disclosure review?

Test the rendered page, not only the CMS field. Confirm the intended alternative reaches the image, check linked images with keyboard navigation and assistive technology, and check the mobile placement where captions or link labels may differ. A saved alt field alone does not prove the rendered experience is usable.

Put the decision into the production brief

Use one approved image inventory to keep the asset, placement, product evidence, disclosure decision, and alternative together. Do not reuse a generic keyword string across every pose or crop. Two placements of the same asset can need different alternatives because they serve different purposes.

For the surrounding campaign workflow, continue with AI model agencies for brands and AI influencer ROI metrics. Explore the studio, or contact 404 Models with the intended placements and product references. This checklist improves the specificity of the review; it does not promise rankings, traffic growth, accessibility conformance, or legal compliance by itself.