- Success Criterion 1.2.5
- Conformance level AA
Talking-Head Video Wrongly Assumed to Need No Description
1.2.5 — Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Scenario
Setting
A ride-hailing app's trip booking screen
What’s wrong
Claiming "no audio description needed" for videos that do contain meaningful visual info (talking-head exemption misapplied when slides/demos appear).
Example
<video src="/help/surge-pricing-explained.mp4" controls></video>
<!-- Team skipped audio description, assuming a standard talking-head
video. At 0:45 the video cuts to a static slide showing a price
multiplier chart (1.0x to 2.5x by demand tier) never mentioned in
the narration --> Why it matters
A blind rider trying to understand why their fare tripled hears general talk about high demand but never learns the actual multiplier numbers shown only on a silent slide.
How to test
Watch the video and judge whether it has meaningful visual-only content (slides, demos, actions): if so and no AD/transcript exists because the team assumed none was needed, it fails.
How to fix
The talking-head exemption only applies when nothing meaningful appears on screen; the moment slides or demos show up, description is needed.
<video src="/help/surge-pricing-explained.mp4" controls>
<track kind="descriptions" src="/help/surge-pricing-explained-ad.vtt" srclang="en" label="Audio description">
</video>
<!-- Added cue at 0:45: "Slide shows a chart: fares multiply from 1.0x
at normal demand up to 2.5x during peak demand." --> Outcome
A blind rider learns the exact multiplier range and understands why their fare changed.
Who is affected
Blind and low-vision riders lose access to the specific pricing figures, since the video was wrongly assumed not to need description just because it starts as a talking head.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Audio Description Track That Ignores Natural Dialogue Pauses
- Video With Visual-Only Info and No Audio Description Track
- Audio Description That Skips Essential On-Screen Actions
- Audio-Described Video Version That’s Broken or Blocked
- Audio Description Toggle That Doesn’t Actually Work
- Transcript Offered Instead of a Required Audio Description Track