Automated PDF remediation: what software fixes and what needs a person

Automated PDF remediation handles the mechanical bulk of accessibility work. Software can tag structure (auto-tagging is where a reviewer looks first), set the document language, fix tab order, name links, build bookmarks and repair fonts, then re-check each change. Software cannot settle questions of meaning on its own. Whether alt text says the right thing, whether content reads in the order the author intended, and whether a color change is acceptable are judgment calls, so a person makes them. AI helps by drafting answers for that person to confirm. The table below maps each WCAG 2.1 AA check for PDFs to who resolves it and why.

How much software fixes

Software clears most mechanical defects. In Ockem's measurements across 12,689 findings in three document libraries in August 2026, automatic passes cleared 63–74% of defects. Counted by document across production documents in the same month, the median document still needs one manual check, and the 90th percentile needs two. The manual check we most often see left over is logical reading order, because deciding the correct order takes judgment.

Three ways a check gets resolved

• Software. A deterministic fix is applied, then re-checked by the rule engine. Nobody needs to decide anything.
• Software, then a person confirms. Software detects the problem and drafts or proposes a fix. A person accepts, edits or rejects it before it counts.
• A person. Software finds candidates and shows the evidence. A person decides, and the decision is recorded.

Check by check: who resolves what

This table comes from the WCAG coverage map for Ockem Proof, our product, which runs a rule engine built on veraPDF plus our own detectors. Other tools may draw some of these lines differently. Linked checks have a deep dive.

Why some checks need judgment

Alt text quality

WCAG 1.1.1 asks for a text alternative that "serves the equivalent purpose." Purpose depends on context. The same bar chart might need a one-line takeaway in a press release and the full figures in a budget. A photo of a building might be decorative on a cover and essential in a zoning notice. Software can describe what an image shows. A person knows why it is there. Drafts help a reviewer move quickly, and a quality check can reject empty answers such as "image."

Reading order and meaningful sequence

WCAG 1.3.2 says that "when the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence can be programmatically determined." Two parts of that sentence need judgment, whether the sequence affects meaning and what the correct sequence is. In a two-column newsletter with a sidebar and a pull quote, software can compare the visual layout with the tag order and flag pages where they disagree. Whether the sidebar belongs before or after the main story is the author's call.

Sensory characteristics

WCAG 1.3.3 says instructions must not "rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, color, size, visual location, orientation, or sound." Software can find phrases such as "the round button" or "see the chart at right." It cannot tell whether the surrounding text already gives a way to follow the instruction without seeing it. That takes a reader.

Contrast over images

WCAG 1.4.3 requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text. Measuring is mechanical for text on a solid background. Over a photograph, the background changes from pixel to pixel, and text that is part of a picture with significant other visual content has no contrast requirement. Deciding which case applies, and whether a fix such as darker text or a solid backing band is acceptable, is a design decision. Teams that rely on Acrobat should know that Acrobat's checker does not test color contrast. It always lists contrast as a manual check. This comparison was written by Ockem.

What AI does in PDF remediation

In its April 2026 interim final rule, DOJ wrote that "advanced technology, such as generative AI, does not yet reliably automate the remediation of inaccessible content at scale." The table above reflects the same reality. AI is useful for drafting the parts that need language.

• Alt text and longer descriptions for images.
• Document titles, when the title is missing or repeats the filename.
• Form field names, where the page prints no label.
• Table summaries.

In each case a person approves the draft before it is written into the file. In Ockem Proof, these drafts run on hardware Ockem operates, and no customer document content goes to a third-party model.

When you evaluate any tool, ask which checks a person confirms, who that person is, and how the decision is recorded.

How to plan the human part

• Expect a short list per document. Plan for about one decision on a typical document and two on harder ones.
• Batch similar decisions. Contrast failures across a document often trace back to a few template colors, so one decision can clear many of them.
• Fix the source. Templates with real heading styles, alt text and accessible colors mean fewer decisions on every new document.
• Record who decided. A decision with a date and an accountable party behind it is evidence. Ockem's certificate for each document states what software verified, what your organization attested, and what is not claimed.
• Listen to a sample. A certificate is evidence of conformance checks and attestations, not a usability test. For high-stakes documents, such as forms people must complete and notices people must act on, have someone test a sample of finished files with a screen reader such as NVDA, JAWS or VoiceOver.
• Decide who does it. Your staff can make the decisions, or an outside service can. Ockem's Assured option has our experts do the human-review steps for a quoted price, as shown on the pricing page.

See it on your own files

You can try one PDF (opens an external site) of up to 10 pages free, with no account, or read the product overview. To count your PDFs first, use the free PDF inventory tool. For the rules behind these checks, read Title II and PDFs and archive, keep or fix. For what remediation costs, see the cost guide.

Questions

This guide explains the rules in plain language. It isn’t legal advice. Check how they apply to your organization with counsel.