Free Alt Text Generator

What alt text does

The alt attribute is the text a browser shows when an image fails to load, the text a screen reader speaks to someone who cannot see the image, and the main signal Google Images uses to understand what a picture shows. One short sentence covers all three jobs when it describes the image plainly.

How alt text supports SEO

Google cannot see a picture the way a reader does. It reads the alt text, the file name, the caption and the words around the image to decide what the image shows and which searches it belongs in. Alt text is the clearest of those signals, and Google's own image guidance asks for a description that reads naturally and uses the keyword only when it fits.

• Google Images traffic. Product photos, recipes, how-to steps and charts get searched as images. A photo with alt text that names the product and the angle can rank for that query in image search; a photo with an empty alt attribute cannot.
• Topic reinforcement. Alt text that repeats the subject of the page tells Google the image belongs there. Six product photos on a page, each with alt text naming the product, are six confirmations of what the page is about.
• AI answers. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews work from the page text, and alt text is the only text most images carry, so a described image can be understood and shown beside an answer where an undescribed one cannot.
• Rich results. Product, recipe and how-to rich results pull an image from the page. Accurate alt text keeps the picture, the markup and the page text telling the same story.
• Accessibility overlap. The description a screen reader needs is the same description Google needs. Writing alt text for the reader first is the reliable way to write it for search.

The tool bakes this in. One of the three options is written for search: it works the keyword in where it truthfully describes the image and leaves it out where it does not. The suggested file name follows the same rule, because Google's image guidance asks for descriptive file names: pegasus-41-side-view.jpg says something, IMG_4821.jpg says nothing.

How it works

1. Upload the image, or describe it in a phrase or two. "A plumber tightening a fitting under a kitchen sink" is enough.
2. Name the topic of the page the image sits on, or the keyword the page targets.
3. Click Generate Alt Text. You get three options under 125 characters (one written for search, one for screen readers, one for context), a file name for the image, and a note on which option to use.
4. Paste the option you like into the alt attribute in your CMS or image block.

Use cases

• Blog images: product shots, screenshots and hero photos that need a description before publishing.
• Ecommerce listings: one alt text per product angle so Google Images can index each one.
• Accessibility audits: fill the empty alt attributes an audit tool flagged, a page at a time.
• Local business pages: photos of your team, your work and your premises, described so they support the page they sit on.

Example

Description: "Two hikers on a ridge at sunrise with a lake below". Page topic or keyword: "day hikes near Denver". Options the tool returns:

1. Two hikers on a ridge above a lake at sunrise on a day hike near Denver
2. Two hikers standing on a rocky ridge at sunrise with a lake below
3. Sunrise ridge view from one of the hikes on this list, lake in the valley

Suggested file name: day-hike-near-denver-ridge-sunrise.jpg. The first option carries the page's keyword because the photo was taken on one of those hikes. On a page about hiking boots the same image would get alt text about the boots, if they are visible, or an empty alt attribute if the photo is only decoration.

Tips

• Lead with the subject. "Golden retriever puppy on a vet's examination table" beats "A table with a puppy on it".
• Leave out "image of". Screen readers already announce that the element is an image.
• Match the caption, do not repeat it. If a caption already explains the image, the alt text can be shorter.
• Charts need the finding. "Line chart: organic clicks fell 41% from May to August 2026" tells a screen reader user what the chart says.
• One keyword mention, when it is true. "Pegasus 41 road running shoe, side view" ranks in image search for the product name. "Best running shoes cheap Nike Pegasus 41 buy" reads as spam to Google and to the person hearing it.
• Rename the file too. Alt text and file name are read together, so a descriptive file name backs up the description.