ConWeb helped blind and low-vision users find more public-service information

Thirty blind or severely visually impaired adults used ConWeb and their familiar assistive software to search Bari’s municipal website. The study, published on 5 May, tested a voice prototype combining language-model interpretation with structured page navigation.[1]

The tasks covered service information, including identity-card and waste-tax procedures; they did not require completed applications or payments.[1]

Overall speech-interface usability scores did not differ significantly. ConWeb drew more annoyance, including complaints about slow responses. This was one website with repeated tasks: the denominator represents attempts, not independent users.[1]

Keeping control of the conversation

The design questions reach beyond speaking a request. In earlier design work reported at CHI 2023, Pucci and colleagues involved 26 blind and visually impaired people in studies of web navigation. A co-design session with five participants made control central: offer previews, allow interruptions, keep a way back and preserve access to the original text.[2]

Those requests address different moments in a search. A preview helps someone choose whether to follow a link; a bookmark helps them return; a brief summary can be expanded when the full wording matters. Conversation becomes a way to manage the amount and order of information.[2]

A well-structured page already offers a route through its contents. W3C’s accessibility guidance explains that headings communicate the organisation of a page and can support navigation within it. Heading levels should form a coherent hierarchy, and headings can also label page regions. For a council service, the practical implication is to give sections such as eligibility, required documents and application steps meaningful labels. Visitors can then identify the available choices before exploring the detail.[3]

For a public-service assistant, a useful design target follows: let the visitor ask directly, then keep the route understandable through spoken choices. The person should decide when a summary is enough and when to hear the source wording. That is a practical form of control worth building around.[2]

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