At Microsoft Build 2026, Jessie Lorenz, Carie Fisher, and I looked at what happens when AI accelerates software development without accessibility built into the workflow. We walked through the full software development lifecycle, from planning and design through coding, code review, CI/CD, and feedback loops, and showed how accessibility checks, tooling, and human review can help teams catch problems earlier.

Along the way, we shared examples from Microsoft and GitHub, including the Accessibility Assistant for Figma, deterministic testing for AI-assisted coding workflows, and GitHub’s Accessibility Scanner. The through line was simple: if accessibility is part of the process, AI can help scale inclusion; if it is missing, AI can scale exclusion just as quickly.