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Good practice

Anthology Ally — AI-powered accessible course materials in higher education

United States of America · Boca Raton · See the United States of America profile

AI service embedded in learning management systems that auto-generates accessible alternative formats (audio, ePub, HTML, Braille-ready) for all course materials; 2,000+ institutions in 70+ countries, 73% market share in HE digital accessibility, 52M alternative downloads Jul 202

2000+ higher-education institutions
Institutions using Ally (as of mid-2025)
70+
Countries deployed
~73 %
Market share in HE digital accessibility tools
52 million downloads
Alternative-format downloads (Jul 2024-Jul 2025)
Anthology Ally — AI-powered accessible course materials in higher education

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Anthology (formerly Blackboard)
Period
2016–present
Keywords
education technology, higher education

Context

Anthology Ally is an AI-powered accessibility service embedded in major learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Brightspace). It was developed originally as the standalone product 'Ally' circa 2016, acquired by Blackboard, and is now part of the Anthology portfolio following the 2021 merger.

Objectives

To automatically convert instructor-uploaded course materials — PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint slides, HTML pages — into multiple accessible alternative formats (audio MP3, ePub, HTML, electronic Braille-ready, AI-powered translations), so students with visual impairments, dyslexia, auditory processing difficulties or language barriers can access materials in their preferred format without disclosing a disability or filing a formal accommodation request.

Activities

For instructors, Ally's Course Accessibility Report scores every uploaded file against WCAG criteria, explains specific barriers, and provides step-by-step remediation guidance, nudging improved content quality over time.

Results

As of mid-2025, Ally is deployed at more than 2,000 higher-education institutions across 70+ countries and holds approximately 73% of the digital-accessibility-tool market in higher education (ListEdTech data). Between July 2024 and July 2025, students downloaded 52 million alternative-format files through the system — a direct measure of sustained demand for accessible content. No peer-reviewed RCT specifically attributing improved learning outcomes to Ally has been published; the evidence base is strong on access and adoption but thin on attainment gains.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No public pricing figures were found in the fetched sources; Ally is a commercial add-on licensed to institutions as part of the Anthology / LMS ecosystem.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Deployed as an LMS-integrated service; the source material gives no rollout-duration figures, but LMS-plugin deployments are typically faster than curriculum-level reforms.
Staffing & skills
LMS administrators enabling the Ally integration, instructors uploading and improving course materials in response to the Course Accessibility Report

Conditions for success

  • use of a supported LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Brightspace) for Ally to integrate with
  • instructor engagement with accessibility-report remediation guidance to improve source content over time

Common failure modes

  • no peer-reviewed study yet links usage to improved learning outcomes, so impact on attainment (versus access/adoption) is unverified

Where it fits

Governance type
commercial vendor service (Anthology) integrated into institutional LMS
Scale
2,000+ institutions across 70+ countries
Income level
mixed (global higher-education market)

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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