Be My Eyes — Volunteer and AI Visual Assistance for Blind and Low-Vision People, from Denmark

Be My Eyes, created by Danish founders Hans Jørgen Wiberg and Christian Erfurt and launched in 2015, lets a blind or low-vision user show their surroundings to a randomly assigned sighted volunteer over live video, free of charge, in 180+ languages. In March 2023 it added Be My AI, built on OpenAI's GPT-4, for image descriptions and follow-up questions; Wikipedia reports one million sessions within two weeks of the open beta. The company positions the AI as a supplement to, not a replacement for, volunteers.
Scale figures vary by source and date: Creative Denmark cites over 7 million volunteers and about 600,000 users; Wikipedia cites over 9 million volunteers and over 900,000 users.
Evidence is mostly descriptive. A published survey of 30 blind Be My Eyes users (ACM) found short, frequent sessions; a 2025 focus study of blind and low-vision participants found reading text the most-requested task and generally positive feedback, with low-vision participants preferring Be My Eyes over paid professional service Aira. No outcome trial exists. Wikipedia notes criticism that data protection was insufficient, since data could be passed to third parties; AI description accuracy is not independently audited in these sources.

Read the full analysis: https://www.creativedenmark.com/cases/be-my-eyes-enabling-independence-and-enhancing-quality-of-life-through-collaborative-vision