We are excited to introduce a new beta feature on the AppleVis website and would like community feedback to shape its direction and potential implementation.
Many in the AppleVis community may already be familiar with InnoSearch, an online shopping platform designed with a focus on accessibility. InnoSearch's latest offering, CoBrowse AI, seeks to harness the power of conversational voice commands and artificial intelligence to help blind and low vision users more easily navigate websites. We have recently been testing this technology on AppleVis with a small number of users in our community, and we are today launching a public beta as we continue to evaluate a potential CoBrowse AI implementation on AppleVis.
While we believe that the AppleVis website offers both a good and accessible experience, navigating our and any other website with a screen reader does require a certain level of technological proficiency--meaning that AppleVis' resources and community are out of reach for a subset of people who, potentially, could stand to benefit most from what we offer. We also want to evaluate whether CoBrowse AI could make our website easier to use for people who rely on voice-based technologies (like Voice Control, Siri, or Dictation) for some or all of their device interactions.
What is CoBrowse AI?
Developed by the team at InnoSearch, CoBrowse AI is a multilingual, navigational AI assistant that was created to help blind and low vision users more easily use websites on which it is implemented. Through voice or text input, CoBrowse AI users can perform a variety of tasks on the AppleVis website; such as reading the latest posts, writing posts and comments, searching for apps or information, and any other things one may wish to do. CoBrowse AI supports multiple languages, and we are very interested in feedback from users whose heart language is something other than English.
Unlike mainstream AI agents which open sessions as a virtual machine, CoBrowse AI works right in a user's browser and only on the websites on which it is implemented. CoBrowse AI is implemented through a lightweight java script that developers install on websites, meaning that it does not and cannot control your computer or device outside of the browser window and website on which it is being used.
We believe that CoBrowse AI may have particular value for people who rely on voice-based technologies for some or all of their smartphone/computer use, as well as for those who are newly blind or who have limited screen reader/technological proficiency. We also believe CoBrowse AI may have value for people who are interested in shaping the future of AI agents and similar technologies.
It is important to note that this public beta program is specifically for CoBrowse AI on AppleVis. AppleVis does not and will not have information about InnoSearch's plans for CoBrowse AI outside of our platform. Also, please be aware that CoBrowse AI is not a conversational AI assistant like ChatGPT or Gemini; its purpose is to help users navigate and interact with websites using only their voice, and, hopefully, make the web more accessible to more people.
Below are some examples of possible commands that could be used with CoBrowse AI on AppleVis:
- āOpen the main menu, and tell me what's there.ā
- āGo to the homepage, then go to the āLatest Apple Posts and Updatesā heading and read what's below that.ā
- āScroll down until I reach the comments section.ā
- āPress the Search button, and search for āSeeing AIā and read me the results.ā
- āTake me to the Blog and tell me the title of the latest post.ā
- āOpen the menu, click on the 'More' button, then click on the āGuides & Tutorials' link.ā
- āNavigate to the 'Add New Comment' heading and take me to the 'Subject' field.ā
- āTake me to the comment field so I can dictate a comment.ā
- āReread the comment in its entirety.ā
- āPress the 'Post' Button.ā
CoBrowse AI and Privacy
User privacy is a fundamental priority at AppleVis. AppleVis and InnoSearch do not collect any personally identifiable information from users of CoBrowse AI. CoBrowse AI voice chats are anonymized and transcribed into text by InnoSearch, and these anonymous text transcripts are used by InnoSearch to improve the CoBrowse AI product. InnoSearch does not store any voice recordings. AppleVis does not and will not have access to transcripts of your chats with CoBrowse AI, nor do we wish to do so. InnoSearch will provide AppleVis with anonymized and aggregated usage information, which will help inform us on uptake and efficacy of CoBrowse AI and help us determine whether to move forward with a pilot program for all AppleVis users in the future.
About the CoBrowse AI on AppleVis Public Beta
For this public beta, we are looking for AppleVis community members who either (1) Use voice-based technologies (Siri, Voice Control, etc.) for some or all of their device interactions; or (2) have a strong interest in interactive AI-based technologies and how these technologies can be used to empower and make the web more accessible for people who are blind, DeafBlind, or who have low vision. We are also very interested in feedback from assistive technology trainers or others in the blindness field, as we believe CoBrowse AI may have significant value for new users who are not connected with our or similar resources. Finally, if you speak a language other than English and are interested in helping us test this technology, we would greatly appreciate your efforts.
Testers will be asked to use CoBrowse AI in their daily interactions with the AppleVis website and to provide open feedback on their experience. Feedback will be anonymized and sent to InnoSearch for review and product improvement. Our experience has been that the team at InnoSearch is incredibly responsive to user-submitted feedback. As CoBrowse AI evolves, users will be asked to test and provide input on the changes being made.
Important Notes
By participating in the CoBrowse AI beta, you acknowledge that you understand the following:
- Participation in the CoBrowse beta is voluntary, and users should expect to receive no financial recompense for their involvement.
- As with all AI-based technologies, it is possible that some outputs the system generates may be unexpected, inaccurate, disturbing, and/or offensive. In the unlikely event that the system generates disturbing or offensive content, users are asked to immediately report the occurrence to the AppleVis Team.
- CoBrowse AI on AppleVis is in beta, and the outcome of this expanded round of community testing/feedback, along with anonymized usage information, will influence whether or not we move forward with a pilot program for all website users. The existence of CoBrowse AI in beta on AppleVis should not be taken as a guarantee that the feature will be made publicly available.
- CoBrowse AI is implemented on a per-website basis, and this beta program is only for CoBrowse AI on AppleVis. AppleVis does not and will not have information about InnoSearch's implementation of CoBrowse AI outside of our platform.
- AppleVis reserves the right to discontinue the CoBrowse AI Beta Program for any reason, with or without notice.
How to Participate
If you would like to participate in the CoBrowse AI on AppleVis public beta, please complete the form below. Please note that you will need to be logged-in to the AppleVis website to access and complete the form. Additionally, please ensure that the email address on your AppleVis account is up-to-date, as this is how we will contact you. All account-related options (including logging in and account management) are available by opening the Main Menu at the top of the page and navigating to the 'Account' button. Upon receiving your information, we will be in touch at the email address on file with next steps in the coming days.
We look forward to this expanded round of beta testing of CoBrowse AI on AppleVis and appreciate all those who participate.
Comments
how can I join?
I canāt see the form
Abdulaziz Faqihi
Are you viewing this thread using a content blocker, or in 'Reader' view? That could be causing the form to not display for you.
For Abdulaziz Faqihi
Hi Abdulaziz,
We received your participation request (along with the others sent thus far) and will be in touch with next steps later this week.
Best,
Michael
Beta testing
Hi, I just signed up for the beta. What are my next steps?
Next Steps
Hi Zac,
First, thank you for signing up for the CoBrowse on AppleVis Beta!
Towards the latter part of this week, we will be reaching out to beta testers with some tips and tricks to help users get started with CoBrowse on AppleVis. Once that initial information has been sent out, we will activate CoBrowse on your AppleVis account.
Thanks,
Michael
Questions and clarifications
Where is this feature exactly? Is it currently on the website? Before I saw this post, I actually got an email asking me to participate, but since I didn't find the task anywhere on the website to do this, I never paid much attention to it
Curious to see how it works
Really interested to see how this AI integration with websites and voice control works
So I signed up!
I mean I have so far, never seen any websites offering controls with voice before.
This would be great if it takes off.
Answers for Winter Roses
Hi Winter Roses,
Thank you for the questions.
For the time being, CoBrowse AI is enabled by us on a per-account basis; this was done so that we could test the feature internally and have a controlled rollout. Should we move forward with a pilot program for all AppleVis users, it will be enabled for everyone who is logged into the website. We did do an initial invite-only beta earlier this month, with the invitee list drawn heavily from those who participated in the recent discussion of ChatGPT Agent (as CoBrowse AI has some similarities with that technology). We are finalizing the getting started materials and hope to reach out to testers in the next couple days.
This sounds really cool!
I've enjoyed playing around with the other Innosearch oferrings thus far, and the team behind it seems solid. I'd love a shot at participating in the beta!
It seems like something like this would only be useful if somebo
From what Iām reading on this blood post, it seems like youād have to have prior knowledge of a website layout in order to give this AI commands. I donāt see how thatās useful with somebody who is looking at a brand new website that theyāve never explored before to be able to tell the AI where they need to go. You still have to do initial keyboard commands to explore a website before you know what to give the commands to the AI I would think. Iām not sure how thatās going to be that but for somebody who is just learning a website. I mean, it might be OK for people with this website if they already know it, but I donāt know how thatās gonna make navigation easier for people if itās a brand new website that theyāve never explored before. Maybe Iām not understanding it right, but thatās the way that it seems like it works so far.
Call browse AIās limited scope
Agree with singer girls observation. Letās be very clear that cobrowse AI only works on already fully compliant accessible and usable content and controls on webpages. It is not designed not as capable I believe, to work with any portions of a page where either the content or any of the control elements are inaccessible or not usable with screen readers. this is unfortunate however indirectly alluded to by Michael Hansen in his original post. Because it only works on content and control that are already fully Accessibility and usability compliant to screen readers, I personally donāt care to test it because I donāt find it helpful. I am a semi decent jaws screen reader user and on formatted accessibility and usability compliant pages, just using jaws alone is pretty quick and efficient to navigate. However again as the original post says, this really is for those who are weak in jaws screen reader usage and not proficient enough and therefore browse AI is an intermediate two to interact with an accessible and usable page for them.
Initially I was hoping that this is in his current form or at least there is some sort of a roadmap for the development of Cole browse AI where with some of the state of theart AI technology it would start making inaccessible content and controls on webpages not just readable but also allow clicks on inaccessible controls however alas, this is not the case. I fully appreciate how this tool can help those who donāt have screen reader proficiency. So kudos to the development team for coming up with this product targeting that sub user base inside the screen reader using blind population.
A Clarification About Scope
Hi all,
For clarity, we only have information about the implementation of CoBrowse on AppleVis. The presence of CoBrowse AI on AppleVis should not be taken as a statement, either express or implied, about what types of websites the technology may or may not work on. If you have questions about CoBrowse AI outside of our platform, please contact InnoSearch directly.
Re Singer Girl
On the point about requiring prior knowledge of the website, I donāt believe this is true.
You can simply start it up and ask āWhat is this website about?ā or āWhat are the main sections on this page?ā
This is a beta though so we will understand more about how useful it is or is not through testing and learning. We want to know how useful a tool it might be in real life.
Dave
Question about discussing feedback and implementation
Is there gonna be a separate thread for individuals in the program? What I mean is, I know that we can submit feedback through the email directly, but will there be a separate thread, like, on here directly, where members who our participating in the beta program can talk to each other about what is working, what's not working, and to also share tips and tricks? I'm sure that there will be plenty of feedback, but even so, what will most likely get prioritized is what the majority things or what is realistically viable to implement. I figured that since this is gonna be a team effort, shouldn't there be some public discussion, or, I don't know, like a private thread for us to talk about the experiences in real time, inside and outside of the official feedback emails for the participant. Not sure if this would work, but thought I would make a suggestion, just in case you haven't already thought about this angle. Are you still accepting submissions? I mean, members could talk about their experiences on this thread if you're gonna keep it open anyway
Using This Thread
Hi Winter Roses,
Great question. We envision this post being the main place for public discussion of the CoBrowse AI on AppleVis beta, be that by users of the beta or anyone else who has an opinion they wish to share. That being said, please feel welcome to share your experiences with us or the community in whatever format you wish.