The standard
We build and test against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
Under the European Accessibility Act the applicable standard is EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Everything WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires is also required by WCAG 2.2 Level AA, so the target above is the stricter of the two. EN 301 549 is named here because it is the reference the Act itself uses.
Automated checks help prevent regressions, but they do not prove full conformance or replace testing by people who use assistive technology.
Conformance status
Grounded is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA, and therefore with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements EN 301 549 carries. Partially conformant means most of the service meets the standard and some parts do not yet — or have not yet been confirmed to by testing that could confirm it.
We do not claim full conformance. Real-world screen-reader testing is still in progress, and no automated suite can settle that question. What is not accessible, below, is the honest list.
What is supported
- Keyboard operation, visible focus, skip links, landmarks, headings, and labeled controls.
- A screen-reader chat log that identifies the speaker and announces completed answers without reading every streamed token.
- Text-size, high-contrast, and reduced-motion preferences in chat, plus operating-system contrast and motion preferences.
- Focus containment and restoration for dialogs, keyboard-scrollable transcripts and data tables, and text alternatives for generated charts and math.
- Status text in addition to color for answer support, errors, loading, and administrative results.
Testing
Core routes are checked with axe-core against WCAG A and AA rules. Automated tests also cover 320 CSS-pixel reflow, key focus transitions, gated-chat initialization, and keyboard access to the transcript. We also review keyboard, zoom, forced-colors, and reduced-motion behavior manually.
What is not accessible, and why
- Screen-reader behavior is not yet confirmed. Testing with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack is ongoing. Automated checks read the markup an assistive technology could consume; they cannot hear what one announces, or judge whether the announcement makes sense in order.
- Several modes are implemented but unverified — forced colors and high contrast, reduced motion, 200% and 400% zoom, and parts of the administration and platform consoles beyond the areas tests already cover. The rules exist in the stylesheets; no automated test asserts their effect yet, and no dated manual pass is on record.
- Bot content is not ours. A bot's knowledge, wording, uploaded images, and generated answers come from its owner. We sanitize what is rendered and ask owners to review what they publish, but no test of ours can make someone else's content accessible.
- Owner-chosen colors are unchecked. A bot owner can pick any accent color; contrast against an arbitrary color is not currently verified.
Behind this page sit two dated reports: an engineering accessibility record marking every claim verified or unverified, and a conformance report (VPAT 2.5 / ACR against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the EN 301 549 baseline). Ask for either through the contact page and we will send it.
Report a barrier or request an alternative
If you cannot use part of this service, tell us on the contact page — choose Accessibility as the topic. You do not need an account to report a barrier or to ask for something in another format. Include the page, the task you were trying to complete, your browser, and any assistive technology you were using, if you can; a report without those details is still worth sending.
If the contact form itself is the barrier, the same page lists a plain email address that reaches the same place.
For a barrier caused by a specific bot's content — its knowledge, its wording, an image its owner uploaded — that bot's owner controls it and is the faster fix. Tell us anyway if you cannot reach them.
The Help page describes the main workflows and available controls.
How quickly we respond
We acknowledge an accessibility report within 5 business days, and send a substantive response — what we found, what we will do, and by when, or why we cannot — within 30 days of receiving it.
If the fix will take longer than that, the substantive response says so, gives a date, and offers the information or function in another format in the meantime.
If you are not satisfied with our response
Tell us first — the contact page is the fastest route to a fix, and it also identifies the operator behind this service, including a plain email address.
If our reply does not resolve it and you are in the European Union, you can escalate to the national authority designated under the European Accessibility Act in your own member state. Each member state designates its own; we do not name one here because which applies depends on where you live, and we have no establishment in the EU. Your national consumer protection or accessibility body can tell you which authority takes accessibility complaints about a service.
Outside the EU, use the contact page. If a national body handles accessibility complaints where you live, you may raise it with them as well.