5 Essential Features to Look for in Easy Read Software

Choosing the right easy read software features can make the difference between an accessibility tool that saves time and one that creates more work. If your organisation is looking at easy read software for the first time, it’s easy to get lost in feature lists that all sound the same. Most tools promise to “make documents accessible” — but the details of how they do it are what actually determine whether you save time or just create more work reviewing bad output.

The right easy read software features can transform how your organisation produces accessible content. Here are the five features that matter most when you’re comparing easy read software features options, and why each one earns its place on the list.

1. AI rewriting that preserves meaning, not just simplifies words

The easiest way to spot weak easy read software is to see what it does with a long, nuanced sentence. Tools that simply chop sentences down or swap in “simpler” words often lose the actual meaning — which is worse than doing nothing, because it can misinform the person reading it.

Look for software that understands context and tone, not just vocabulary. AskVERA, for example, reads a document and rewrites it in plain English with picture suggestions, aiming to keep the original meaning intact rather than just shortening it.

2. A compliance score you can check before you publish

Anyone can claim a document is “Easy Read.” Proving it is different. Good easy read software should score every document against a recognised standard — the EU Easy Read Guidelines are the most widely used — so you know exactly where a document stands before you send it out, rather than hoping it’s good enough.

This matters most for public sector and regulated organisations, where you may need to demonstrate compliance with the Equality Act 2010 or the Public Sector Equality Duty, not just produce something that looks simpler. If you work in local government or the NHS, see our guide to public sector accessibility in the UK for what this looks like in practice.

3. A built-in image library, properly matched to your content

Easy Read relies on pictures alongside text, not instead of it — the right image next to the right sentence makes a real difference to comprehension. Software without an image library forces your team to source and place pictures manually, which defeats a lot of the time savings the tool was meant to provide.

Check whether the tool suggests images automatically based on your content, and whether you can review and change them — automatic suggestions save time, but you still want editorial control over the final choice.

4. Flexibility in how you get content in

Organisations rarely have their source material in one tidy format. Look for easy read software that accepts a URL, a PDF or Word upload, pasted text, or search-based input, rather than forcing everything through one narrow upload path. The less re-typing or reformatting your team has to do before conversion even starts, the more the tool actually saves you.

5. Full editorial control before anything goes out

No AI tool should be a black box. The best easy read software shows you exactly what it’s changed, section by section, and lets you edit anything before you share it. Your team — not the software — should always have the final say on what a document actually says, especially for anything going to service users, patients, or the public.

Essential easy read software features: Putting this into practice

These five features aren’t a wish list — they’re the practical difference between software that creates real accessible content and software that creates a faster version of the same problem. When evaluating easy read software features, AskVERA is built around all five: AI rewriting that preserves meaning, a compliance score against EU Easy Read Guidelines on every document, a built-in image library, flexible input options, and full editorial control before you publish.

Learn more: See our complete easy read guide for comprehensive coverage of this topic.

Related reading

• The Complete Easy Read Guide
• Create Easy Read Documents in 5 Minutes with askVERA