Verified against ChatGPT · 2026-08-10
Batch-write alt text for a product image library that actually differs image to image instead of restating the product name
Writes distinct, accessibility-first alt text for a batch of product or content images, keyed to what's visually different in each shot, and flags any image where the alt text can't responsibly be more specific than a generic description.
The prompt
Ready to copy — highlighted parts are example details you can swap.
Write alt text for a batch of images. Each image entry below includes what's actually visible in the shot — treat this description as ground truth about the image; do not invent visual details that weren't given to you. IMAGES IMG-01: red ceramic mug, side angle, on a wood table with steam rising. IMG-02: same mug, top-down view showing the interior glaze color. IMG-03: mug held in a hand for scale. PAGE CONTEXT Product page for a ceramic mug in a kitchenware line, target keyword 'handmade ceramic coffee mug'. RULES Every alt text must describe what makes THIS image specifically different from the others in the batch — if two images are both of the same product, the alt text should distinguish them by angle, color, context of use, or whatever the given description actually specifies, not repeat the product name as if it were the whole description. Do not start every entry with "Image of" or "Photo showing" — screen readers already announce that it's an image; that phrasing wastes the reader's time on every single entry. Do not stuff the primary keyword into every alt text if the image doesn't actually depict that keyword's subject — alt text is for the person who can't see the image, not a keyword insertion point, and stuffing a keyword into an alt text that doesn't match the image is a disservice to that reader. If an image's given description is too thin to write anything more specific than a generic description, say so explicitly for that entry rather than inventing plausible-sounding specificity that isn't actually supported by what was described. Keep each alt text under 125 characters where the image content allows it, but do not truncate a genuinely necessary distinguishing detail just to hit that length. OUTPUT FORMAT A table: Image ID | Alt Text | Note (only if the alt text had to stay generic due to thin source description, otherwise leave blank).
Customize
Optional — swap in your own details for the highlighted parts above.
Why this works
Alt text generated in a single unconstrained batch tends to collapse toward near-identical output across images of the same product, because without an explicit instruction to differentiate, GPT-5.1's most probable completion for "write alt text for this mug photo" is a template built around the product name repeated with minor variation — explicitly requiring each entry to state what makes that specific image different forces the model to actually use the per-image visual details it was given instead of falling back on the shared product description. The ban on "Image of" and "Photo showing" openers targets a specific, well-documented accessibility anti-pattern: screen readers already announce the presence of an image before reading the alt text, so that phrasing is redundant noise on every single row of a batch, wasting a screen reader user's time across an entire product gallery rather than just one image. The instruction against keyword-stuffing images that don't depict the keyword's subject exists because alt text is read aloud to a real person who needs an accurate description, not a hidden ranking signal — an image of a mug's interior glaze does not become more relevant to "handmade ceramic coffee mug" by having that phrase force-inserted into its description, and doing so actively misleads a screen reader user about what they're looking at. Requiring an explicit flag when source description is too thin to be specific counters the model's tendency to hallucinate plausible visual detail (color, material, setting) that wasn't actually confirmed in the input, which matters for alt text specifically because a false visual claim read aloud to a blind user is a more direct harm than the same fabrication in ordinary marketing copy.
What you get back
IMG-01 | Red ceramic mug on a wood table, steam rising from hot coffee | IMG-02 | Top-down view of the mug showing the glossy interior glaze | IMG-03 | Mug held in hand, showing size relative to an average grip |
Verified against
ChatGPT GPT-5.1 · 2026-08-10
Changelog
- 2026-08-10 — Initial publish, verified against ChatGPT GPT-5.1.
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