How to give links and buttons accessible names for AI agents

AI Search Score checks that your interactive elements have accessible names — text or an aria-label an agent can read. Part of Google’s experimental Agentic Browsing signals.

Why this matters

AI agents navigate using the accessibility tree — the same structure screen readers use. A button with no text and no label (an icon-only button, say) is invisible to them: they can see something is there but not what it does. Giving every control a clear accessible name makes your page navigable by agents and by people using assistive technology alike. This is an emerging signal, but it’s also simply good accessibility.

How to fix it

• Give links and buttons visible text wherever possible (“Get a quote”, not a bare arrow icon).
• For icon-only controls, add an aria-label (see the example below).
• For image links, ensure the image has descriptive alt text — that becomes the link’s name.
• Avoid controls whose only “label” is a decorative icon with no text alternative.

An icon-only button with an accessible name looks like this:

<button aria-label="Search">🔍</button>

How to check it worked

Re-scan. “Interactive elements have accessible names” should turn green. If it’s failing, look for icon-only buttons or empty links and add labels. (Informational pillar — doesn’t move the main score, but signals agentic readiness.)

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