Access Friction

The effort, frustration, or barriers encountered when attempting to access technology, services, or environments. Access friction can range from minor inconveniences to complete exclusion and may result from poorly designed interfaces, lack of accommodations, bureaucratic processes for obtaining access, or technology that fails to account for diverse user needs. Reducing access friction is a core goal of accessibility practice, and low-barrier tools like generative AI can reduce friction for some users while potentially introducing new forms of friction.