Seeing AI app launched by Haleon and Microsoft to enhance sight accessibility

Haleon and Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) announced a new collaboration on World Sight Day 2022 to enhance the accessibility of product labels for those who are blind, partially sighted or have difficulty reading due to low literacy. Seeing AI is a free mobile app, designed specifically for the visually impaired community, as a means of narrating the world around them.

The partnership aims to expand the functionality of the Microsoft Seeing AI app to provide further detailed information on labels for consumers, spanning over 1500 Haleon products across the UK and US, including Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Centrum and Emergen-C.

Haleon launched its ‘Always Read the Label’ campaign for World Sight Day, promoting its Seeing AI platform which scans the barcodes of Haleon products. In turn, users are able to hear important product information such as name, ingredients and usage instructions and retain a sense of independence.  

In the UK, over two million people are living with sight loss and 8.5 million people have very poor literacy skills. In an independent study of visually impaired people commissioned by Haleon, 93% of respondents said they do not feel health products are accessible enough and almost one in five have taken the wrong dosage as they were unable to read the packaging.

The app is free to download from the Apple App Store and will be available on Android in the future. In order to use Seeing AI on Haleon’s products, users should hold their phone camera over the existing barcode on the packaging, enabling the app to read out the product name and text.

The Haleon barcode feature will initially launch in the UK and US, with plans to expand worldwide and add additional languages in the future.

Saqib Shaikh, project lead of the Seeing AI app and engineering manager at Microsoft, commented: “I'm really excited to see the launch of this enhanced product recognition functionality, developed in collaboration with Haleon.

“Seeing AI's intelligent barcode scanner plays audio cues to help you find the barcode, and now the information displayed for Haleon products is coming straight from the manufacturer, providing richer information including usage instructions and ingredients. This can be invaluable for someone who cannot read the label, leading to greater independence.”

Tamara Rogers, chief marketing officer at Haleon said: “Helping people access vital information on our products is one of our first initiatives as we do our part to make everyday consumer health more inclusive. We hope Microsoft’s Seeing AI capability to narrate labels across Haleon’s products brings greater independence to our consumers.”