Write Shopify Product Image Alt Text with AI

5 min setup

No coding required

Runs automatically

Most product images ship with empty alt text, which hurts accessibility and image search. This workflow runs when a product is created or updated, has ChatGPT write short, descriptive alt text for each image that is missing it, based on the product's title, type, options, and image position, and saves it back to the image in Shopify.

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Shopify Product Updated (Trigger)

Filter

ChatGPT Create Chat Completion

Shopify GraphQL Query

How it works

5 steps to fill in missing product image alt text with AI as products are added or edited

App connector: Shopify • Time to complete: 1 minute

Run when a product is saved. Product Created works too if you only want new products covered.

App connector: Loop • Time to complete: 1 minute

Loop over the product's images.

App connector: Filter • Time to complete: 1 minute

Continue only for images whose alt text is empty, so existing alt text is never overwritten and the workflow does not re-run on its own update.

App connector: ChatGPT • Time to complete: 1 minute

Send ChatGPT the product title, product type, vendor, the variant options linked to the image, and the image's position. Ask for one plain sentence of alt text under 125 characters that describes the product as shown, with no keyword stuffing and no phrases like image of.

App connector: Shopify • Time to complete: 1 minute

Run a media or file update mutation that sets the generated text as that image's alt text in Shopify.

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Ready to fill in missing product image alt text with AI as products are added or edited

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FAQs

Will this overwrite alt text I already wrote?

No. The filter only lets images with empty alt text through, so anything you wrote by hand stays as it is.

Does the AI look at the image itself?

This version writes alt text from the product's details and the image's variant and position. For close-up or lifestyle shots, review the first batch and edit any that need more detail.

Can I backfill alt text for my whole catalog?

Yes. Run a copy of the workflow from a Schedule trigger with Get List of Products, and it fills in every image that is still missing alt text.

Personalize this template

Customize this workflow even further:

Use Claude instead

Swap the ChatGPT step for Claude's Create Message action and keep the same prompt.

Add your brand name

Tell the AI to include your brand or collection name when it fits naturally, which helps image search for branded queries.

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fill in missing product image alt text with AI as products are added or edited

5 min setup • Fully supported if you need help