AI Rewrote Cookie Banners Into Plain English — And They Finally Make Sense
Those pop-ups you blindly click 'Accept' on could soon be readable.
A feasibility study investigated the impact of applying plain language (Einfache Sprache) to cookie banners within the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework. The researchers analysed cookie banner texts from 200 websites, using AI-based mapping to categorise the extracted content into standardised processing purposes. By substituting complex legal terms with simplified descriptions, they demonstrated that the comprehension barrier can be lowered from a college-graduate level to a 7th-grade level. Still, the effectiveness of plain language is inherently constrained by the informativeness of the original content: it cannot compensate for banners that omit legally required details. The authors conclude that plain language is a vital tool for digital accessibility, but it must be paired with standardised implementation guidelines to ensure cookie banners are both readable and informative.
- AI rewrote cookie banner text from 200 websites, cutting the reading level from college-graduate to 7th grade
- Most banners today hide behind legal jargon, vague phrasing, and either too much or too little information
- Simpler words only help if the banner actually discloses what data is collected — plain language can't fill legal gaps
Why It Matters
You might finally understand what you're agreeing to — and refuse tracking you never wanted.