About
Tailo is an education-first AI platform designed to make academic reading accessible for students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, chronic illness, mental health conditions, visual impairments, and other disabilities. Rather than replacing students' thinking, Tailo works alongside their own academic materials to deepen comprehension and reduce the friction of heavy reading. Key capabilities include AI-powered summarisation of long research papers, text-to-speech for listening to documents instead of reading them, and customisable reading environments with adjustable fonts, spacing, and colour schemes to reduce visual stress. Students can also search for keywords, highlight passages for inline explanations, and get estimated reading times — all designed to support focus and reduce the need to re-read. Tailo also aids research management: it helps students discover relevant papers, prioritise reading lists, and avoid distraction loops. Its education-first approach means the AI explains and clarifies rather than writing content for students, preserving academic integrity. Tailo has been adopted across major UK universities including Surrey, Dundee, Lancaster, and The Open University. It won the 2025 Scope Awards Accessible Product of the Year. The platform is ideal for disabled and neurodivergent university students who struggle with the volume and density of academic reading, as well as DSA assessors recommending tools for students.
Key Features
- AI Summarisation: Converts dense academic papers and research articles into clear, digestible summaries so students understand content without re-reading.
- Text-to-Speech Reading: Allows students to listen to academic papers instead of reading them, supporting different processing styles and reducing visual fatigue.
- Customisable Reading Environment: Adjustable fonts, spacing, colours, and layout settings help reduce visual stress and make reading more comfortable for each individual.
- Research Organisation & Prioritisation: Helps students discover, organise, and prioritise papers so they can decide what is worth reading without getting lost in distraction loops.
- Inline Concept Explanations: Students can highlight confusing passages to receive instant, contextual explanations without losing their reading flow or concentration.
Use Cases
- A dyslexic student uses Tailo to summarise long research articles before deciding whether to read them in full, saving hours of reading time each week.
- A student with ADHD uses estimated reading times and chunked text to stay focused during study sessions without losing their place or needing to re-read.
- A student with chronic illness reduces visual fatigue by switching to text-to-speech mode, listening to papers while resting instead of straining to read on screen.
- A neurodivergent student highlights confusing academic jargon and gets instant inline explanations, maintaining concentration without switching between tabs.
- A DSA assessor recommends Tailo to students during needs assessments as an accessible, award-winning tool to support independent academic reading.
Pros
- Purpose-built for neurodivergent learners: Designed from the ground up for students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other conditions — not a generic AI tool retrofitted for accessibility.
- Preserves academic integrity: Tailo explains and clarifies students' own materials rather than generating content for them, keeping learning authentic and ethically sound.
- Award-winning accessibility: Winner of the 2025 Scope Awards Accessible Product of the Year, backed by real student testimonials showing measurable improvements in grades and confidence.
- Free to start: Students can sign up and try Tailo for free, lowering the barrier to access for those who may already face financial pressures.
Cons
- Primarily UK-focused: The tool is built around the UK DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance) framework, which may limit relevance and adoption for students in other countries.
- Web-only platform: No dedicated mobile app is currently available, which may be inconvenient for students who prefer to study on phones or tablets.
- Scoped to academic reading: Tailo is specialised for academic texts and research papers — it is not a general-purpose AI writing or productivity tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tailo designed for?
Tailo is designed for disabled and neurodivergent university students, including those with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, chronic illness, mental health conditions, and visual impairments. It is also used by DSA assessors recommending tools for students.
Is Tailo free to use?
Yes, Tailo offers a free sign-up option. It operates on a freemium model, meaning students can access core features for free with additional capabilities potentially available on paid plans.
Does Tailo write essays or assignments for students?
No. Tailo is education-first and works with your own academic materials to help you understand them more deeply — it does not replace your thinking or generate academic content for you.
What types of academic content does Tailo support?
Tailo supports dense academic texts such as research papers and journal articles. It can summarise them, explain concepts, read them aloud, and help you search and highlight key information.
Can Tailo help with research organisation?
Yes. Beyond reading support, Tailo helps students discover new papers, organise their reading lists, and prioritise what is worth their time — reducing the overwhelm of managing large volumes of research.
