Amazon is expanding its accessibility efforts, introducing a new customer service option in French Sign Language (Langue des Signes Française, or LSF).
Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers who use LSF can now connect with Amazon’s customer service team through a video call.
They can start a call via the "accessibility help page" or "Contact Us" section on the Amazon website using a computer, smartphone, or tablet equipped with a camera. No special software is required.
The service connects users with professional LSF interpreters who facilitate real-time communication with Amazon support agents.
Amazon plans to extend the service to fully cover its customer service opening hours in France from 06:00 to midnight daily and to integrate French Cued Speech (Langage Parlé Complété, or LPC) by October 2025.
Cued speech helps deaf or hard of hearing people to distinguish sounds to better understand a speaker when lipreading.
The company already uses its Mobile Amazon Video Interpreting Stations (MAVIS) internally to provide virtual sign language interpreting for its deaf and hard-of-hearing employees in Europe, so that they can access services and communicate with colleagues in their primary language.
Yet, extending sign language support to its customers is a massive step in making customer support more accessible.
The French National Federation of the Deaf (FNSF) estimates that 100,000-200,000 people use LSF in France as their primary way of communicating. While many deaf people in France can read and write French, written French is often their second language. By offering access to its customer support services in LSF, Amazon ensures that these customers can explain their needs clearly and receive help without a language barrier.
"This initiative reflects our commitment to creating inclusive experiences for all our customers," said Samira Bejnouni Terlier, Head of Customer Experience in France at Amazon.
We want everyone to be able to benefit from the same level of support, regardless of how they communicate.
Given this objective, Amazon may grow the program across Europe, as it did with its virtual sign language interpreting services for employees, and perhaps further afield over time.