In the current study, CuAl0.7In0.3Te2 thin films with 400 nm thickness were deposited on glass substrates using thermal evaporation technique. The films were annealed at various annealing temperatures of (473,573,673 and 773) K. Furthermore, the films were characterized by X-ray Diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Ultra violet-visible (UV–vis). XRD patterns confirm that the films exhibit chalcopyrite structure and the predominant diffraction peak is oriented at (112). The grain size and surface roughness of the annealed films have been reported. Optical properties for the synthesized films including, absorbance, transmittance, dielectric constant, and refractive index were inspected at room and annealing temperatures. Results indicate that In-substituted films exhibit high optical absorbance in the visible region of electromagnetic wave. At 425 nm, the absorbance spectrum for the as-deposited film is increased by ≈ 36% for the In-doped film. Our analyzed results manifest that the annealed CuAlTe2 and CuAl0.7In0.3Te2 films possess direct optical band gap energies positioning in the range of 2.3–2.05 eV and 2.28–1.85 eV, respectively. Furthermore, it can be observed that annealing can enhance the optical performance of both pure and In-doped films. The obtained results are important to gain insight into the Cu–Al–In–Te compounds to be utilized in optoelectronic applications.