diff --git a/lisp/ol.el b/lisp/ol.el
index 82fc69769..fa0ade8b8 100644
--- a/lisp/ol.el
+++ b/lisp/ol.el
@@ -255,6 +255,16 @@ See the manual for examples."
 	    (`(,(pred stringp) . ,(pred stringp)) t)
 	    (_ nil))))
 
+(defcustom org-link-abbrev-default-description nil
+  "Fallback behaviour for abbreviated links with no description.
+If this is nil, do not set a description; some export backends
+will use the fully expanded link as fallback.  If 'key-tag, then
+use the abbreviated form KEY:TAG.  If 'tag, then use TAG."
+  :group 'org-link
+  :type '(choice (const :tag "None" nil)
+		 (const :tag "KEY:TAG" key-tag)
+		 (const :tag "TAG" tag)))
+
 (defgroup org-link-follow nil
   "Options concerning following links in Org mode."
   :tag "Org Follow Link"
@@ -993,6 +1003,16 @@ and then used in capture templates."
 	   if store-func
 	   collect store-func))
 
+(defun org-link-abbrev-default-desc (link)
+  (save-match-data
+    (when (string-match "^\\([^:]*\\)::?\\(.+\\)$" link)
+      (pcase org-link-abbrev-default-description
+	('nil '(nil nil))
+	('key-tag
+	 (list (match-beginning 1) (match-end 2)))
+	('tag
+	 (list (match-beginning 2) (match-end 2)))))))
+
 (defun org-link-expand-abbrev (link)
   "Replace link abbreviations in LINK string.
 Abbreviations are defined in `org-link-abbrev-alist'."
diff --git a/lisp/org-element.el b/lisp/org-element.el
index a693cb68d..a82fce52a 100644
--- a/lisp/org-element.el
+++ b/lisp/org-element.el
@@ -3146,11 +3146,19 @@ Assume point is at the beginning of the link."
 	;; (e.g., insert [[shell:ls%20*.org]] instead of
 	;; [[shell:ls *.org]], which defeats Org's focus on
 	;; simplicity.
-	(setq raw-link (org-link-expand-abbrev
-			(org-link-unescape
-			 (replace-regexp-in-string
-			  "[ \t]*\n[ \t]*" " "
-			  (match-string-no-properties 1)))))
+	(let ((link-spec (match-string-no-properties 1))
+	      (link-beg (match-beginning 1)))
+	  (setq raw-link (org-link-expand-abbrev (org-link-unescape
+						  (replace-regexp-in-string
+						   "[ \t]*\n[ \t]*" " "
+						   link-spec))))
+	  ;; If there is no description, try to find a fallback.
+	  (unless contents-begin
+	    (pcase-let ((`(,default-beg ,default-end)
+			 (org-link-abbrev-default-desc link-spec)))
+	      (when default-beg
+		(setq contents-begin (+ link-beg default-beg)
+		      contents-end (+ link-beg default-end))))))
 	;; Determine TYPE of link and set PATH accordingly.  According
 	;; to RFC 3986, remove whitespaces from URI in external links.
 	;; In internal ones, treat indentation as a single space.