We’ve all used machine translation tools, like Google Translate and DeepL, and know that they don’t always hit the mark. The translations can be amusing if you’re translating for yourself, but they could make for a poor customer experience in a business context.
Professional translators can adapt your content to new audiences and avoid embarrassing translation gaffes. But such services can be both time-consuming and costly.
This is where artificial intelligence (AI) localization can help.
AI localization uses AI to automate and deliver translations that consider both regional and cultural differences, as well as other contexts like brand voice, industry, and more.
Before going over some common misconceptions and how to pick the right AI tool, let’s dive deeper. We’ll explain what AI localization is, how it works, and how it differs from traditional localization.
What is AI localization?
AI localization uses AI to adapt content to fit the cultural and linguistic context of different regions. It goes beyond direct word-for-word translations, which don’t always capture the meaning of a source language when translated.
For example, with an AI localization tool like Lokalise AI, you can add context and get more accurate translations — something that’s not possible with tools like Google Translate.
How AI localization differs from traditional localization
Let’s say you’re localizing an iOS app for a French audience.
Traditionally, this process would require human translators and localization experts familiar with the target language and culture. They would translate the content and ensure it fits the audience’s cultural and regional preferences. This means adapting things like date and time formats, currencies, and units of measurement. However, this process can be time-consuming, costly, and prone to inconsistencies due to human variability.
AI localization uses technologies like machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to streamline the localization process. These systems can analyze, translate, and adapt content at a faster pace than human translators.
Of course, AI tools aren’t completely free of error. A hybrid approach that combines machine translation post-editing (MTPE) with human editors helps ensure the cultural appropriateness and quality of translated content.
How AI localization works
When Google launched Google Translate back in 2016, its goal was to “break language barriers.” Machine translations (MT) have greatly improved since then. But these tools still struggle with conveying the original meaning of a source language. The reason is because these tools often perform direct word-for-word translations.
For example, you might say “break a leg” to someone before a big performance to wish them luck. However, translating the same phrase to Chinese in Google Translate quite literally means “break a leg.”
MT systems rely heavily on predefined rules to generate translations, but they can lead to inaccuracies (as seen above). The reason? They don’t consider context when translating source languages.
The stakes are low if you’re using these tools to converse or game with a friend. However, relying on them in a professional setting can affect customer experiences.
AI localization tools are a major step up from MT systems. For example, Lokalise AI is powered by large language models (LLMs), which enables it to learn from large datasets. This helps deliver translations that sound more natural.
That’s not all; We add an extra layer to these models to deliver more accurate translations. For example, you can now add context or “prompts” to your translations.
By giving AI translation tools more context, you can ensure your translations are more accurate and on-brand. What’s more, machine learning algorithms improve accuracy over time — useful if you’re working with languages that have technical or complex jargon.
The benefits of AI localization
The world continues to move at a fast pace. Using AI tools to localize your content allows you to meet evolving demands and reach diverse audiences more effectively.
Here are a few key benefits of AI localization.
Cost savings
Technology has certainly come a long way in translating content, But there’s still no real substitute for human translators. However, human translations aren’t cheap.
The average price of translations is $0.22 per word in the US. The following table shows average prices for different language pairs.
Based on these rates, you can expect to pay over $200 to get a 1,000 word document translated for professional translations. These costs can add up depending on how much you need to translate and the language pair (specialized pairs generally cost more).
The biggest benefit of AI localization tools is the potential cost savings. With Lokalise AI, you can upload your style guide and glossary, add instructions, and get human-sounding translations — all at the click of a button.
Don’t take it from us, though. Here’s what Joaquín Muñoz, Localization Manager at Life360, said:
“With AI we cut time in less than half and costs by 80%, so big savings in time and money with the same output at the end.”
Read more on how Life360 translated their whole app into five languages in one month.
Fewer translation errors
Nobody makes mistakes on purpose.
Incorrect translations are often fun to laugh at, but there’s simply no room for them in the business world. Any localization inaccuracies can affect your company’s brand reputation and even lead to a loss in credibility.
AI localization tools use historical data and are continuously learning to improve the quality and accuracy of translations over time. What’s more, you can train AI on specific datasets to generate more accurate translations.
Some tools like Lokalise AI perform localization quality assurance using the Dynamic Quality Framework – Multidimensional Quality Metrics (DQF-MQM) framework to identify linguistic issues and create detailed reports.
At the top of the report, you’ll see a quality metric scorecard with detected errors. The tool also provides suggested corrections to fix identified issues.
Faster time to market
Efficiency is key when expanding into new regions. The longer you take, the more time you give your competitors to build their presence and capture market share. However, a potential bottleneck is localizing your content, especially if you’re not using the right tools.
AI localization can localize your content for different regions in a fraction of the time that traditional methods would take. This rapid turnaround time means your company can quickly launch new products and services in multiple markets and stay ahead of the competition.
Tools like Lokalise AI can help you scale translations and reduce the time it takes to localize your product. As Edward Cooper, Head of Mobile at Revolut, said:
“Without Lokalise, Revolut’s growth would be slower.”
Learn how Revolut used Lokalise to localize its app in over 30 languages.
Common misconceptions about AI localization
Despite the growing adoption of AI localization, there are still several misconceptions that persist about its capabilities. Let’s clear up these misconceptions so you can fully leverage the potential of AI localization.
AI replaces the need for human translators
AI and localization have made significant strides in recent years. However, AI isn’t ready to replace localization managers.
Human translators still play a key role in ensuring the cultural appropriateness and relevance of translated text. Instead, it’s best to think of AI as a tool that can streamline the localization process. When you combine it with a translation management system (TMS) like Lokalise, you can streamline your translation workflow and efficiently collaborate with other stakeholders.
AI is free of errors
AI-powered translation tools are getting better with each iteration, but they’re far from perfect. They can still make mistakes when dealing with complex linguistic nuances or idiomatic expressions. Localizations will still require some degree of human oversight for quality control.
AI lacks privacy
Another misconception is that using AI for localization lacks privacy. This likely stems from the fact that AI tools need to process large amounts of data to function effectively.
If you’re using AI translation tools like Lokalise AI, you can rest assured that we take the privacy and security of your data seriously. Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we facilitate data transfer between Lokalise AI and OpenAI.
OpenAI uses industry-standard encryption to protect your data during transit and at rest. Lokalise and OpenAI won’t store or use your data for training learning models unless you opt in.
Common challenges for localizing content with AI
AI localization offers significant advantages in terms of speed and efficiency, but it also has its own set of hurdles. Here are some localization issues you may face and how to address them.
Handling “low-resource languages”
LLMs need large volumes of training data. Low-resource languages refer to languages that lack sufficient quality data for AI tools to learn more from.
Using AI to localize content into a low-resource language may lead to inaccurate translations. Examples include Afrikaans, Swahili, and Belarusian. With Lokalise, you can upload a style guide and glossary to improve the accuracy of your translations.
Checking the quality of localized content
Poor localization can negatively affect the user experience. That’s why having quality control processes and performing localization quality assurance (LQA) checks are so important as they can identify translation errors.
When you run the AI LQA task in Lokalise AI, it will automatically identify and categorize linguistic issues based on the DQF-MQM framework. It will also leave a short description of the error and provide suggested corrections.
A human reviewer can then review these suggestions and either approve or reject them.
Providing the right context
Context is king when it comes to localization. Without the right context, even the best AI translation tools may fail to preserve the original meaning of the source text.
With Lokalise AI, you can add context (similar to prompts) to your translations and get more accurate results. Open the AI assistant and click the Add context button. From there, you can provide context like brand voice, industry, and preferred length for your translation.
Click the Translate button to get a new translation. On the next page, you can either approve or discard the translation.
Accommodating design changes
Localizing content can “break” designs. For example, the text “Buy now” may fit in a button but translating it to “comprar ahora” in Spanish may cause the text to run off the side of the button.
With Lokalize AI, you can shorten translated copy to fit existing designs at the click of a button.
This saves your design team from having to redesign on-page elements like buttons for new translations.
Best practices for AI-powered localization
AI localization can enhance the efficiency of localizing your content for global markets. Follow these best practices to set yourself up for success.
Create and upload localization glossaries
Translating the same terms over and over again just isn’t the best use of your time. That’s where a localization glossary comes in. It contains a list of industry-specific terms or phrases along their translations.
For example, let’s say you’re localizing a digital banking app. In the image below, we see the phrase “current account” in English. However, the localization team wants to use “cuenta nómina” — a common account type in Spain. You can add and approve “cuenta nómina” as a glossary term for “current account.” This helps maintain consistent translations across your projects.
Follow these tips to create a glossary:
- Add sufficient context to your glossary terms to ensure all users can understand and interpret them.
- Have linguistic experts familiar with the target language and culture review your glossary terms for accuracy.
- Use the “Extract terms” feature in Lokalise to automatically extract and add repeating terms to your glossary.
With Lokalise AI, you can upload your glossaries and easily share them with your team to streamline the localization process.
Create a style guide
Brand consistency plays a crucial role in reinforcing brand recognition. But it’s not just about using the same logo and colors across different locations. Just as you’d provide human translators with a style guide, the same applies when using AI localization tools like Lokalise AI.
A well-crafted style guide can help you create consistent user experiences and stay on brand in any language. Style guides typically include grammar and style, tone of voice, preferred terminology, and cultural references. The more detailed your style guide is, the more accurate your translations will be.
Follow these best practices when creating a style guide:
- Create rule-based instructions: AI systems are still machines. Style guides need clear instructions on how to handle things like tone, idioms, and slang. It also helps to provide examples with each rule you add to your guide.
- Use structured headings: Headings, like Abbreviations, Numbers, and Dates, make it easier for AI translation tools to find the information they need. Structure your style guide in an organized manner with categories.
- Avoid contradicting rules: Contradicting rules can confuse AI translation tools. In some cases, you may need to create separate style guides for certain types of content. For example, you could have an informal tone for blog posts and a formal tone for technical documents.
Need help creating a style guide? Get our free template and learn how to create style guides that ensure consistent and on-brand localizations for your brand.
Leverage translation memory
When localizing content for the first time, you may find yourself repeatedly translating the same terms. With translation memory, you can create and access a database with approved translations.
AI translation tools like Lokalise AI can access these translations and use them to fit similar contexts. For example, if you’re uploading a translation file, you can enable the Pre-translate 100% TM matches option which looks for a matching entry in the translation memory and applies the translation.
It’s a huge time-saver when localizing projects.
Test localized products with target audiences
Nothing beats the human factor.
While AI can streamline the localization process, it’s a good idea to get feedback from local experts who can ensure the accuracy and cultural relevance of your translated content.
Choose the right tools
There’s no shortage of AI translation tools on the market. Each has their unique strengths and weaknesses.
If you’re looking for a tool that supports a range of languages, delivers accurate translations, and provides a user-friendly interface, then look no further than Lokalise AI.
Lokalise AI is one of the most powerful generative AI tools. It helps teams localize content faster and more efficiently. It also allows you to provide context — simply describe what you want to translate and it’ll deliver human-sounding translations.
Key features include:
- Support for over 30 languages
- Option to add style guides and glossaries
- Built-in translation management system
- Integrations with popular platforms
- Detailed translation reports
And more.
See how Lokalise AI compares to other AI localization tools.
Better translation starts with Lokalise
Machine translation tools are great for low-stakes tasks, like messaging a friend. But using them to localize business websites or apps is risky — inaccurate translations can leave users with a poor impression of your brand.
With an AI localization tool like Lokalise AI, you get a powerful assistant that can help you scale translations and deliver content that reflects your brand’s voice and tone.
Take a product tour or start a free trial to see how Lokalise AI can help you reach global audiences.
