Translation doesn’t have to be slow, expensive, or manual anymore. Thanks to AI, you can translate content into multiple languages incredibly fast.
But if AI translation is so great, why do we still have human translators? What’s it all about?
If you’re wondering what AI translation actually is, you came to the right place. Keep reading to discover answers to ten key questions, and learn what AI translation is all about.
🤖 AI translation content series
At Lokalise, we aim to be your go-to guide on everything related to translation and localization. This is why we created an AI translation content series in collaboration with our experts, and this article is a part of it. Make sure to explore our blog for more.
1. What is AI translation?
AI translation is the use of artificial intelligence to automatically turn content from one language into another. Instead of just swapping individual words, AI looks at the full meaning behind sentences. This is how it gives you translations that sound more natural, fluent, and are ready to use.
2. How does AI translation work?
AI translation works by using machine learning models that have been trained on massive amounts of multilingual data.
Instead of memorizing a list of words, the AI learns by studying millions of real examples. Think books, websites, and articles. This is how it understands the way languages naturally flow from one to another.
When you give AI a sentence to translate, it doesn’t replace each word individually. It looks at the full sentence, figures out the meaning, and only then recreates it in the target language so it sounds natural. This is how it “rebuilds” the meaning in a new language.
In simple terms:
- AI learns from millions of examples of real-world translations
- It picks up patterns, meaning, and phrasing
- It predicts the best way to express the same idea naturally in another language
Because AI is constantly learning, the translation technology keeps getting better, and the efficiency of workflows increases as well.
🧠 The complex tech behind simple solutions
Most modern AI translation tools use something called neural networks, especially a type called transformers. This technology helps AI understand patterns, context, and relationships between words much better than older, rule-based systems.
3. How is AI translation different from traditional machine translation?
Traditional machine translation (like early versions of Google Translate) mostly worked by swapping words or short phrases based on pre-programmed rules or simple dictionaries. It didn’t really understand the sentence. It just tried to match patterns it had seen before (and this ofter resulted in weird translations).
AI translation, on the other hand, uses machine learning (specifically neural networks) to understand the full meaning of a sentence. It looks at the entire structure, context, and even relationships between words.
That’s why AI translations today sound much more natural and fluent compared to the rigid, word-for-word translations we used to get.
Here’s a simple overview of the key difference between machine translation vs. AI translation:
| Translation type | What it does |
| Machine translation | Swaps words based on previously learned rules |
| AI translation | Understands meaning and predicts natural language |
4. Can AI translation completely replace human translators?
AI translation cannot completely replace human translators. AI translation is fast, scalable, and getting better every year. This makes it great for high-volume, straightforward content. Think product listings, UI text, or basic support articles.
But when it comes to capturing nuance, emotion, or comprehending cultural references, AI still falls short. It doesn’t truly understand language the way humans do. It predicts patterns based on what it’s seen before.
🧠 Did you know?
Whenever you deal with generative AI tools, it’s good to have in mind that they are heavily reliant on the input. This means that, the more you feed AI translation tools with relevant data, the better the quality of translations will be. Discover more on how to provide AI with context, and you’ll be impressed with the level of accuracy you’ll get.
5. What are the benefits of using AI translation?
AI translation helps teams move faster, save money, and scale across languages without growing their headcount.
Instead of translating everything manually, you can handle thousands of words in minutes, and still maintain quality. To get there, you should combine AI translation with translation memory, style guides, and human review.
For example, Life360 used Lokalise AI to translate over 500,000 words into five languages in just one month. With traditional translation methods, that project would have taken weeks or even months.
By letting AI handle the first draft and having internal teams review it, Life360 cut costs by 80% and reduced turnaround time by more than half.
✨ Discover Lokalise AI
Lokalise AI helps teams translate faster and more affordably without losing control over quality. It combines AI speed with translation memory, glossaries, and human review to keep translations natural, accurate, and on-brand.
6. What are the risks or limitations of AI translation?
AI also doesn’t truly “understand” language; it predicts based on patterns, which means it can make mistakes with slang, humor, or industry-specific terms. In some cases, it might even reinforce outdated stereotypes or biases from the data it was trained on. (That’s completely on us humans.)
You should perceive AI translation tools as help, not as completely hands-off solutions. So, as you guessed it, human review is still needed here. Most people tend to perceive AI and human translation through “either-or” lens, while it’s really a matter of finding the way to use both, in a complementary way.
7. How does AI translation handle tone, slang, or cultural differences?
AI translation can recognize patterns in tone and slang if it’s seen enough examples during training. But it doesn’t truly understand them the way a human does.
It might get simple expressions right, but it often struggles with sarcasm, humor, regional slang, or culturally sensitive phrases. AI tends to play it safe and literal, which can make translations sound flat or weird. In a well-thought-out AI localization workflow, a translator can adapt the message naturally, while AI helps speed up the first draft.
🫢 A quick world on generational slang
Are we asking too much from our AI translation tools? Think about the Gen Z slang and the fact that sometimes you need a translation from “Gen Z English” to “Millennial English”. There’s even a Gen Z translation tool for this.
Generational slang is very interesting. It happens because each generation creates its own way of expressing identity, culture, and trends. Language evolves with music, technology, social media, and shared experiences.
8. How accurate is AI translation today?
AI translation today is surprisingly accurate for straightforward, general content. It can often reach 70-85% accuracy without human intervention. The more context and glossary support you give the AI, the better the results.
For technical, creative, or highly nuanced texts, the quality can drop. You still need an actual linguist to do a human review, catch any errors, or polish the tone. Still, even with post-editing, you’ll be able to save up a lot of time and resources.
9. When should you use AI translation vs. human translators?
AI translation is a great choice when you need to move quickly, translate high volumes of content, or cover many languages at once. It works best for straightforward materials. Think product descriptions, app interfaces, FAQs, and internal documentation.
However, when it comes to content that carries emotion, brand personality, or legal risk, you’ll want a human translator. Linguists and cultural consultants can help you out with marketing campaigns, translating websites, legal documents, and other types of high-visibility content.
📚 Further reading
Learn more about the cost of AI translation vs. human and all the possible trade-offs, as well as when you should use one approach over the other.
10. What are some use cases for AI translation?
AI translation is used to localize apps, websites, support content, product interfaces, and marketing campaigns much faster than traditional methods. It also powers real-time customer support, internal communication across global teams, and more.
Here are some of the ways teams are using it today:
- App and website localization: Launching your product in 10+ countries without months of manual translation work? AI makes that possible.
- Product UI translation: From buttons, menus, and error messages, AI handles all the repetitive text. Your developers don’t have to wait for too long to ship.
- Knowledge base and help center content: Need your support articles live in five languages by next week? AI can help you translate them quickly.
📚 Further reading
Learn more about different types of applications of AI in translation to discover its full potential. You’ll be surprised just how much AI can handle in your translation workflow.
11. What are some real-life translation examples where AI made a difference?
AI translation solutions are already helping global companies make an impact. Check the table below for a few real-life examples of companies that used Lokalise AI for translation.
| Company | What they do | Type of project | Results |
| Life360 | Family locator app | App translation (Finish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) and Dutch) | 500,000+ words translated into five languages under 1 month |
| Confirm | Employee retention and performance management solution | Software localization | So far, they translated into 9 languages; committed to continuous localization (launching a new language every 8 days) |
| Playtomic | A sports booking app | Customer support translation | Thanks to real-time customer support translation, they now respond to non-native tickets 76% faster |
As you can see, AI translation helps across all kinds industries and use cases.
12. What are the best tools and platforms for AI translation?
From ChatGPT, Taia, and DeepL, to more advanced AI translation tools like Lokalise AI, you have plenty of solutions to choose from.
We actually tested the best AI translation tools to give you a full breakdown of the top performing ones. Make sure to give it a read before deciding on the best option for yourself.
Some tools have proven to be great for quick, high-volume translation needs. But if you want more control, consistency, and a localization workflow built for scaling businesses, Lokalise AI is a strong choice. It combines AI speed with translation memory, glossaries, and human-in-the-loop review, so you can move fast without losing quality.
Want to see it in action? Sign up for Lokalise AI today.
