AI in Translation – Make It Work for You
Opportunity, Choice and Risks
Artificial intelligence is currently everywhere, and it is being used for all kinds of tasks. Writing and translating texts using AI has become routine in investor relations work. In financial reporting, automated translation is now a software feature of reporting platforms that can be turned on by clicking on a button. The idea is to shorten workflows and produce reports faster and more easily. But in this process, quality considerations have moved down the ladder. Speed and ease-of-use are good, but we believe quality in written communications is still essential for a company’s image and branding. We can help you meet the high quality standards your stakeholders expect.
Choosing the Right Approach
We help you define a translation strategy that fits your organization. Together, we assess
- Your communication needs
- Your quality requirements
- Your internal workflows
- Actual benefits of AI in your specific context
What you need for successful AI use
- Your company-specific and product-specific terminology
- Defined style rules and wording conventions
- Your company-specific translations and content as a knowledge base
Combined with the right processes, these assets turn AI from a generic tool into a tailored solution for your business. Because in the end, translation is not just about words. It is about getting your message right.
What AI can do – and where it falls short
Automated translation tools use neural machine translation technology and large language models. It is important to be aware that these tools do not understand meaning in a human sense, nor can they reliably judge context, intent or correctness.
AI uses
- Provide fast draft translations
- Support internal communication where staff can check for correct content without striving for high quality
- Summarize content
- Increase speed in high-volume translation
AI limitations and risks
- Legally sensitive texts – no judgment
- Company-specific and industry-specific terminology – no understanding
- Brand voice and style consistency – risk of reputational damage
- User is responsible for correctness, not AI – litigation risk
- Lacks decision-making capability, e.g., when to use officially translated materials (e.g. EU legislation)
AI offers speed. Human expertise ensures quality.
The challenge is not choosing one over the other, but finding the right balance for your organization. We help you navigate this decision.
Any AI-supported translation process requires qualified human control:
- To review and correct output
- To ensure consistency and accuracy
- To assess whether AI is appropriate in the first place
The missing piece: Strategy
Technology alone is not a solution. What most companies lack is a clear strategy.
- Which content can safely be automated?
- Which texts can be automated – and under what level of supervision?
- Which texts require professional human translation?
- Where is human expertise essential?
- Who is responsible for quality control?
- How to integrate AI into your workflow without compromising quality
- How to define roles and responsibilities within your workflows – authors, reviewers, language experts, domain experts
- How do you ensure consistency across languages and channels?
- How to avoid risks – litigation risk, reputational risk and security risks
We support you in making informed decisions.