Found in Translation

How AI Is Helping Marketers Extend Global and Local Reach

Executive Summary

As the number of internet users rises around the world, multinational brands are looking for better ways to reach them. Historically, linguistic and cultural barriers have made translation and localization time-consuming and expensive. But new applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are helping marketers more easily connect with their target audiences, regardless of location or language.

How is AI helping marketers reach more audiences around the world?

AI-powered machine translation (MT), voice recognition and computer vision are enabling more efficient translation and localization of digital content and facilitating its distribution across geographies. Machine learning (ML) is also helping translation management systems (TMSs) streamline workflows and improve cross-channel localization.

What do marketers need to know about machine translation?

MT is already a game changer in helping consumers understand web content in different languages and helping businesses speed up their translations, improve quality and reduce costs. While it has improved dramatically in recent years, MT still cannot replace human translation, especially for marketing projects that require high-caliber work.

What role are voice assistants, chatbots and real-time translation tools playing in this equation?

Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with voice interfaces, many of which can understand, translate and converse in multiple languages. Over time, voice-first technology will help to further break down language barriers and enhance cross-cultural communication. It will also facilitate more dialogue between marketers and consumers who cannot read or use text.

How is technology affecting the global labor market for translation and localization?

The language services industry, which performs a significant portion of the world’s translation and interpretation work, is in the midst of digital transformation, both in terms of how translations are done and workflows are managed. As a result, many linguistic professionals fear their jobs will become obsolete. While AI is improving productivity, it isn’t likely to replace humans anytime soon. The industry will, however, favor those who use technology to improve their productivity.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report examines how AI and related technologies are making it easier and more cost-effective for marketers to reach target audiences with globalized and localized content.

KEY STAT: Nearly six in 10 (58%) international marketers don’t have local support in all the markets in which they operate.

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22expert perspectives

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Bridging the Language and Culture Gap
  3. The Marketer’s Challenge
  4. The Rise of the Machines
  1. AI Transforms the Language Services Industry
  2. Ten Best Practices for Marketers
  3. Key Takeaways
  4. eMarketer Interviews
  1. Read Next
  2. Sources
  3. Media Gallery

Interviewed for This Report

Hannes Ben
Locaria
Founder
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Renato Beninatto
Nimdzi Insights
CEO
Interviewed April 1, 2019
Ashton Braun
Silo
Founder, CEO
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Kathrin Bussmann
Verbaccino
Founder, Principal
Interviewed April 4, 2019
Adrian K. Cohn
Smartling
Director, Brand Strategy and Communications
Interviewed April 29, 2019
Alex Collmer
VidMob
Founder, CEO
Interviewed April 1, 2019
Thomas Ellingson
Landor
Executive Director
Interviewed March 29, 2019
Florian Faes
Slator
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Allison Ferch
Globalization and Localization Association (GALA)
Executive Director
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Bruno Herrmann
Global Advisor in Digital Experiences, Products and Content
Interviewed April 4, 2019
Faryal Khan-Thompson
Tag
Head, World Writers for the Americas
Interviewed April 10, 2019
Daniel Knijnik
Quartile
Co-Founder, CEO
Interviewed August 29, 2018
Johji Kuroda
Sourcenext Inc.
Director, Business Development
Interviewed April 4, 2019
Diaz Nesamoney
Jivox
Founder, CEO
Interviewed April 4, 2019
Bruce Orcutt
ABBYY
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Ganesh Padmanabhan
Molecula
Chief Revenue Officer
Interviewed April 1, 2019
Ravi N. Raj
Passage AI
Co-Founder, CEO
Interviewed April 2, 2019
Antonio Tejada
Capita Translation and Interpreting
Managing Director
Interviewed April 5, 2019
Jack Welde
Smartling
Co-Founder, CEO
Interviewed May 1, 2019
Katie White
Movable Ink
Associate Director, Client Strategy
Interviewed April 22, 2019
Kazaf Ye
Timekettle Technologies
Senior Marketing Executive
Interviewed April 1, 2019
John Yunker
Byte Level Research
President
Interviewed March 30, 2019

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authors

Victoria Petrock

Contributors

Matteo Ceurvels
Research Analyst
Blake Droesch
Junior Analyst
Jasmine Enberg
Senior Analyst
Chris Keating
Research Director
Jillian Ryan
Principal Analyst
Tracy Tang
Senior Researcher
Peter Vahle
Forecasting Analyst

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