Introducing Transifex AI

Will AI language models upend the localization industry? We aim to find out with Transifex AI.

Much has been written about the disruptive power of large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Some believe these models will drive a step change in productivity and create entirely new industries, while others warn that left unchecked, these models could lead to an extinction-level event.

We stand firmly in the not-the-end-of-the-world camp. Generative AI can bring amazing innovation to our industry, and innovation is what fuels Transifex. To wit, our origin story.

As you may know, our original technology was conceived in 2007 as an open-source project, and when Transifex was founded two years later, Redhat used our technology to translate its OS. That was a great start, and it’s been followed by milestone after innovative milestone, all on the path to a more automated, seamless localization solution for our customers.

We launched Transifex Live in 2014, working through our first snippet of javascript, and later Transifex Native allowed the automatic translation of source content in parallel with the development process. It’s why customers are excited to use our platform – setup is easy, and then they can forget it’s even there.

So can these AI models make things even better? They certainly hold great promise. Natural language processing (NLP) technology uses machine learning to understand and replicate human communication. Once these systems are trained, they can assist in translation and save users a lot of time through automation. Therefore human translators can focus on where they add the most value – ensuring accuracy and quality.

So while the nuances of localization are still in the human domain, NLP technology can turbocharge the front end of the process, potentially having a meaningful impact on productivity.

At Transifex, we’re excited to explore the possibilities of AI through our new initiative, Transifex AI. We’re building a solution to provide our users with unparalleled translation speed, which can further unlock the undisputed benefits of localization.

Consistent with our approach to any product enhancement, we’re building Transifex AI with a focus on ease of use. Without any configuration, users will have single-click access from within the editor, allowing them to directly translate a string, shorten it, enhance it for SEO purposes, or rephrase it.

We’re moving quickly with Transifex AI, and in this exploratory phase, we’re looking for Beta program users. If you want to chart the future with us, you can learn more about the program here.