Innovations in AI are making it easier for businesses to enhance their agility in the global marketplace. From data analytics to content creation, brands are able to reach more customers and react to market trends faster.
This is putting pressure on marketers to deliver impactful work on a global scale with AI. AI is not currently able to match the creativity of human marketers, and over-implementation can lead to errors or cultural blunders.
However, AI does have a place in marketing, particularly in localization and translation of global content.
AI-powered localization enables brands to optimize their budgets and strategies, making global content creation more effective and accessible than ever before.
This technology helps companies engage audiences worldwide with content that’s both culturally relevant and targeted.
Brands that embrace AI are enjoying higher ROI from global marketing campaigns, and they’ll be better positioned for the future as the capabilities of AI expand.
The linguists at Wolfestone Group specialize in AI translation and localization for marketing. Below, we’ll share some of the latest trends in AI localization and explain how to responsibly implement AI into your global content creation processes.
What is AI-Powered Localization?
Localization is the process of adapting content to fit the linguistic, cultural and social nuances of a target market. Unlike simple translation, localization recognizes that language is about more than words. It considers factors like dialects, idiomatic expressions and cultural context.
Until recently, most localization was done by humans. While human localization is effective, it takes a great deal of time and effort to localize content for each market. Without major investment, businesses have difficulty maintaining effective localization, especially in a social-media dominated marketplace that demands rapid reactivity.
AI-powered localization improves this process by leveraging machine learning algorithms and natural language processing (NLP). Leaps in generative AI technology have enabled AI tools to translate faster and more accurately. And, they’re surprisingly good at interpreting cultural differences.
With AI’s analytical capabilities, companies can now automate the initial stages of localization and focus human expertise on high-level tasks that require nuanced understanding and creativity.
This balance between machine precision and human expertise is the key to quickly and effectively personalizing content for global audiences.
Just to be extra clear, human expertise is paramount in localization. AI can make translations quicker and more cost-effective, so budgets can be pivoted to more localization and internationalization.
How AI Localization is Changing Global Marketing
The integration of AI into localization is a necessity for brands that wish to survive. AI is already redefining how brands approach global marketing.
Here are a few ways this transformation is impacting the way marketers work:
1. Rapid and Cost-Effective Localization
AI-enhanced machine translation (MT) and machine translation post-editing (MTPE) have made localization faster and more cost-efficient (MT is standard AI translation, and MTPE is AI translation with human post-editing).
Brands no longer need to allocate extensive resources solely for basic translations. AI tools can process large volumes of text in multiple languages in seconds, ensuring companies can quickly adapt their content for international markets.
This is making a big difference in areas that require speed, such as social media marketing.
2. Enhanced Cultural Sensitivity
Pre-AI translation technology focused solely on translating words (think Google Translate). But AI goes far beyond that. It is able to incorporate regional dialects, local humor and culturally significant ideas. More importantly, it’s able to learn and adapt to cultural changes.
AI localization tools analyze cultural references and suggest appropriate changes to text, images and even color schemes, improving the content’s appeal to target demographics.
Companies that adopt this level of customization may see improved customer engagement and brand loyalty.
3. Expanding Market Opportunities
AI localization boosts competitive advantage by making global outreach more feasible for businesses of all sizes. This capability means that even small and medium-sized companies can aim for international growth without facing prohibitive costs.
For example, a mid-sized US e-commerce brand looking to enter multiple European markets can use AI localization to adapt product descriptions, marketing campaigns and customer support content quickly and affordably. This can accelerate market entry and allow brands to test the viability of markets at lower risk.
This change highlights the importance for larger, often less agile and more risk-averse companies to explore AI localization and content creation tools.
Unlocking New Potential for Global Marketers
To benefit from AI in localization, marketers must responsibly integrate these technologies into their existing workflows, with the help of a localization agency.
Here are some practical steps for doing so:
- Machine Translation for Speed: Machine translation systems can handle large volumes of content, making it easier to launch simultaneous campaigns in multiple regions. The key to success here is employing MT for non-critical content, such as internal documents, initial drafts of marketing materials and basic informational content.
- Professional Linguists for Post-Editing: AI can’t compete with humans when it comes to tone and cultural nuance (yet). For high-stakes content—such as marketing campaigns, product launches and client-facing documents—post-editing by professional linguists is still essential. For example, Wolfestone Group offers MTPE services that refine AI-generated translations to align with your brand identity and target markets.
- Develop Localization Style Guides: Create style guides that outline language preferences, cultural nuances and brand voice for each market. AI can be programmed to follow these guidelines. Update these guides regularly to keep your AI output relevant. As an example, Wolfestone Group would create customized glossaries, translation memory, and upload brand guidelines.
- Integrate AI with Translation Management Systems (TMS): Ensure that the translation management system of your chosen agency is compatible with AI translation and localization tools. This integration allows for seamless content updates and rapid distribution across regions. Consider partnering with an agency like Wolfestone Group to streamline your workflows.
- Combine AI Tools with Expert Oversight: Human localization professionals can identify where AI tools fall short and provide the expertise needed for complex projects, such as marketing transcreation or multimedia localization. There must always be an expert in the loop to manage AI.
Wolfestone Group: Leaders in AI Localization and Content Creation
Adopting AI technology in your marketing processes isn’t easy. It is a transformation that involves significant changes to your current human-led processes.
This transition can be risky if your team doesn’t understand the capabilities of the technology. This is why many brands choose to work with a professional AI localization agency like Wolfestone Group.
Wolfestone Group offers comprehensive localization services backed by AI technology and certified linguists. We help marketers manage AI localization and leverage human expertise for all of their global needs.
For the past two decades, we’ve helped dozens of businesses translate and localize engaging marketing materials for global audiences, and we’ve earned over 50 awards and nominations in the process.
We understand that effective localization comes from the partnership of AI tools and expert linguists. 100% of our AI translation and localization efforts are human-guided and backed by our industry-leading accuracy controls.
Partnering with Wolfestone Group enables you to integrate the latest AI localization tools into your marketing efforts without the risk.
Contact us today to learn more about expanding your global presence and strengthening the impact of your marketing efforts with AI localization.
