Chat Translate and language detection
Detect visitor language and translate conversation text, AI suggestions and supported transcripts.
What it is
Chat Translate translates conversation text for operators and visitors. Detect Language identifies a visitor's language for supported AI behaviour. Translation can also help operators review Copilot suggestions, summaries and historical transcripts.
Who uses it and why
Operators use translated messages to work with visitors who speak another language. Visitors can receive replies in their language. Administrators choose the AI features, language options and operator access.
Where to find it
Configure Chat Translate and Detect Language under Settings › AI › Features with the Settings role and AI permission, or the Developer role.
Maintain operators' Spoken Language(s) under Settings › Account › Operators with the Settings or Manager role. Conversation language controls and translated results appear beside messages. Optional transcript translation is available in History, visitor history and ended chats.
How it works
INSIDE selects the appropriate enabled language feature for the visitor. Language detection can update the visitor's detected language. Translation then considers the visitor's language, the operator's primary and spoken languages, and the configured translation options.
Original and translated text are kept separately. A message already suitable for its recipient may not need translation. A translation failure is different from a result that needs no translation.
Detect language on every message allows detection to follow a visitor who changes language. Always Translate Visitor messages to the Operator's Primary Language requests translation even when the detected language is among that operator's spoken languages.
Copilot can provide translated suggestions for review. Summary translation and Autopilot transcript translation use their respective configurations. On-demand transcript translation is a separate option and must be enabled explicitly.
Configure it
- Ask Powerfront to enable AI and prepare suitable accounts.
- Create an enabled Chat Translate feature, select its Account and set visitor filters and priority.
- Choose Detect Language Provider and, where appropriate, Account to Detect Language.
- Set Translate Instructions, language detection frequency and translation options. Supported configurations can use Translate with History and Setup Translation Examples for additional guidance.
- With the Settings or Manager role and the required operator permissions, grant operators Allow AI Translations under Chat Permissions and check their Spoken Language(s).
Enable Allow On-Demand Transcript Translation if operators should translate saved transcripts. Use Settings › AI › Additional Languages for additional AI language configuration with the Settings role and AI permission, or the Developer role. Ask Powerfront to change the website's supported language catalogue or fallbacks.
Settings
| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Translate with History | Settings › AI › Features | website | Off | Settings role, Developer role | Adds recent conversation context in supported translation configurations. |
| Allow On-Demand Transcript Translation | Settings › AI › Features | website | Off | Settings role, Developer role | Allows manual transcript translation from History, visitor history and ended chats. |
| Detect language on every message | Settings › AI › Features | website | Off | Settings role, Developer role | Requests fresh visitor language detection for each eligible message. |
| Always Translate Visitor messages to the Operator's Primary Language | Settings › AI › Features | website | Off | Settings role, Developer role | Requests visitor-message translation into the operator's primary language even when the visitor language is among the operator's spoken languages. |
| Translate Instructions | Settings › AI › Features | website | Not set; uses service guidance | Settings role, Developer role | Supplies custom translation guidance for supported execution. |
| Detect Language Provider | Settings › AI › Features | website | AI Account (Default) | Settings role, Developer role | Chooses account-based language detection or Lingua.Net. |
| Account to Detect Language | Settings › AI › Features | website | Not set: uses the feature's account for language detection | Settings role, Developer role | Selects an AI account for account-based language detection. |
Permissions
| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Allow AI Translations | Allows operators with the Chat role to use AI translation assistance. |
| Settings | Manage translation features with the AI permission and maintain operator languages. |
| AI | Allows AI configuration under Settings Permissions. |
| Developer | Configure Chat Translate and Detect Language features. |
| Manager | Maintain operator accounts and their spoken languages, subject to editing restrictions. |
Limits and good to know
- The operator's language settings influence whether translation is needed and its target language.
- Already translated or unsuitable content can be skipped.
- Regional language variants must be supported; unsupported variants can fall back to a broader language.
- Translation history and examples depend on the configured execution. Do not assume every account uses the same context.
- AI translation and the language of the visitor chat's buttons or interface text are separate configurations.
Depends on and works with
+1 more · this feature uses
- Conversation history and searchEnhances
On-demand translation can make historical transcripts readable in another language.
View all connections as a list
This feature uses
- Admin settings and feature switches · managed by PowerfrontLicence
AI must be enabled for the website.
- Roles and permissionsConfigured by
Operator permissions control use and administration.
- Operator settingsConfigured by
Operator spoken languages and primary language affect translation.
- Supported languagesConfigured by
Supported languages and fallbacks affect valid language choices.
- AI feature settings and change historyConfigured by
Language features use configured accounts, visitor filters and priority.
- AI instructions and templatesConfigured by
Supported translation and detection instruction sections can use prompt sources.
- AI accounts and shared defaultsRequires
AI translation uses a suitable configured account.
- Conversation translationConfigured by
Conversation language controls let operators change the visitor language used for translation.
- Conversation history and searchEnhances
On-demand translation can make historical transcripts readable in another language.
Used by
- Conversation translationRelated
The AI translation guide explains language detection and translation assistance.
- Autopilot for live chatEnhances
An enabled Chat Translate feature can prepare Autopilot transcripts for History.
- Copilot reply suggestionsEnhances
Translation can make a suggestion available in the operator's language.
- AI conversation summariesEnhances
Translation can prepare a summary in the operator's language.
- Personal information masking for AIEnhances
Supported language and translation operations can use privacy processing with operation-specific exclusions.
- AI assistance, translation and sentiment reportsEnhances
Translation activity supplies the language and message counts.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why are some visitor messages not translated?
The language may already be suitable for the operator, the content may be unsuitable, or no feature may match. Check Spoken Language(s) and the primary-language translation option.
Why did the detected language stay the same after the visitor switched languages?
Check Detect language on every message. Short or ambiguous text can also be difficult to identify.
Why can I not translate a historical transcript?
Check Allow On-Demand Transcript Translation, Allow AI Translations and access to that conversation.
How can we improve translation of our terminology?
Review Translate Instructions and, where supported, Setup Translation Examples. Ask Powerfront to confirm that the configured translation service uses the supplied guidance.