Will AI replace translators?
Updated
Translators score 64 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 60%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 24% outright, and 16% stays with people.
- 24% AI can do it
- 60% AI helps
- 16% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 95% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 17 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 10 and leaves 3 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. AI proofreads and revises translations well with light human review. | 82% AI can do it |
| Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. Machine translation handles written text well, with human review for accuracy. | 78% AI can do it |
| Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy. AI assistants answer lookup questions instantly, though sources need checking. | 75% AI can do it |
| Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions. Consistency checks suit AI and CAT tools well, with expert approval. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material. LLMs draft glossaries quickly, but experts must verify specialized terms. | 65% AI helps |
| Adapt software and accompanying technical documents to another language and culture. Machine translation drafts strings quickly, but cultural adaptation needs specialists. | 65% AI helps |
| Compile information on content and context of information to be translated and on intended audience. AI can summarize source material and infer likely audience quickly. | 60% AI helps |
| Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary. AI can simplify text to grade level, but teachers guide adaptation. | 55% AI helps |
| Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary. Speech recognition handles transcription well, but nuance needs people. | 50% AI helps |
| Discuss translation requirements with clients and determine any fees to be charged for services provided. AI drafts quotes and scope summaries, but fee negotiation stays human. | 45% AI helps |
Show the other 7 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors. AI flags likely meaning conflicts, but cultural judgement stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material. AI compares source and target text, but author consultation needs people. | 40% AI helps |
| Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible. Machine speech translation helps, but live human interpreting remains essential. | 30% AI helps |
| Train and supervise other translators or interpreters. AI can help draft feedback and materials, but mentoring is personal. | 25% AI helps |
| Educate students, parents, staff, and teachers about the roles and functions of educational interpreters. AI can draft handouts, but presenting to people remains human work. | 20% Needs a person |
| Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information. Accountability for confidentiality rests with the professional, not software. | 15% Needs a person |
| Travel with or guide tourists who speak another language. Guiding tourists requires physical presence, though translation apps help slightly. | 12% Needs a person |
How translators compare
All occupations (923)
Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $60,170 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 52,060 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.0% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Post-edit machine translation drafts in Microsoft Word
- Build specialist glossaries in Microsoft Excel and verify terms
- Hold American Translators Association certification in your language pair
- Interpret live consecutive and simultaneous sessions in person
- Adapt software strings and HTML files to target culture
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about translators and AI
Will translators be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly proofreading and revising translated text and rewriting written material. Live interpreting, cultural judgement and confidentiality duties stay with people.
Will AI take over translation jobs?
AI can already do 24% of the task time in translation and speeds up another 60%. People still do 16% of it. The US has 52,060 translator jobs, with a projected change of +2.0% from 2024 to 2034.
Which translator tasks is AI taking over?
Proofreading and revising translated materials is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 82, because AI now revises text well with light human review. Rewriting legal, scientific or news text into another language follows at 78, since machine translation handles written text well. AI assistants also answer dictionary and terminology lookups instantly, though the sources still need checking.
Which translator tasks stay human?
Live interpreting stays with people, with an exposure score of 30, because machine speech translation helps but live human interpreting remains essential. Guiding tourists scores 12, since it needs a person physically present with the traveller. Accountability for client confidentiality scores 15, because the duty sits with the professional and a software tool carries no legal responsibility.
How can translators stay valuable as AI improves?
Post-edit machine output in your CAT tool and take responsibility for the sign-off on legal or medical terms. Build specialist glossaries in Microsoft Excel and check each term with a subject expert. Hold the ATA certification in your language pair, and sell live interpreting, mentoring and cultural adaptation work.
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