ChatGPT has a hidden translation tool — and it could rival Google Translate

Traveling internationally is exciting — until you realize you don’t speak the language and can’t even ask for directions.

With so many quality language translation tools out there, such as Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translator, it’s easy to just pull out your phone, speak into it, and let it turn your spoken declaration into another language as you’re conversing with a local.

Now, OpenAI is making a move in that same space. The company just launched ChatGPT Translate, a new standalone translation tool designed to make real-time translating feel more seamless inside the ChatGPT experience.

ChatGPT has technically been able to translate languages for a while, but ChatGPT Translate positions that capability as a dedicated tool, with a familiar interface built for quick, back-and-forth translations.

How ChatGPT Translate Works

ChatGPT Translate has a few visual similarities to Google Translate’s menu options— you’ll instantly spot comparable items such as the “Detect language” selection and the two dialogue boxes where one lets you type/paste in a phrase while the other translates it into the language of your choice.

ChatGPT Translate’s distinct toolset offers over 50 languages, plus four ways you can choose how the chatbot delivers your translation. Those options include:

• Translate this and make it sound more fluent
• Translate this and make it more business formal
• Translate this as if you’re explaining it to a child
• Translate this for an academic audience

These four options should be useful for anyone who wants to chat with a new foreign friend, impress a potential international business partner, explain something in the simplest way possible, or break down another language for a classroom full of students.

The AI edge comes in because ChatGPT Translate doesn’t just convert what you type (or say) into another language — it also accounts for tone, idioms, and context. You can even request formal, casual, or regional phrasing so what you’re saying actually fits the situation.

That said, a few things seem to be missing from this first version. While it claims you can upload images, there doesn’t appear to be a way to actually add one in the translation box yet. For now, text input looks like the only option. Google Translate, by comparison, lets you translate images, documents, and even websites (hopefully ChatGPT catches up sooner rather than later).

ChatGPT Translate may just become your new mobile translator companion

With over 50 languages at its disposal — including Spanish, German, and French — plus an AI-powered toolkit that can tweak your written or vocal translations for different occasions, ChatGPT Translate has early markings of something that could become an integral part of your life.

Curious students, people who want to learn a new language, brave explorers who love to venture across the world, and professionals who want to sound good in front of international colleagues could all get great use out of OpenAI’s new translation tool.

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