Lost in ChatGPT Translation: Why Free Solutions Fail at Scale

July 21, 2023

Businesses globally have gone pedal to the metal when it comes to relying on generative AI, and have shown no intention of lifting their foot from the gas. In February 2023, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. business leaders and discovered that 49% of companies are currently going full throttle with OpenAI’s ChatGPT — while 30% plan to —  and that 48% of companies using ChatGPT say it’s replaced workers

And while generative AI can be a powerful tool for content creation, reliably and consistently translating that need-for-speed content is a much more nuanced process. 

If you are one of the many businesses that are leveraging AI-generated tech to streamline your customer service operations, improve customer engagement, and enhance overall brand reputation, it’s imperative — more than ever — you do so with a reliable language service provider that can help mitigate the risks associated and meet your business goals on time and within budget.

Let’s take a look at a prime example of how a business could rely on AI technology for a standard content creation/language translation process:

This is a product description for a SaaS payment platform that was generated using ChatGPT:

chatGPT inquiry

Introducing our revolutionary SaaS payment platform that makes shopping for global products more accessible and affordable than ever before! With just a swipe of your app, you can now make interest-free payments on a wide range of products from all over the world, regardless of where you are.

Our platform offers a seamless and secure payment process, allowing you to shop with confidence and ease. You’ll no longer have to worry about high-interest rates or hidden fees that can add up quickly. With our interest-free payment options, you can spread the cost of your purchase over time without paying a cent in interest.

Not only does our payment platform offer convenience and affordability, but it also provides access to a vast range of global products that might not be available in your local area. From trendy fashion pieces to high-tech gadgets, you can now shop from anywhere in the world with just a few taps on your device.

From there, it was translated from English into our target language, Italian, using Google Translate:

Presentazione della nostra rivoluzionaria piattaforma di pagamento SaaS che rende l’acquisto di prodotti globali più accessibile e conveniente che mai! Con un semplice tocco della tua app, ora puoi effettuare pagamenti senza interessi su un’ampia gamma di prodotti da tutto il mondo, indipendentemente da dove ti trovi.

La nostra piattaforma offre un processo di pagamento continuo e sicuro, che ti consente di fare acquisti con sicurezza e facilità. Non dovrai più preoccuparti di tassi di interesse elevati o commissioni nascoste che possono sommarsi rapidamente. Con le nostre opzioni di pagamento senza interessi, puoi ripartire il costo del tuo acquisto nel tempo senza pagare un centesimo di interesse.

La nostra piattaforma di pagamento non solo offre praticità e convenienza, ma fornisce anche l’accesso a una vasta gamma di prodotti globali che potrebbero non essere disponibili nella tua zona. Dai capi di moda alla moda ai gadget high-tech, ora puoi fare acquisti da qualsiasi parte del mondo con pochi tocchi sul tuo dispositivo.

Looks good, right?

…but how do you know?

Now with Unbabel’s Quality Intelligence, you have full transparency — and trust — in your translations.

At the core of Unbabel’s AI-powered, human-refined platform is our Quality Estimation (QE) technology, which enables businesses to safely ride the tidal wave of generative AI’s benefits — at far lower risk.

By harnessing the power of our QE tech, Unbabel’s Quality Intelligence provides businesses with the transparency to confidently understand the true performance of every single translation, in real-time. This is achieved through a combination of processes and frameworks, leveraging automated methods that were built on top of data generated by humans. We developed a visual framework to represent translation quality called Customer Utility Analysis (CUA)

Our translation quality is measured by following the industry standard MQM methodology. We bucketed the MQM scores of our translations into five different categories to enable businesses to visualize the different levels of quality that their translations fall into: Best, Excellent, Good, Moderate, and Weak. Plus, with the recent launch of our CUA 2.0, we have enhanced our quality evaluation framework and introduced a fifth and highest level, ‘Best,’ which represents the premium quality translation. This addition not only sets expectations for top-notch quality in more complex content but also emphasizes value for money in lower quality levels.

Interested in exploring Unbabel’s Language solutions for your own translations? Now you can unlock first-hand access to Unbabel’s high-quality translations at no cost.

Enjoy: 

  • 100 free translations, unlimited users
  • A choice between machine translation and/or human translation
  • Seamless integrations with Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, and more!

Sign up for a free demo now!

About the Author

Profile Photo of Jessica Florez
Jessica Florez

Jessica Florez is the Senior Content Strategist at Unbabel. She has 10 years of proven success in content marketing strategy and development to build business brands, support global sales teams, drive demand for products and services. She boasts a wide range of expertise in both B2B + B2C integrated marketing roles, for industries that include financial services, healthcare, tech (SaaS), and tour & travel. She earned her BA from the University of Central Florida, and her MFA from Hofstra University.