Translation and writing help

Support teams often get messages in languages their agents don't speak, and even in a shared language, a reply that is clear and polite takes effort at volume. The tools here help with both: translating customer messages and replies, and checking the writing in replies before they go out.

Unbabel is built for support work, translating conversations inside the help desk with machine translation and, where needed, human review. LILT also combines machine translation with human translators for business content. DeepL is a general translation tool for text and documents, with a free version and an API teams can connect. Lokalise handles translation of apps, websites and help content. Grammarly checks grammar, clarity and tone as agents type.

Machine translation is good enough for many routine messages, but mistakes matter more in some cases: refunds, legal terms, medical or safety information and anything that could upset a customer. Decide which topics need a fluent speaker to check the reply, and tell customers when a reply was translated by machine if that helps set expectations.

Translated help articles are often the bigger win. A help center in the customer's language prevents contacts in the first place, and AI support agents can answer in more languages when the source content is clear. Keep the original article as the master copy and update translations when it changes.

Check how each tool handles data. Customer messages may contain personal details, so read where text is processed and whether it is stored or used to train models.

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5 AI support tools in translation and writing help

Unbabel

Translation for support teams that combines machine translation with human review, inside the help desk.

  • Developer API
  • Works with Zendesk

DeepL

Machine translation for text and documents in many languages, with a free version and a developer API.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Developer API
  • Mobile app for agents

Grammarly

Writing assistant that checks grammar, clarity and tone as agents type in the browser and desktop apps.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app for agents

LILT

AI translation platform for businesses, combining machine translation with human translators for support and content.

  • Developer API

Lokalise

Localization platform for translating apps, websites and help content, with AI translation and team review.

  • Developer API

Set a few rules so translated support stays consistent. Keep a glossary of product names and terms that should never be translated, decide whether replies use formal or informal address in each language, and save approved translations of common replies. Unbabel, LILT and Lokalise all support glossaries or translation memory for this.

Watch quality over time. Ask fluent colleagues or a review service to check a sample of translated replies each month, and track satisfaction scores by language. If one language scores much lower, the translation step is a likely cause.

Keep the customer informed. If replies in their language may take longer because a person reviews them, say so in the first response.

Start with the languages your customers already write in. Your help desk can usually report on this, and that list tells you where translation would save the most time.

Questions about translation and writing help

Can we offer support in languages our team doesn't speak?

Yes, with care. Translation inside the help desk lets agents read and reply in other languages. For sensitive topics, have a fluent speaker or a human review service check replies before sending.

Is free machine translation safe for customer messages?

Check the provider's terms first. Some free services may store or use submitted text in ways a business plan does not. For customer data, use a plan with clear data handling terms.

Should we translate our help center?

If you get many contacts in a language, translated articles for your most common questions often reduce tickets. Start with the top articles and keep translations updated when the source changes.

Do writing assistants help support agents?

They help agents writing in a second language, and they catch typos and unclear wording in quick replies. Set a house style for tone so suggestions match how your team wants to sound.

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