Recently, I reviewed the AI translation of categories for an e-commerce platform. The automatic translation of ‘pipe cleaner’ referred to the pipes one uses to pass gas and liquid through. To boot, the translation preserved the word ‘cleaner’, not the actual Romanian term with the same meaning. This would be the go-to choice, as the English term is not widely accepted.
Nevertheless, I researched the respective category on the platform. Surprisingly, I discovered it was all actually about the other type of pipe – a device used to clean a smoking pipe after usage!
Therefore, without human intervention the AI translation would have misinterpreted a whole category of products altogether, while creating inexistent ones.
Especially in e-commerce, human intervention through localization is essential because:
1. It helps avoid confusions like the one above, which can be detected only by conducting a thorough research process.
2. It reinforces terminology consistency. AI can translate the same term differently when confronted with category or product lists, where context is not directly available and one needs to research.
3. Visuals are essential in e-commerce, and this is where AI cannot bridge gaps. It cannot take product visuals into account to render the best translation and cannot have a holistic approach.
Incidentally, this interaction with AI translation reminded me, through a peculiar association of ideas, of beautiful Sighișoara. At a crossing there, I came across a chimney sweep in full traditional attire (plus the unavoidable soot on his skin), just seemingly going about his work day.
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