Translate a document with AI: step-by-step method

Do you have an email in English, a text to put into another language, or a document you need to understand? An AI can help you get a first draft in a few moments. You still need to know what to give it and what to check.

Choose what you want to translate

Start with a short text or an email. It is a good way to test the method.

Note two things before you begin:

• the source language, meaning the language of the text;
• the target language, meaning the language you want to read it in.

For a long document, see the next section on uploading files.

Paste the text with clear instructions

In your AI’s message box, paste the text, then add your instructions:

• the target language;
• the tone, formal or friendly;
• the intended audience;
• the words to keep as they are (a company name, a product name).

Before pasting, make the text anonymous: replace names, addresses and numbers with placeholders, such as [NAME] or [ADDRESS].

Example request Translate the text below from [English] into [French]. Tone: [formal], for [a client]. Do not translate the terms [product name] and [company name]. Text: [paste the text]

A short email is translated in a few seconds. Still, read it through: an AI may give it a tone that is too casual or too stiff.

Upload a file if your AI allows it

For a whole document, avoid copying everything by hand if your AI accepts files. The examples below come from the official help pages of the providers. They are not a ranking.

• Copilot: tap the “+” button, then choose “Add images or files”. Accepted documents include PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Microsoft says it does not use the content of these files to train its models.
• Perplexity: send the file with the add button, or by drag and drop. For a long file, Perplexity keeps only the passages it judges most important, so the translation may be incomplete. Perplexity also says it does not keep files indefinitely.
• Other AIs: check the provider’s help page, or copy and paste the text in parts.

Check the sensitive passages

Read these first: proper names, numbers, dates, addresses, and technical or legal terms. A mistake in a date or an amount can have consequences.

Ask the AI to flag what it is unsure about:

Example request Translate this text into [French]. At the end, list the passages whose translation is uncertain, and explain why. Text: [paste the text]

To check the meaning, then do the reverse: translate the result back into the source language, and compare it with the original text. If the meaning has changed, that is a sign to check closely. This method helps you spot differences, but it does not guarantee a perfect translation.

Example request Translate this text from [French] into [English]. Text: [paste the translation obtained]

Do not translate just any document

The CNIL (France’s data protection authority) advises avoiding personal data and never sharing confidential information with an AI tool. So do not paste, for example, confidential documents from your company or documents containing people’s identity details. If you need to translate a text that contains personal data, make it anonymous first.

Contracts and legal documents are texts where one badly translated word can change the meaning of a clause. An AI can get it wrong. Have a qualified person review the final version before you commit to anything.

Official documents: find out first

According to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, an official translation of a French document into a foreign language must be made by a translator certified by a French court of appeal, or authorized by a diplomatic or consular mission. The translator’s stamp and signature must appear on the original document and on the translation.

A translation made with an AI does not replace this official translation. Ask the organization that will receive the document what it accepts. An AI can, however, help you understand a letter, for example with this guide to tax letters.

Good habits

• Check names, numbers, dates and legal terms before using the translation.
• Protect your data: make the text anonymous and do not upload confidential documents.
• Reread the tone and the meaning before sending the text to anyone.
• For an official document, ask the receiving organization which translation it accepts.
• To write clearer instructions, read how to write a good prompt.
• If you are still unsure which AI to use, see which AI to choose when you are starting out.