DeepL has so far been able to keep up with and sometimes even outperform major tech giants like Google in terms of translation quality. The German startup is now introducing a new type of translation function that offers interactive editing suggestions for even more accurate translation results. — Photo: Christoph Dernbach/dpa
COLOGNE: DeepL has announced a new feature for its AI-powered translation software that is designed to offer interactive editing suggestions for even more accurate translation results.
Named "Clarify", the feature actively involves users in the translation process and helps them to adapt unclear or ambiguous text passages according to their own preferences, the German tech start-up's chief executive and founder Jarek Kutylowski said.
With the update, DeepL is promising "groundbreaking interactivity" for a more personalised user experience with better and more nuanced translations.
DeepL explains the feature as follows: "Once text is entered into DeepL Translator, Clarify proactively seeks to clarify context, prompting users with questions on topics such as multiple meanings, gender references, names, numbers, idioms, cultural references, abbreviations, and specialised terms."
Once the user responds, Clarify then adapts the translations to ensure proper syntax, tense and grammar. "Clarify knows the right questions to ask because it is designed specifically for translation use-cases."
DeepL faces strong international competition, notably from the likes of Google and OpenAI whose platforms can handle complex translation requests.
Microsoft also offers live translations for its video conferencing application Teams. However, DeepL has still managed to compete with Google Translate and other offerings from large providers in the US in the past.
After a round of financing in May 2024, DeepL is now valued at $2bil (RM8.8bil). Germany's most valuable AI start-up recently expanded its product portfolio to include a feature for real-time translations and a writing assistant with AI (DeepL Write Pro).
DeepL previously launched a new generation of its language model (LLM) to measurably improve the quality of its machine translations.
AI is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool in professional life, said Kutylowski.
The Clarify function offers a personalised approach to interacting with the DeepL platform throughout the translation process, he said.
"Its role is similar to that of a colleague, proactively engaging with users and helping them fine-tune translations to achieve the high quality required for business communication."
According to DeepL, its services are used by around 200,000 companies and public authorities, as well as millions of private customers in 228 markets worldwide. Founded by Kutylowski in 2017, the company now has over 1,000 employees. – dpa
