Google is rolling out a new AI-powered experimental feature in Google Translate designed to help people practice and learn a new language. The company announced the update on Tuesday. Alongside this new tool, Translate is also gaining new live capabilities to make real-time communication with a person speaking a different language easier.
The new language practice feature is designed for both beginners starting to learn conversational skills and advanced speakers looking to brush up on their vocabulary. It creates tailored listening and speaking practice sessions that adapt to a user’s skill level and unique learning goals. With this feature, Google is taking on popular language learning apps like Duolingo.
To access the feature, users select the practice option in the Google Translate app. From there, they can set their skill level and goals. Google Translate then generates customized scenarios where users can either listen to conversations and tap the words they hear to build comprehension, or they can practice speaking. The exercises track daily progress.
The beta experience is rolling out in the Google Translate app for Android and iOS starting Tuesday. The feature is available first for English speakers practicing Spanish and French, as well as for Spanish, French, and Portuguese speakers practicing English.
Google is also introducing the ability for users to have back-and-forth conversations with audio and on-screen translations through the Translate app. Building on its existing live conversation experience, advanced AI models now make it easier to have a live conversation in more than 70 languages, including Arabic, French, Hindi, Korean, Spanish, and Tamil.
Users can tap the live translate option in the app and select the language they want to translate by simply speaking. They will then hear the translation aloud alongside a transcript of the conversation in both languages. The app will translate and switch between the two languages being spoken.
The feature can identify pauses, accents, and intonations to allow for a natural-sounding conversation. It uses Google’s voice and speech recognition models to isolate sounds, which means it can be used in noisy environments like a loud restaurant or a busy airport.
These live translation capabilities are available starting Tuesday for users in the U.S., India, and Mexico.
Google states these updates are made possible by advancements in AI and machine learning. As the company continues to push the boundaries of language processing, it is able to serve a wider range of languages and improve the quality and speed of translations. With Gemini models in Translate, Google has made significant strides in translation quality, multimodal translation, and text-to-speech capabilities.
Google notes that people translate around one trillion words across its services, including Translate, Search, Lens, and Circle to Search. The company believes these new AI-powered features will help overcome language barriers.