Early next year, Microsoft Teams users will be able to test out a new AI-powered translation option, which promises real-time speech-to-speech translation.

The new tool will reportedly be available with up to nine language options initially, but there is the promise that up to 31 languages will be accessible for meeting transcripts.

Teams users do already have access to an interpreter option through a tie-in between Microsoft and Interprefy, a remote cloud-based tool, as well as live translated captions, but this latest option is AI-powered.

What Will the Interpreter Do?

The new tool essentially lets any Teams participant speak and listen in a language that they have selected. These options will be limited initially to Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish.

Attendees will also have the option of simulating their own speaking voice with the AI-created translation.

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The feature is currently being tested by a limited group of users but it will arrive next year for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Democratizing Business

Nicole Herskowitz, corporate vice president of productivity and collaboration for Copilot, told the newspaper that this new feature will “democratize access to interpreters”

“[Some companies] don’t even have the option of an interpreter. I look at this as a way to have a high-quality translation experience.”

She also acknowledged that there may be some issues with accuracy with the tool initially as compared to human translators but suggests that the cost benefit outweighs this.

Pushing Uptake of Copilot as a Personal Assistant

The news was shared at Microsoft Ignite 2024 and by Jared Spataro, Chief Marketing Officer of AI at Work in a blog laying out what other AI improvements we can expect in the coming months.

Alongside the interpreter options, Teams users will be able to use Copilot to get a recap of the visual content shared onscreen during a call, as well as the chat history and transcript. Spataro adds:

“You can also ask Copilot for a quick summary of a file shared in a chat to get all its main points without having to open the file.”

There are also updates for PowerPoint users – and the option to translate entire presentations into one of 40 languages, without changing the overall design of each slide.

Copilot in Outlook will also now make it easier for users to schedule meetings with colleagues by comparing your calendars to find a mutually suitable time for both parties and it can draft a meeting agenda ahead of time.

AI is playing a growing role in bolstering Microsoft’s profits so it makes sense that the company will integrate it into all of its offerings, and its enterprise tools are sure to change dramatically as a result.

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