The Digital Executive – AI-Powered Translation at Scale: Bryan Murphy on Smartling’s Global Impact | Ep 1139

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In this episode, host Brian Thomas interviews Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, about how AI-powered translation is transforming global content localization for major brands. The conversation centers on the pain points of traditional translation processes, Smartling’s AI-human hybrid solution, and the future trajectory of this industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Identifying Industry Pain Points & the Opportunity for Disruption

• Traditional Localization Challenges ([01:37])

  • Murphy explains his two decades of experience in e-commerce and tech, sharing frustration with manual localization workflows:
    • Time-consuming, error-prone, expensive.
    • Processes included “downloading/editing spreadsheets, back-and-forth emails with translators, manual re-uploading” ([01:37]).
    • Result: Companies did as little localization as possible despite its huge impact on engagement and growth.

• Smartling as a “Game Changer”

  • Discovering Smartling, Murphy saw a SaaS-native platform that automates 99% of translation work:
    • “Six times faster than traditional, at a fraction of the cost.” ([02:24])
    • Key differentiator: scalability and speed.
    • “Here was a SaaS-native company that allowed customers to automate 99% of their translation, six times faster than traditional, and at a fraction of the cost. So it’s been a total game-changer for our customers…” – Bryan Murphy ([02:18])

2. Blending Machine Automation with Human Quality

• Maintaining Brand Voice with AI ([03:24])

  • Murphy describes Smartling’s process: build a custom AI engine for each customer using their “translation memory, glossary, style guide, tone of voice.”
    • Ensures consistent brand voice across languages and regions.
    • Example: IBM vs. Apple – both tech, but very different voices, captured by building style nuances into the engine.

• Cultural and Local Relevance

  • Not only matched to brand, but also tailored to regional differences (e.g., “Germans have a different tone of voice than Japanese or French”) ([04:26]).
    • “Now we’re actually building that right into the AI engine so that… tone of voice comes out appropriately; and by the way, appropriately for that country, right?” – Bryan Murphy ([04:17])

3. Enterprise-Scale Reliability, Security, and Auditability

• Operations at Scale ([05:47])

  • Smartling’s technology powers thousands of enterprise brands (British Airways, Verizon, MasterCard).
    • 99.99% uptime; “We remained up” even during major AWS or CrowdStrike outages ([06:11]).
    • Heavy investment in redundancy and uptime.
    • “We have 99.99% uptime, so we invest heavily in making sure that that redundancy is there.” – Bryan Murphy ([05:53])

• Data Security & Compliance

  • Certified for PCI, SOC 2, HIPAA, HiTrust – critical for healthcare and financial services.
    • Comprehensive audit trails for version control and compliance ([06:42]).
  • Quality backed by “language quality assurance and hallucination detection/mitigation” ([07:07]).
    • “We actually guarantee quality, which is unusual in our industry.” – Bryan Murphy ([07:11])

4. The AI-Human Workflow in Practice

• Automation with Option for Human-in-the-Loop ([07:35])
  • Two levels of AI translation:
    • Instant, high-quality, AI-guaranteed.
    • For higher-stakes or extra assurance, a human reviewer is added (“the belt and suspenders” approach).

5. The Future of Translation & Localization with AI ([08:12])

• Translation as a Service (TaaS)

  • Murphy envisions language translation/localization as a centralized, automated utility available across all enterprise departments (“marketing, product, engineering, learning & development, legal, customer service”) ([08:34]).
  • Plug-and-play integration into any segment of the enterprise tech stack.
    • “So if you can kind of picture that in your mind as like this, this engine that you kind of plug in to the Ethernet port… enabling that translation as a service, that’s really where we are very rapidly evolving to.” ([09:23])

• Immediate, Measurable Business Impact

  • Companies can “translate 3x more content for 60% less cost, 6x faster.” ([10:20])

  • AI-powered localization now produces clear ROI—important for leadership pressured to show results, not merely implement hype.

  • “That’s like a slam dunk in the world of… you put that PowerPoint up, that slide up and talk about that deliverable in your organization. That’s a big deal.” – Bryan Murphy ([10:25])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Good AI is like magic and it’s easy to use. Like we all have that experience… but to build that experience is hard.” – Bryan Murphy ([03:28])
• “Each customer gets their own custom-trained engine based on their brand, their sentiment, building that style guide right into it.” – Host Brian Thomas ([05:03])
• “We remained up… when CrowdStrike had a problem, we actually help them serve up communications during that period of time.” – Bryan Murphy ([06:19])
• “We actually guarantee quality, which is unusual in our industry.” – Bryan Murphy ([07:11])
• “You plug it in and not only have you plugged in an AI translation solution, but you’re able to almost instantly show significant organizational results.” – Bryan Murphy ([09:57])
• “Our average customer… is able to translate 3x more content for 60% less cost, 6x faster.” – Bryan Murphy ([10:20])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:37] Murphy’s experience with traditional localization pain points and discovering Smartling
• [03:24] Balancing machine automation and human oversight, ensuring brand voice
• [05:47] Requirements for reliability and security at enterprise scale
• [07:35] The AI-human workflow (“belt and suspenders”)
• [08:12] Vision for translation as an enterprise utility
• [10:20] Quantifiable impact of AI-powered translation

Tone & Style

The conversation is pragmatic and optimistic, with both host and guest focused on real-world challenges, results, and the practicalities of AI. Murphy comes across as both a technologist and a business strategist, while the host keeps the discussion concrete and relatable.

For listeners interested in the future of AI-driven localization, tech transformation at scale, or enterprise SaaS, this episode delivers actionable insights, memorable anecdotes, and a clear vision of where global communication is headed.