𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 5 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴🕒
In 2025, translation and localisation will become even more essential for businesses in a globally connected market. The localisation industry will also continue to evolve rapidly thanks to AI and other emerging technologies.
We know it isn’t easy to keep up. However, organisations need to adapt quickly if they want to stay ahead.
Luckily, Wolfestone is here to support our clients. Our expert linguists are already hard at work learning new tools and creating innovative new processes that will lead the industry in 2025.
Below, we’ll introduce you to a few upcoming trends to be aware of in the new year. Alongside these innovations, there’s also one major pitfall businesses must anticipate.
1. A new standard: AI-led localisation with human editing
Many businesses have been reluctant to use AI due to perceived risk and a lack of understanding. But in 2025, you must begin to incorporate at least some AI-led translation and localisation into your global strategy. Not for every project, but consider it for some.
Companies that fail to do so may fall behind.
Machine Translation Post Editing (MTPE) will be a dominant approach in 2025.
Machine Translation (MT) on its own has evolved considerably over the past few years, powered by advanced neural networks and large language models (LLMs). This technology massively improves translation speed and efficiency.
However, the accuracy of MT varies across language pairs and content types. This is where MTPE comes into play. By combining MT with expert human review, companies can ensure content is both accurate and culturally relevant.
MTPE is particularly beneficial for non-critical content, such as e-commerce product descriptions or customer service responses.
2. AI dubbing for enhanced global media teach
Content consumption is growing globally, and video remains a dominant medium. Businesses have struggled to cater to multilingual audiences at the speed of social media, but AI dubbing is providing solutions.
Near-instant and human-sounding AI dubbing streamlines video localisation without traditional, time-intensive dubbing processes.
With advancements in voice AI and speech synthesis, AI dubbing enables companies to produce multilingual versions of videos faster and more affordably.
AI dubbing is perfect for educational content, tutorials and corporate training videos, where rapid turnaround is prioritised. AI voice overs can also make social media localisation much faster and more cost-effective.
However, for projects where nuanced emotion or brand authenticity is vital, such as advertisements or high-profile media, human voice overs remain the better choice.
VoiceBox, our sister brand and the multimedia arm of Wolfestone Group, offers AI dubbing services.
3. Emphasis on cultural nuance with transcreation
In 2025, the demand for transcreation will continue to grow.
Transcreation goes a step beyond direct translation. It reimagines content so it resonates deeply with the target audience, taking into account not just language but also cultural values, humour, and tone.
Transcreation is at the heart of modern localisation, especially for consumer-facing content and critical translations such as ads.
As consumers demand more personalisation and stronger emotional connections with brands, messages must be localised to resonate more deeply.
Generative AI tools can assist in brainstorming ideas, allowing brands to develop more tailored messages at scale.
However, LLMs are only a tool in this process. Human linguists are necessary to align a message with brand identity and cultural sensitivities.
This is why it’s important to continue investing in skilled translators and linguists who understand your brand and audience.
4. Integration of localisation with personalisation efforts
Localisation and personalisation are becoming increasingly interwoven as businesses look to connect with specific customer segments across and within regions.
In 2025, companies will invest more in localisation that feels personal to end users, going beyond regional relevance and targeting smaller and smaller segments right down to individual consumers.
AI-driven tools will help automate data analytics and deliver targeted messages to consumers. But for these tools to work effectively, brands will need to prioritise data collection and annotation.
Next-level personalisation requires a detailed understanding of buying behaviours and content consumption patterns, all of which localisation experts can optimise.
5. Improving quality control with Large Language Models (LLMs)
LLMs are transforming quality control processes within the localisation industry.
Advances in AI have improved LLMs’ “understanding” of linguistic nuances and context. Linguists are using LLMs to support quality assessment workflows, allowing companies to gauge the quality and appropriateness of translated content faster and more accurately.
In simpler translation tasks, LLMs can offer preliminary checks that identify potential issues before human review, speeding up the localisation process.
For example, LLMs can help detect inconsistencies in terminology and tone, and they can flag potential errors.
It’s important to keep in mind that for complex, industry-specific content, such as legal or technical documents, LLMs are only a supplementary tool. Humans must always oversee and have the final say in QC processes.
In our own testing, we have also noticed that LLMs are far better in some languages than others, likely based on how much data and training they have had in that language. For example, native speakers of Polish and Romanian in our company have noted that LLMs didn't perform well in these languages.
Warning: Don’t over-rely on AI for high-stakes content
As we have said, AI is revolutionising the translation and localisation industry, but it’s important to remember that AI isn’t suited for every context.
Industries such as medicine, engineering, life sciences and marketing require precision and nuance that can only come from human expertise.
AI can expedite translation for low-stakes or repetitive content, but it lacks the contextual understanding needed for content where accuracy is non-negotiable.
For example, last year, AI translation errors caused havoc for the US immigration system, putting asylum seekers at serious risk. In the medical field, small mistranslations could lead to serious consequences, compromising patient safety and regulatory compliance.
The savings and speed of AI can be tempting, but companies must adopt AI translation and localisation tools responsibly — preferably with the help of a localisation agency that understands how to leverage AI and human expertise.
The translation and localisation industry is set to usher in big changes in 2025, but for many businesses, overhauling their localisation strategy may seem overwhelming or costly.
That’s where Wolfestone can make a difference.
Our expert linguists work with the latest AI tools to offer practical and scalable solutions that fit your budget. Wolfestone offers end-to-end solutions for all of your linguistic needs, including:
- Translation
- Localisation
- Interpreting
- Transcreation
- Multimedia support
- Desktop publishing
- Accessibility Services
- Voice over
- Captions and subtitles
- And more
Your business doesn’t need to understand the complexities of localisation to benefit from them. With Wolfestone's language services, you’re guaranteed to gain access to the latest in cost-saving AI as well as an extensive network of experienced human translators dedicated to your brand.
𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2021 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.
