What Smartling does
Smartling combines translation management, integrations, visual context, quality systems, language services, and an AI Hub for configurable model routing.
Smartling is a localization operating system rather than a single translator. Its platform centralizes source content, workflows, linguistic assets, vendors, reporting, and delivery across websites, software, marketing, support, and documents. Visual context helps a linguist see where copy appears, reducing ambiguity around short strings. The AI Hub lets teams configure preferred machine-translation engines or LLMs and use a preconfigured Auto Select profile, while Smartling language services add human translation and review under the same operational model.
Routing must reflect the consequence of an error. A repetitive internal article may tolerate machine translation with sampling, while a product claim, contract, health instruction, campaign slogan, or interface action may require specialist translation and legal or market approval. Translation memory and glossaries need owners, and visual context can still be stale. Native reviewers should check intent, terminology, tone, inclusion, humor, cultural references, units, search behavior, and local regulation. Product teams must also test variables, markup, expansion, bidirectional layout, fonts, inputs, accessibility, screenshots, audio, and the complete customer journey.
Smartling publishes plan and capability information but uses sales-led custom pricing. Total cost can combine platform access, managed words or throughput, selected AI or MT services, professional translation, integrations, implementation, support, and other services. A representative quote should separate software from per-word or outcome-based language work and model usage. Because AI Hub can route content among providers, customers should document which engine processes each content class and obtain current retention, training, subprocessors, residency, encryption, roles, SSO, audit, deletion, and breach terms before sending confidential source material.
How Smartling works
Smartling captures content through integrations, connectors, files, or APIs, reuses translation memory and terminology, and routes eligible segments through configured machine-translation engines, LLM profiles, or human linguists. Workflow, quality checks, and visual context guide review before delivery.
Capture content and visual context
Smartling imports eligible source material through connectors, files, or APIs and associates available screenshots, metadata, translation memory, glossary, style, workflow, and locale requirements.
Choose AI, MT, or human execution
AI Hub profiles send content to selected models or Auto Select, while high-impact work can route directly to specialist human language services. Confidentiality and consequence shape the path.
Evaluate language in its destination
Linguists and stakeholders check meaning, terminology, culture, tone, claims, length, variables, and visual fit; product teams test formatting, interaction, direction, input, and accessibility.
Publish with quality and cost evidence
Approved translations synchronize back to source systems. Teams compare edit effort, defects, turnaround, provider and service cost, workflow failures, access, retention, and language-asset drift.
How to set up Smartling
Segment content by risk and workflow
Inventory sources, languages, volume, cadence, confidentiality, regulatory impact, brand sensitivity, and turnaround, then assign AI, human, legal, or market review requirements.
Prepare approved linguistic assets
Clean translation memory, establish term bases and style guides by locale, define non-translatable tokens, and assign native owners responsible for future changes.
Connect a representative source
Pilot one website, repository, CMS, or support collection; map metadata and visual context; restrict connector permissions; and prevent secrets or unnecessary personal data from capture.
Configure provider routing and review
Choose MT or LLM profiles by content class, verify provider handling, set fallback and confidence rules, and route high-impact output through qualified human and stakeholder approval.
Measure delivered quality
Evaluate edit effort, terminology, locale defects, turnaround, provider and human cost, workflow failures, and in-context rendering; audit access, retention, and linguistic assets regularly.
Smartling FAQs
How much does Smartling cost?
Smartling uses custom pricing. Buyers should request separate assumptions for platform access, content volume, AI or machine translation, professional language services, integrations, and support.
What is Smartling AI Hub?
AI Hub lets teams translate using selected machine-translation engines or LLMs through custom profiles or Smartling's preconfigured Auto Select profile.
Does Smartling provide human translation?
Yes. Smartling offers AI-enabled human language services that can be combined with platform workflows, linguistic assets, and quality review.
Why is visual context important?
It shows translators where copy appears, helping disambiguate short strings and reveal length or layout constraints. The final localized product still requires functional testing.
Can every content type use the same AI profile?
That is risky. Confidentiality, terminology, brand impact, regulation, language pair, and error consequence should determine provider and human-review routing.
Listing reviewed 2026-07-15. Product details and pricing can change; verify important terms on the provider's website.
Related Writing AI tools
Related AI guides
Reviews
Tell the community what you made, what worked, and what you wish you knew before starting.