Instagram added more artificial intelligence-powered language translation options, so users can now automatically translate Reels content into Japanese, Korean, French, German and Italian, in addition to the existing language options.
Meta has been rolling out AI-powered translations for Reels since last year, and its advanced language models are able to not only translate the audio and captions of a clip, but also sync the creator’s mouth movements with the translated words.
The translation process creates an audio variation meant to look and sound like the creator is speaking. Instagram said this has helped creators reach a wider audience of interested viewers.
Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri said that platform’s AI translations for Reels now support 14 languages, although in a separate press release, Meta said that number is actually 18. Supported translations include a range of languages spoken in India, which is Instagram’s largest user market.
This could be a good opportunity to reach more people, though results will vary, and AI syncing can sometimes look a little off, even if the basic gist of the content is communicated.
Creators can review any translations and switch off syncing before posting, or abandon the translation entirely if they choose.
For those who are creating content, it may be worth switching the option on to see what sort of response people who speak other languages may have. And if the response is strong in certain regions, that could open up posts to a new audience.
Meta’s auto translation option is available in the Reels composer for creators with more than 1,000 followers. Users are able to select two languages per translation.
Meta also said that it’s also rolling out more languages for translations on Facebook, including Bahasa, Indonesian, Arabic, French, Vietnamese and Thai, with more to come soon.
