Google Translate app starts explaining itself with AI 'understanding'

The Google Translate app has been a worthy addition to any international traveler's tech arsenal ever since it launched in 2006; Google claims it now translates a trillion words every month. Not that it does so entirely accurately. Over two decades, the app has also been a source of hilarious translation fails — which have in themselves created enough content for multiple listicles, Reddit threads, and YouTube videos.

But right or wrong, the app has never been able to explain the process it went through to get to that translation — in other words, to show its work. Not until now. An experimental feature spotted by Android Authority, now being tested on the Android version of Google Translate, adds an "Understand" button at the bottom of the screen.

Using Gemini AI for the explanation, "Understand" details the app's "thinking" process. And it doesn't spare any user's blushes if the original language query isn't worded well. In Android Authority's example, the words "impractical that is" are translated into the Hindi "yah avyaavahaarik hai," with the app noting that this is a more common way to translate the English phrase "this is impractical." (Still, the app missed an opportunity for a teachable moment here — to point out that Hindi invariably puts its verbs at the end of the sentence.)

Another AI-driven button next to "Understand" is "Ask," which suggests further queries helpful to any language learner. The app is able to use the translated phrase in a sentence, and it can tell you whether the usage is formal or informal. In other words, Google Translate may soon be able to provide the kind of context any language teacher will tell you is crucial for true understanding.

The two experimental AI buttons, which are not yet confirmed as an upcoming feature, replace a single button that allowed Android users to "ask a follow up." Even that button doesn't yet exist in the iOS version, so iPhone users might have to wait a while to see this feature if they ever get it at all. At least the iOS version was the first to get larger, clearer text, which has only just been added to the Android version.

Adding more "understanding" to Google Translate seems in line with the company's stated plans to make the app more educational. This summer, Google announced Duolingo-style "language practice sessions" would be rolling out in beta form to Android and iOS users — starting with English-speaking users who want to learn Spanish.

"We're going far beyond simple language-to-language translation," wrote Google Translate product manager Matt Sheets. Based on user feedback, Sheets said, the app now aims to help you "listen and speak with confidence on the topics you care about." Adding more context-rich "understanding" would certainly boost that confidence. But whether these features are enough for Google to compete with Duolingo's far more intensive language courses remains, for now, in the untranslatable future.