Live Translate FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Live Translate.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Live Translate Overview.
Setup
Do I need to configure a translation provider before my team can use it?
No. If you connect your own provider (AWS Translate or DeepL) at Admin → Integrations, Live Translate uses it. Otherwise it falls back to a platform-managed engine automatically, and then to the platform’s language model if that is also unavailable. Speech-to-text and text-to-speech always run on the platform’s OpenAI connection, so those must be available for a turn to run.
How do I make Live Translate visible to employees after I enable it?
Enabling the app at Admin → Apps Marketplace makes it visible to admins immediately. For employees and managers to see it, you also need to publish it to users — either globally or by setting up visibility rules for specific groups. Until published, only admins can access the app.
Permissions and access
Who can manage the glossary and view translation analytics?
Only admins and super admins. The glossary and analytics live at Admin → Translation, which requires admin-level access. Employees and managers can use the interpreter and flag translations as wrong, but they cannot add, edit, or delete glossary terms or view the analytics dashboard.
Why can’t some of my employees see Live Translate?
Three things must all be true: the app is enabled at Admin → Apps Marketplace, it is published to users (or the employee has an explicit visibility grant), and the employee’s account is active in the organization. If all three are in place, check whether any visibility rules restrict access to specific groups.
Day-to-day
Does Live Translate store conversations?
No. Each turn is transcribed, translated, and spoken back in real time without being saved. The transcript appears on screen during the conversation but is not persisted. The one exception: tapping Wrong? on a turn saves that phrase and its shown translation to a review queue at Admin → Translation so an admin can correct the glossary.
How does the “Detect language” option work?
In one-device mode, either side can be set to Detect language instead of a specific language. The app identifies the speaker’s language automatically from their speech across all 15 supported languages. In two-device (paired) mode, Detect is not available because each person’s selection becomes the other person’s translation target, so both must be set to a specific language.
How do I add glossary terms in bulk?
Go to Admin → Translation and click Import. Upload a CSV file that carries one column for each field on the add-term form — From, To, Term, Translate to, and Type — under this header row:
source_language,target_language,source_text,target_text,term_type
The file must be under 1 MB and contain no more than 2,000 rows. Duplicate terms — same source language, target language, and source text as an existing entry — are skipped automatically. To see the expected format, export your current glossary first.
What are the industry starter packs?
Three pre-built terminology sets you can adopt with one click at Admin → Translation:
- Warehouse & Manufacturing Safety (English → Spanish) — 13 terms including lockout-tagout, PPE, and muster point
- Retail & Store Operations (English → Spanish) — 9 terms including stockroom, planogram, and shrinkage
- Healthcare & Facilities (English → Spanish) — 7 terms including shift handoff, charting, and isolation room
Adopting a pack clones its terms into your glossary. You can edit or remove them freely afterward. A pack shows as already adopted once all of its terms exist in your glossary.
How do I review flagged translations?
Go to Admin → Translation. The Flagged translations section shows pending flags, oldest first (up to 50 displayed; the badge shows the true total). For each flag you can Resolve it — supply the correct translation, which creates a glossary mapping and closes the flag in one step — or Dismiss it to discard. You receive an in-app notification when flags arrive (at most once per 6 hours) and an email digest (at most once per 24 hours).
Can glossary terms be case-sensitive?
Yes. Each term has a Case-sensitive option you can toggle when creating or editing it. When enabled, “PPE” matches only “PPE”, not “ppe” or “Ppe”. The default is case-insensitive matching.
When something looks wrong
“The app said it couldn’t make out any speech”
The app detected no speech in the recording. Common causes: a tap instead of a hold (the minimum hold is about 350 milliseconds), speaking too far from the microphone, or the microphone being muted at the OS level. In hands-free mode, an utterance shorter than 350 milliseconds is also discarded as a non-speech sound.
“I hit a rate limit — how many turns can I do?”
Each user is allowed up to 200 interpreted turns per hour. In two-device mode, creating a paired session is capped at 60 per user per hour. Both limits reset every hour and are per-user, not per-device or per-session.
“The translation used the wrong word for our equipment”
The translation engine may not know your company’s vocabulary. Add the correct term at Admin → Translation: create a Mapping with the source word and its correct translation, or a Do not translate rule for terms like brand names or product codes that should pass through untouched. The glossary applies on the very next turn with no restart or delay.
“My partner can’t join with the session code”
A paired session code is 6 characters (letters and numbers) and expires after 2 hours. Only the first person to enter the code can claim the second seat — a third person is rejected even with the correct code. The joiner must also belong to the same organization. If joining still fails, have the host start a new session and share the fresh code.
“Live Translate says it’s unavailable”
This means the platform’s OpenAI connection is not reachable. Speech-to-text and text-to-speech both depend on it, so the app cannot process any turns until the connection is restored. Check with your platform administrator or try again shortly.
“I can’t see the Company terminology link”
The Company terminology link that opens the glossary appears only for admins and super admins. Employees and managers see the interpreter but not the glossary link — this is by design, since only admins can manage terminology.
Licensing and limits
Does Live Translate require a license?
No. Live Translate is pay-as-you-go with no license to purchase. An admin enables it at Admin → Apps Marketplace, and each turn’s usage — speech-to-text, translation, and text-to-speech — meters through the organization’s AI/Voice credit pool.
What are the limits I should know about?
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Supported languages | 15, plus Detect in one-device mode |
| Turns per user per hour | 200 |
| Paired-session creates per user per hour | 60 |
| Maximum audio upload per turn | 15 MB |
| Maximum hands-free utterance | 15 seconds |
| Paired session expiry | 2 hours |
| Participants per paired session | 2 (host + one joiner) |
| Glossary CSV import file size | 1 MB |
| Glossary CSV import rows | 2,000 |
More help
- Live Translate Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Live Translate questions from these articles.