Meet ChatGPT Translate: OpenAI's new tool rivals Google Translate

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ChatGPT Translate supports over 50 languages at launch and lets users customize tone and context with one-tap prompts.

ChatGPT app on an Android phone
(Image credit: Sanuj Bhatia / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Translate, a new web-based translation tool positioned as a direct competitor to Google Translate.
  • ChatGPT Translate supports over 50 languages and offers real-time translations with automatic language detection.
  • The tool stands out by offering AI prompts to adjust tone, fluency, and complexity of translated text.

Google Translate has just gained a new competitor, courtesy of OpenAI, in the form of ChatGPT Translate.

Google Translate has long been the go-to tool for quick translations, but there is now a new challenger that aims to raise the bar. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has launched a dedicated website called ChatGPT Translate, putting it in direct competition with Google's translation service.

At launch, the service supports over 50 languages and looks familiar to anyone who has used online translation tools. You get two text boxes, one for input and another for the translated output, along with drop-down menus to select the source and target languages. Like Google Translate, ChatGPT Translate also supports automatic language detection.

OpenAI quietly launches a new Google Translate rival

ChatGPT Translate in action

(Image credit: Future)

You can start typing text immediately, with translations appearing live as you type. What sets ChatGPT Translate apart, however, is a set of quick prompts below the text boxes.

These let you refine translations to sound more fluent, business formal, simplified for a child, or tailored for an academic audience. Tapping any of these prompts opens the request directly in ChatGPT, with the original text and refinement instruction already applied.

The website also mentions support for translating images and files, but those options are not yet available. Unlike Google Translate, ChatGPT Translate currently lacks voice input (on desktop) and features such as full website translation.

While ChatGPT could already be used as a translation tool before, this new website gives users a single, dedicated place for fast translations.

For now, there is no sign of a standalone ChatGPT Translate app or a dedicated section inside the ChatGPT app, and OpenAI has yet to make an official announcement about the tool.

Sanuj Bhatia
Sanuj Bhatia
Contributor

Sanuj is a tech writer who loves exploring smartphones, tablets, and wearables. He began his journey with a Nokia Lumia and later dived deep into Android and iPhone. He's been writing about tech since 2018, with bylines at Pocketnow, Android Police, Pocket-Lint, and MakeUseOf. When he's not testing gadgets, he's either sipping chai, watching football, or playing cricket.

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