Live transcription features are becoming increasingly saturated across most of the platforms we use — Facebook, YouTube, and even video conferencing platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet. While most of ‘em only feature English live transcriptions, Google is upping the ante by testing a live translation feature.

Google Meet in jou taal

Currently a beta feature, the live translation option will allow for real-time translated captions in a video conference in a meeting. It’s being tested with English to Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German.

The way the feature currently works, it’ll only be available to a few key Meet user groups: Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Teaching & Learning Upgrade users. If you’re keen, administrators will have to apply for access through their corresponding Google Suite package.

Once that’s done, it’ll be available as a toggle in the settings, under Captions. There you’ll be able to choose one of the translated languages.

“Translated captions helps Google Meet video calls to be more global, inclusive, and effective by removing language ability as a barrier to collaboration. By helping users consume the content in a preferred language, you can help equalize information sharing, learning, and collaboration, and make sure your meetings are as effective as possible,” Google’s announcement reads

Of course, we’ll have to wait an undisclosed amount of time until the feature supports any African languages. We guess business meetings in Europe are deemed more important? Still, the tech could open up international borders in terms of employment and education if applied correctly.

Source: Engadget