Live Interpreting vs. AI Translation
These used to be easy to tell apart: interpretation you listened to, AI was captions on a screen. Now AI does audio too, so the audience can hear the live translation on their own phones instead of watching the big screen. What is left is two things: how accurate, and how much. Interpreters are the most accurate and will tidy up the speaker's phrasing along the way. AI is fast, cheap and easy to add languages to, but you have to accept the odd mistake, especially with people's names and company names.
Point by point
A lot of people think of AI as interpretation on the cheap. The price is different, sure, but these are the things that actually matter.
| Simultaneous interpretation | AI translation | |
|---|---|---|
| How the audience gets it | Listen on a receiver | Read captions on the big screen or in the stream, or listen on their own phone |
| Who translates | Two interpreters taking turns, swapping every twenty to thirty minutes | A machine translates as it hears, with nobody checking in between |
| Accuracy | The most accurate. Tone, wordplay and a speaker changing their mind mid-sentence all get handled | Around 98%. Where it slips most is proper nouns: people's names, company names |
| Does it polish? | Yes. Even when the speaker rambles, the interpreter turns it into something that flows | No. It translates what was said, slips of the tongue included |
| Preparation | Script and glossary needed beforehand | None. Telling us the day before is fine |
| Audience size | Receivers rented per head; ID deposits, counted back in at the end | No difference. Fifty people or five hundred |
| One more language | Another pair of interpreters | Another language track |
| Online viewers | Receivers only reach people in the room | Travels with the stream, so online and in-room audiences get the same thing |
| On-site equipment | Booth, receivers, technician | Audio pickup and cabling, which we handle |
Where the money goes on interpretation
Interpretation is not expensive because of the hourly rate. It is expensive because all of these have to be there, and the room stops if one is missing.
| Item | Priced by | Why it cannot be dropped |
|---|---|---|
| Interpreters | two per language | It is exhausting work; two taking turns is the norm |
| Interpretation booth | Build and strike included | Interpreters must hear clearly without carrying into the room |
| Receivers and headsets | Per head | One each, or they hear nothing |
| Technician | on site throughout | Someone has to set up the signal and channels; the gear does not run itself |
| Preparation | Depends on how much material | Without the terminology beforehand, the interpreter stalls on the day |
The most common budgeting mistake is the number of languages. Chinese-English is one pair of interpreters; adding Japanese means another pair, not the same pair doing one more language. And half day versus full day is a band, not an hourly rate, so a programme that ends at four thirty often costs the same as one that ends at six.
Which to pick
| Your situation | We would suggest |
|---|---|
| Legal weight or negotiated terms are involved | Interpreters. Tone and judgement in the moment are beyond a machine |
| Long programme, big audience, and the point is that everyone keeps up | AI. Cost is unrelated to headcount, and languages are quick to add |
| It also streams to an online audience | AI. You cannot hand a receiver to someone online |
| Awards, thank-yous, a long list of names and companies | An interpreter, at least for those parts. That is exactly where AI slips |
| Short session, and running longer is not a problem | Consecutive interpretation. A passage at a time, almost no equipment |
It does not have to be one or the other. We have done events with interpreters on the key sessions and AI on the rest: the money goes on the parts that need it, and the foreign-language audience is not left sitting there the rest of the time. For how the AI side works, see AI Live Captions & Translation, and for interpretation equipment see Hardware Coordination.
Tell Us the Agenda and the Languages
What language the speakers use, which ones the audience needs, how long the programme is, whether it streams. With those we can tell you which one to go with.
Get a Quote