Simultaneous Interpretation vs AI Translated Captions
“We need Chinese-English translation” covers two different services. In one, an interpreter in a soundproof booth says the speaker's words in another language and the audience listens on receivers. In the other, a machine transcribes the speech and translates it into text on the big screen or in the stream. One you listen to, one you read, and the prices differ several times over.
Point by point
The common misconception is that AI captions are interpretation on the cheap. What the two produce is not the same thing at all; these are the points worth comparing.
| Simultaneous interpretation | AI Live Captions | |
|---|---|---|
| Output | Sound, heard on receivers | Text, on the big screen or in the stream |
| Who translates | A pair of interpreters, swapping every 20–30 minutes | A machine transcribes, then translates |
| Accuracy | Handles tone, wordplay and whatever comes up | 95% and above; drops with heavy accents or people talking over each other |
| Preparation | Scripts and a glossary needed in advance | None; can be added shortly before the event |
| Audience size | Receivers rented per head, against ID, counted back in | No effect on cost — fifty people or five hundred |
| One more language | Another pair of interpreters | Another language track |
| Online viewers | Receivers cannot reach them | Captions embed in the stream; remote and in-room see the same thing |
| On-site equipment | Booth, receivers, technician | Audio pickup and cabling, handled by us |
Where the money goes on interpretation
It is not that the hourly rate is extraordinary. These five come together, and the room will not run without any one of them.
| Item | How it is priced | Why it cannot be dropped |
|---|---|---|
| Interpreters | two per language | The work is exhausting; taking turns is the industry norm |
| Interpretation booth | Build and strike included | Interpreters must hear clearly without carrying into the room |
| Receivers and headsets | Per head | One each, or the audience hears nothing |
| Technician | on site throughout | Signal and channel setup; the gear does not run itself |
| Preparation | By volume of material | Without the terminology up front, the room stalls |
Budgets usually go wrong on the number of languages. Chinese-English is one pair; adding Japanese means a second, not the same people covering one more. Half day and full day are bands rather than hourly rates, so a programme ending at four thirty and one ending at six often cost the same.
How to decide
| Your situation | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Legal weight or negotiated terms are involved | Simultaneous interpretation. Tone and professional judgement are beyond a machine |
| A long programme, a large audience, and the goal is keeping up | AI captions. The cost does not scale with headcount |
| It also streams to an online audience | AI captions. Receivers cannot reach them |
| Short sessions, and a longer running time is acceptable | Consecutive interpretation, rendered passage by passage, with almost no equipment cost |
It does not have to be one or the other. We have run human interpreters on the key sessions and captions across the rest, putting the budget where it counts while nobody is left behind for the remainder. For how captions work, see AI Live Captions & Translation, and for interpretation equipment see Hardware Coordination.
Start with the agenda and the languages
What the speakers use, which languages the audience needs, how long the programme runs and whether it also streams — those decide between interpretation and captions.
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