It continues to be a fascinating time in language services. We are now firmly in the transition from the era of predominantly human workflows, to the next, of AI-powered possibility.
That presents huge opportunity, but also uncertainty, impacting clients, agencies, and linguists in different ways.
In my role at Mother Tongue, I am often asked how I see things evolving in our space, at the more creative end of the industry.
We believe the worlds of transcreation, content, and model training will ultimately merge into one.
Mother Tongue will deliver creatively intelligent language.
That means building programmes that integrate LLMs and NMT engines to create, adapt, and localize content at scale. And deploying creative and subject matter experts to optimize these – whether acting programmatically to fine-tune models, or topically, by editing outputs.
Rather than delivering individual services, the focus will be on solutions. Orchestrating these solutions will mean bringing the best third-party tooling to clients and combining platforms around their specific requirements.
Brand guardianship will only grow in importance. Capturing and relaying our clients’ distinct brand voices has always been a huge part of what we do. This will continue to be the case, across strategy, model training, linguistic data management and curation, HITL workflows, and where appropriate, “classic” transcreation.
The exciting thing is that we are already putting this into practice in a lot of engagements. AI is transforming our clients’ ability to communicate at scale and to talk to more audiences, in more languages, in a much more nuanced way. To be able to help drive that change and shape the future is a real privilege – even if it can feel like things are moving at breakneck speed!

2024 has been another big year of big change for our industry – not all of it easy. When I look back at the last twelve months, however, I think there is a lot for us to reflect on with pride.

We have now firmly moved into the post-localization era. Certainly, at Mother Tongue, very few of our relationships involve simply translating content from one language to another. Partnerships involve a variety of localization workflows, with different degrees of automation; local-market strategy and insight are a key part of engagements; there is increased focus on brand guardianship; and services such as terminology management, quality assurance and SEO work continue to grow in importance. This change has not happened by accident and is the product of open conversation between clients and industry partners and a willingness to embrace new possibilities.

The industry as a whole continues to move into new spaces. Language services are playing a key role in shaping GenAI platforms. We are increasingly active in content and marketing. And we have moved forwards in developing integrated offerings – working alongside third parties such as platform providers, creative agencies, and production specialists to deliver joined-up solutions for clients that help them move the needle in both effectiveness and efficiency.

In terms of adjustments for the future, that expansive thinking must continue. The agencies that add the most value will be those that focus on how their work impacts their clients’ businesses, as opposed to how they deliver their traditional LSP toolkit.

That will call for greater specialization, and a continued upskilling among agencies and freelance talent. We have to be able to provide comprehensive packages that meet changing requirements, while still offering genuine expertise in each component of those packages. We cannot be a Jack of all trades and be satisfied with middling solutions.

Whatever 2025 has in store, I’d like to wish everyone in the industry every success for the new year. I look forward to breaking new ground with you all.

There is an awful lot of change at the moment, and that can be unsettling. Along with writers, clients and agencies are having to evolve very quickly, separating the AI hype from reality, and often finding their way in the dark. I am very optimistic about the future, however, and believe there will be huge opportunities as our industry is able to take its influence further.

With ever more powerful tech at our disposal, I expect that, as ever, it is human talent that will make the difference. The agencies that thrive will be those who are able to best support their clients by orchestrating a network of different platforms and processes that are truly tailored to their requirements. Over the past six months, we have also seen greater awareness of what gen AI cannot do, and where there really is no replacement for good creative writing. The best linguists will be ever more in demand as a differentiator.

In light of this, it is clear that commercial models will need to change. Per-word or time-based structures do not reflect the shifting roles and structures within contemporary localization setups. This is not in anyone’s interests, whether buyer, vendor, or freelancer. I would love to see more outcomes-based pricing, where agencies and clients’ interests and incentives are aligned, and great work is rewarded accordingly. Bringing about this sort of change will take a concerted effort across the industry, involving all stakeholders. If we can get it right, however, it will set everyone up for success in the new era.

After several years of covid-related turbulence, I think we were all hoping for a nice and steady 2023. The year proved to be anything but however, and it has been another 12 months of dramatic change and with it, instability. It’s been a tough year economically, which has had knock on effects across our industry, for clients, agencies and writers. And it has been the year that gen AI really broke through, heralding bold and often conflicting predictions for the future.

So, what are my predictions for the future? The economic outlook does seem a little brighter for 2024 and I expect spending among clients to increase. The instability of the last few years won’t be going anywhere however. The march of gen AI technology will continue, and this year we’ll start seeing brands adopt the technology for themselves. With the proliferation of enterprise-level LLMs, there will be opportunities for the language industry to play a big role in shaping this technology. I expect a lot more focus on the people required to fine tune the tech this year, and a greater appreciation of the impact that (the right) humans make – both in gen AI and in localization more generally.

Whatever the next 12 months have in store, there’ll be plenty of change. The good news now of course, is that we are all well practiced in how to manage this. All the best for 2024 to everyone in the industry, and beyond.

How may generative AI impact our industry? It is already impacting our industry today.

It is generating new kinds of relationships. It is a new field for everyone. This is changing how we collaborate with our clients as we collectively establish new ways of working.

It is generating new workstreams. We are already seeing LLMs integrate it into service offerings, initially in content generation and localization post editing.

It is generating new business. There is a lot of work underway in training up the platforms themselves, and supporting tech firms in ensuring the models are fluent and market appropriate wherever they show up.

And of course, it is generating a lot of questions and uncertainty, as much for writers, as for agencies, and clients. Thing are changing quickly, and it is natural that this should cause some nervousness. I am very optimistic though – not least because dealing with change is nothing new for us all. Our industry has an enviable track record of embracing technology and opportunity. I see no reason why GenAI should not be a springboard for our next growth cycle.