Google Translate has added brand-new AI-powered features that transform it from an app for translating into a tool for learning languages quickly and effectively. By adding personalised practice sessions and better tools for real-time conversation, Google is directly challenging Duolingo‘s place in the language-learning market.
The new features do more than translate words; they also make it easier for users to speak, listen, and learn languages more interactively.
Language practice tailored to skill levels
One of the best new features is a “practice” tool that changes based on users’ language skills and learning goals.
For beginners, you can work on basic conversational phrases. For more experienced students, you can work on your vocabulary and speaking speed.
Users choose what skill level they want to use and then get practice problems like real talks.
They can listen, tap along to see their understanding, or speak. Every day, their progress is tracked to help them keep learning.
This personalised, game-like method is similar to Duolingo’s, but it uses Google’s AI skills to make the experience more immersive.
Live conversations in over 70 languages
Google also improved its live translation service so that people can talk back and forth in over 70 languages, such as Arabic, French, Spanish, Hindi, and Tamil, in real time.
Users need to press “Live Translate” and start talking. The app will quickly translate and show transcripts on the screen, making it easy for people who don’t speak the same language to talk to each other face-to-face.
It’s important to note that this function understands natural speech patterns like pauses and accents, which few mobile translation apps do well, especially in noisy places like airports or coffee shops.
Powered by Gemini AI models
Google’s advanced Gemini AI models power these changes, which make translation faster, more accurate, and more natural.
Google says its AI can pick out sounds in noisy environments and translate speech in a way that sounds natural, not robotic.
Currently, the tool lets people practise Spanish, French, and English with other users, and there are plans to add more languages. Google said that about a trillion words are translated monthly using its tools.
This shows how far these innovations could reach and how they might affect people.
This new suite of features positions Google Translate as a translation utility and a language learning companion that adapts dynamically to users’ needs, taking on popular apps like Duolingo with confidence and cutting-edge AI technology.